It was dusk by the time we got there...7 pm'ish.
During the event, there was an ongoing slide show projected on the screen throughout...
Several tables had framed photos from the book. This particular photo was taken during the late 1970's before the I-Hotel in San Francisco was torn down (located on the corner of Kearny and Jackson St). A group of high school and college age Filipino American activists/students traveled up north to attend the Pilipino People's Far West Conference in Seattle that year and the I-Hotel was on their way up! This photo was taken by another friend of mine, Dr. Rey Monzon whois the director of Testing at SDSU.
The crown for this event was bigger than the Balboa Park event earlier last month. You can see Judy at the table (far left), Joe Mazares(in orange shirt), who helped out with the book, and the arrival of Arlie Ricasa-Bagaporo (with her family); she is the SWC Director of Student Development as well as a board member for the Sweetwater Union High School District. Her parents are one of the South Bay's pioneer Filipino families.
Kinda sparse here but later it was totally packed. One of the co-authors, self proclaimed "Mexipino" Rudy Guevarra drove in from Arizona to be here. Along with Rudy were his parents and sister along with his extended family and network of friends.
Here's Felix making a few remarks about the book. I just noticed tha the picture on the slideshow is sideways!
Rudy and Judy waiting for their turn at the podium...
Of course there was food there - sweet rolls, plus platters of turon (fried banana lumpia); the shanghai lumpias were pretty much gone by this point.
There were also desserts - here's a platter with different types of kutsinta, puto, and sapin sapid (assorted rice cakes). I love the purple rice one! Tastes so good with freshly grated coconut!
Members of the audience who were featured in the book were also invited to speak and "share their stories". Below is Rosalie Zarate, former council member and vice mayor of National City. She is the daughter of a Filipino farmer who married a Mexican woman. Her father owned Toledo Farms which used to be located on Plaza Blvd and Palm in National City. Their family owned the first sari-sari store in National City. There are several photos of her in the book but my favorite one was the photo of her as a young girl standing next to her father and their bean field. It was such an honor meeting her that night.
Next up was Felix's best friend, Sal Flor (who's retirement party we attended last month). There are a few photos of him in the book as well - one of his earlier "activist" photos depicts him with a wild 'fro; hey, it was the 70's folks! As a Filipina American educator, I consider Sal (along with Felix and Judy) among my mentors. They've helped shaped me to be who I am today. Sounds corny, but it's really true.
Arlie Ricasa-Bagaporo, daughter of a Navyman and teacher, is the youngest of 10 in this pioneer Filipino family. There is a family photo in the book where there are only 7 children. She told me that she vividly remembered taking that photo that day. Everyone was dressed up because they went straight to the photo studio right after church. She said one of her brothers was in Vietnam, the other was stationed in Germany, and the third brother had to work that day so they weren't in the photo. (The photo in the background is a letter commending Sal Flor's father, Julian Flor; it was written by Harry Truman after WWII)
It was really great to see Rudy again. I first met him back in 2003 at a community event. He was still finishing up research for his doctoral dissertation on Filipino and Mexican connection. He himself is a fourth generation Mexipino. The dude is so cool and mellow. He knows his shit and walks the talk. He is currently a professor in one of the most hostile states towards immigrants, Arizona.
This gentleman is Rudy's father, Rudy Guevarra, Sr. He got a little emotional during his speech; what I remember most about it was that he was so proud of his son and feels that his dream of finishing college came true through his son's accomplishments.
The authors: Felix Tuyay, Judy Patacsil and Rudy Guevarra, Jr. (that's my leg, cut off!)
Ironically, I missed meeting Darlene (of the blog My Burning Kitchen) and her husband Paul (creator of the webcomic "Cool Jerk") that evening. They arrived soon after Bert and I left to pick up TC down south. It was nice to know that they made it and supported the book.
The next event will be next Saturday, October 16th at Miramar College from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Come meet the authors!
Buy the book at a discounted price ($20 at the event; $25 if you order by mail) and own a piece of San Diego History...
Here are some stories on the previous book launch:
Asian Journal
La Prensa
BakitWhy.Com (Note: this article erroneously stated that Dr. Rudy Guevarra spoke at the event when in fact, he was not there. In addition, the article gives the wrong date for the September event as the 7th when it was on the 17th)
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