Donor Information: This collection was created when Al Robles worked with the artists at Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) to document the stories of the manongs who lived in Manilatown, San Francisco. Al Robles was very connected with the manongs. He would hang out with them, create spaces for them to celebrate and have fun, ask them questions about their lives and make sure they took care of themselves. Al would carry around a recorder, documenting conversations he had with manongs. Al Robles was born in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. He was a poet and musician, intertwined with Asian American struggles.
Scope and Content: The collection includes oral histories and photographs from the manongs.
Oral histories come from manongs named Henry Hipolito, Manong Pacifico, Maurice Passion, Manong Cortes, Joaquin Legaspi, Simeon Amon, Manong Benny and Manong Velasco. These oral histories include their reflections as laborers, recollections of Philippines, articulations of world views, and descriptions of culture.
IH-051 “Henry Hipolito: Life of the manong, Portsmouth Square."
Manong Henry Hipolito talks with Al Robles about the old days in Manilatown. Henry speaks of the Manilatown area from Market to Broadway being the section symbolizing the common poor Filipino. Although the I-hotel area was run down during the interview (late 70s), it used to be a nice area bustling with streetcars and horse drawn wagons. When speaking of the area in the late 70s, the I-Hotel and its few old timers represent the last of Manilatown. Some of Henry’s experiences of the old days were that there were no pinays in America till 1948 and local job discrimination forced him to travel to Alaska for seasonal fishing jobs. He reminisces about Pinoy town in Alaska and how he survived the depression. Ending the interview, Henry gives advice to new Filipino immigrants such as get more education, get more independence, make more progress against poverty and discrimination, and don’t be corrupt.
Listen to Manong Hipolito Here:
IH-052 Manong Pacifico
Mr. Pacifico begins explaining his experiences with America and how he fit into society. Pacifico explains fraternal organizations that brought pinoys together. Helio Mucado a five star WWII general started one of the most popular groups. Being treated as a martyr, he started an organization that combined men from all islands and was similar to the free masons. Pacifico also describes how Spanish influence changed the Philippines by conflicted ideals and the raping of resources. As the locals got smart to the Spanish and fought back, US were there to claim the land unlawfully. Pacifico then explains America?s presence as being a blessing and a curse. Pacifico then goes into describing the social hierarchy in Philippines vs. America. Differences of mestizos to peasants are not as present in the US. Pacifico speaks of the manong voice not being heard because of the money promised after WWII not being given. He then delves into his first encounters with the US. Pacifico ends with him explaining the old days back in the islands and how he is Marcos?s 3rd cousin.
Listen to Manong Pacifico here:
IH-053 “Maurice Passion.” 5/10/85, 2 minutes
Maurice Passion talks of many subjects that a usual Manilatown manong has gone through in his life. Maurice begins with telling Al Robles about how when he was young there were no Filipino women in San Francisco. Maurice explained his experience dating white women and how white men were suspicious of him and often threaten to beat him up. He also described Filipino men of the time having big hearts and they would buy and offer many presents to their women. This often attracted many white women of San Francisco. Maurice says love was dangerous and worth the gamble. He then goes into explaining love in the Islands. Maurice explains arranged marriages and trends of infidelity with Filipino men. Towards the end of the interview, Maurice describes vanishing Filipino businesses in Manilatown and the hardship after the eviction. Seven years after the eviction it is still a hole in the ground.
Listen to Manong Passion here:
IH-054 “Manong Cortes.” 8/20/80, 2 minutes
Manong Cortes tells Al Robles how life in the Philippines was in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Manong Cortes grew up in an agricultural town in the Muncada area of Luzan. In a family of him and his parents, their income mainly came from selling water buffalo and small farming. Next Cortes explains different techniques in growing rice such as: planting time, seasons, cutting, and harvest times. While living in a nepa hut, they slept on floor mats (Banigs) with no electricity. Their kitchen had no metal just homemade clay stoves and pots. Cortes ends the interview with his memories of the Spanish-Philippine War and the Philippine-American war. Cortes explains that his family went into hiding during both wars. Looking for revolutionaries, Spanish and Americans alike killed many innocent people. The men of his family fought for independence by using knives, out of date rifles, and homemade bamboo muskets. (how old was Manong Cortes in 1980?)
