I was recently looking at old photos on our computer and came across this batch from three years ago when we visited Seattle and Vancouver (Canada). Morbid curiosity? Uh, yeah! The cemetery is Lake View. Ironically, the trees in the above photo obscure the view of the lake. IT was kind of creepy there and getting dark.It was either this or the graves of Jimi Hendrix or Carlos Bulosan (labor organizer and author of my Asian American and Filipino American Studies classic, "America is in the Heart"). I found the direction to Bruce Lee's grave online. Turns out that his son Brandon Lee is buried right next to him. Two for one. When we got to the cemetery, we were kind of lost, but saw a group of younger Asians in one spot. That had to be it and it was. By the way, we normally don't go grave hunting during our vacations, but hey, it was Bruce Lee!
Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee's headstones side by side and are located by the road (you can see it at the top of the photo). There is also a marble bench next to headstones. Before we left, we saw a group of (guess?) Asians looking lost - yes, looking for the same thing, so we pointed them in the right direction.
Since we didn't see Carlos Bulosan's grave (he's buried in another cemetery in another neighborhood), I thought it would be cool to check out a fairly new exhibit named after Carlos Bulosan. According to the internet, it was housed in the Eastern Hotel in the International District (the Chinatown area). What it didn't say was that you couldn't access it easily. Turns out that there was some political controversy about this exhibit, according to Fred Cordova, historian and co-founder of the Filipino American National Historical Society , in which the National Offices are based in Seattle. In fact, we paid him and his wife Dorothy and the National Offices, a visit during our trip to Seattle. Apparently, a lot of money was spent for this exhibit, but it's not open to the public unless you arrange a a visit ahead of time. I'm sure there's more politics behind it but I don't know the story. The Eastern Hotel is a residential hotel for lower income residents and it is a locked facility. We were looking through the windows, feeling like nosy peeping Toms when a family on it's way out of the hotel, let us in. Talk about security, or lack of. We thanked them for letting us in so we could see the exhibit.
The exhibit also had a painting by Filipino American artist Eliseo Art Silva. We had the pleasure of meeting him we back in 1996, after he had finished his mural, "Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana" in Filipinotown in Los Angeles. He is known for his huge murals featuring multicultural themes. The one on Beverly Blvd pertains to Filipino American History and is his most well known work. This one below is 8' by 9' and titled, "Can You See the Secrets of History in my Face?". Typical of his style, the larger painting (which is based on a photograph of Carlos Bulosan's face) is made up of smaller images within the painting.
Embedded images of Pensionados (Philippine government sponsored Filipinos who came to the U.S. to study), Manongs (means older brother in Ilocano- a term of respect) who worked the agricultural fields, Alaskeros (Filipinos who worked in the canneries in Alaska), and the whipped and bloodied backs of those Filipinos who traveled to the New World aboard Spanish galleons (due to the Spanish Galleon trade)
If you look closely at the image with the tree, you can see Filipinos getting their ass kicked. Racial discrimination as well as anti-miscegenations laws were prevalent in the 1930's, especially in the agricultural areas where Filipinos used to work the fields and lived in deplorable conditions in overcrowded bunkhouses. You can also see some images of Filipino boxers (their heyday was during the 30's and early 40's).
The ribbon-like cloth that snakes through the painting are based on weavings from the Southern Philippines (Mindanao).
I 'm glad we were able to have a small glimpse of the photo exhibit and see Eliseo's work again. We learned a little more about Filipino American history, social activism in Seattle in the 30's and 40's as well as the work of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes. That was a fun trip. We were able to do and see so many things during that particular vacation.
Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee's headstones side by side and are located by the road (you can see it at the top of the photo). There is also a marble bench next to headstones. Before we left, we saw a group of (guess?) Asians looking lost - yes, looking for the same thing, so we pointed them in the right direction.
Since we didn't see Carlos Bulosan's grave (he's buried in another cemetery in another neighborhood), I thought it would be cool to check out a fairly new exhibit named after Carlos Bulosan. According to the internet, it was housed in the Eastern Hotel in the International District (the Chinatown area). What it didn't say was that you couldn't access it easily. Turns out that there was some political controversy about this exhibit, according to Fred Cordova, historian and co-founder of the Filipino American National Historical Society , in which the National Offices are based in Seattle. In fact, we paid him and his wife Dorothy and the National Offices, a visit during our trip to Seattle. Apparently, a lot of money was spent for this exhibit, but it's not open to the public unless you arrange a a visit ahead of time. I'm sure there's more politics behind it but I don't know the story. The Eastern Hotel is a residential hotel for lower income residents and it is a locked facility. We were looking through the windows, feeling like nosy peeping Toms when a family on it's way out of the hotel, let us in. Talk about security, or lack of. We thanked them for letting us in so we could see the exhibit.
The exhibit also had a painting by Filipino American artist Eliseo Art Silva. We had the pleasure of meeting him we back in 1996, after he had finished his mural, "Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana" in Filipinotown in Los Angeles. He is known for his huge murals featuring multicultural themes. The one on Beverly Blvd pertains to Filipino American History and is his most well known work. This one below is 8' by 9' and titled, "Can You See the Secrets of History in my Face?". Typical of his style, the larger painting (which is based on a photograph of Carlos Bulosan's face) is made up of smaller images within the painting.
Embedded images of Pensionados (Philippine government sponsored Filipinos who came to the U.S. to study), Manongs (means older brother in Ilocano- a term of respect) who worked the agricultural fields, Alaskeros (Filipinos who worked in the canneries in Alaska), and the whipped and bloodied backs of those Filipinos who traveled to the New World aboard Spanish galleons (due to the Spanish Galleon trade)
If you look closely at the image with the tree, you can see Filipinos getting their ass kicked. Racial discrimination as well as anti-miscegenations laws were prevalent in the 1930's, especially in the agricultural areas where Filipinos used to work the fields and lived in deplorable conditions in overcrowded bunkhouses. You can also see some images of Filipino boxers (their heyday was during the 30's and early 40's).
The ribbon-like cloth that snakes through the painting are based on weavings from the Southern Philippines (Mindanao).
I 'm glad we were able to have a small glimpse of the photo exhibit and see Eliseo's work again. We learned a little more about Filipino American history, social activism in Seattle in the 30's and 40's as well as the work of Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes. That was a fun trip. We were able to do and see so many things during that particular vacation. 