Listen to Manong Cortes here:
IH-055 “Joaquin Legaspi.” 1973, 2 minutes
Joaquin Legaspi and Al Robles philosophize about life and its different aspects. Joaquin Legaspi an artist, poet, and an intellectual was one of the most popular manongs among the I-Hotel’s activists crowd. Legaspi begins his viewpoint on explaining that night and day is not that much different from each other. The earth revolves constantly; light is constant and on another side of the world. By comparing this to people’s thoughts, the mind is taught this through a learning process that uses labels, fractions, divisions, and sanity is only taught through separation. With this premise, he compares race to being left or right handed. Primitive people have a more natural connection with the world versus the one sided thinking of most people. The five senses around the world are the same all around yet can create ignorance, such as racism. With senses being abused, clashes cultures help to separate (i.e. western world vs. Filipino world).
Listen to Manong Legaspi here:
IH-056 “Lucky ‘M’ Pool Hall.” 1973, 2 minutes
Tape begins with Al Robles reciting a spoken word comparing music, poetry, art, and life. Next Al Robles interviews a group of manongs in the famed Lucky M pool hall. The interview begins with a group of manongs complaining that people are ignorant who think that the I-Hotel should be demolished. If this historical landmark is gone, many have no place to go. During the interview Al mainly talks to manong Duvera. Coming to America in 1917. Duvera got a Job as an apprentice barber in the famed Tino’s barbershop. He explains the vibrant culture and music that was in the barbershop. This was during the time few cars roamed the streets just horse drawn buggies and cable cars. During the recording he was currently working at the Lucky M. Duvera was very reminiscent of the good old days because lucky M was closing March 1st. Along with other vanishing businesses, Lucky M was the last Pilipino pool hall in Manilatown. Duvera ends his interview with him bantering with other manongs about women, gambling, and where to go after the eviction.
Listen to group of manongs in Lucky M Pool Hall here:
IH-057 “Simeon Amon.” 7/6/77, 2 minutes
Simeon Amon talks about women and his life as a child in the islands. He begins by explaining social gatherings called “Taxi Dances”. These gatherings were for lonely manongs who could dance with young women for a small fee. Due to Pinays not being let into the US at the same rate as the men and anti-miscegenation laws which did not allow Filipinos to marry white women in California, not that many suitable Pinays of there age and generation exist in the states. In result, Taxi dances allowed manongs to dance with young women and it also gave girls opportunities for extra income. Simeon said he attended many dances in farming towns such as Stockton. There were also taxi dances in San Francisco. With many of these girls being white, some looked down upon these events. A Filipino man dating a white woman sometimes resulted in him being shot and her being beat up. Simeon then goes into explaining the virtues of city pinays versus country pinays. With too much temptation of the city, country pianys from the islands are better. Manong Amon ends the interview with him explaining his childhood life on a farm in Luzon.
Listen to Manong Simeon here:
IH-58 “Manong Benny” 1974, 2 minutes
Summary not yet available because in Tagalog and we need assistance in its translation to English.
Listen to Manong Benny here:
IH-059 “Manong Velasco.” 6/3/75, 2 minutes
Manong Velasco talks with Al Robles about various subjects. He talks of his health, diet, food, love life, and his past jobs. Velasco begins speaking of all his favorite Filipino restaurants (what are the names of the restaurants) that are now closed. Since many of his restaurants are closed, Velasco eats mostly at Chinese and Italian restaurants. With many complaints, Velasco thinks Italian food is too expensive and Chinese restaurants don’t give him what he wants (language/cultural barrier). Velasco also says if you don’t know the right restaurant you could get food poisoning like another manong who was in the hospital for a month. Although he goes through this anguish, Velasco luckily has an Italian girlfriend that cooks for him. In the I-hotel many manongs have no refrigerators, resulting in them leaving food out for them to eat and get sick. Velasco is aware of this problem and prides his health first. With monthly visits to the doctor, Velasco is told that he should not eat pork and fried foods. While other manongs can’t afford doctors and don’t believe them, Velasco luckily has money to see a doctor. Velasco also explains his past jobs in places such as Fresno, San Jose, and Santa Clara.
Listen to Manong Velasco here:
Pictures are from San Francisco's Manilatown, such as I-Hotel and Lucky M. Pool Hall located on Kearny St. It also includes pictures of Manongs who lived in Manilatown.
View the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/manilatown/sets/72157607237514777/
No comments:
Post a Comment