Bridge Generation News

BG Personality of the Month — Dolores Sibonga, 88:

 (When my family and I moved to Seattle in 1970, local media was replete with stories about multi-ethnic support for the Black-led strike against the construction industry.  Among  Filipinos Americans who were arrested was Dolores. The first Filipina American attorney in Washington State, she went on to serve as a member of the Seattle City Council for twelve years.  Following is her life story in her own words:)   I was born to Maria Dasalla and Victoriano Estigoy who immigrated to Washington State, met and married.  My Dad first worked in the lumbermills of Grays Harbor.  He boasted that “the big boss” favored Filipinos because they worked hard and were honest.  My Mother was a 17-year old “schoolgirl” who worked as a domestic while attending high school.  After a few years, they moved to Seattle where they operated a pool hall.  I was told I danced on  the tables for candy money.  (Unlikely, because I would have ruined the tables, but it was  good story.) Then they ran a pool hall and a cafe.  Then, finally, the Estigoy Cafe which they owned until 1957 when Mom passed away.  The Cafe, hotels, barbershops, grocery stores, gambling halls and streets and alleys of Chinatown were my home.  When I was little, I remember “the boys” (manongs) bringing salmon cheeks that were throwaways from the Alaska canneries.  Some slept on the floor of our hotel room.  It was a life-affirming experience that informed who I am.  These were people who worked hard but often received little in return.  And yet at their core — at OUR core as Filipinos — we are joyful and generous.  I will never forget summer nights when the young men would gather at the cafe to play guitar, mandolin, violin and sing the sweetest harmony in songs of home and romance. I learned hope, determination and respect for others from them. Of course it was a foregone conclusion that I would go to college.  I graduated from the University of Washington first with a  degree in journalism (and later with a law degree).  I was riding high when I was offered a job in television until I tried to find an apartment in Spokane.  No landlord would rent to me because of my color.  This and other incidents that happened to my husband, Marty, and me made it inevitable that we would become active in the Civil Rights Movement.  The masthead of our small community paper read, “The Filipino Forum — United Minority Action” — and we meant it.  We covered not only what Asians were doing, but what was happening in the Black, Hispanic and Native American communities.  Our children also marched and participated in teach-ins.

Today in Washington, there is a referendum that would deny affirmative action in public education, government contracting and employment.  So the fight for Civil Rights, particularly given the Trump administration’s assault on people like us, continues.  “United Minority Action” continues to be our mission

Passing of Three Bridge Generation Members

October saw the passing of three more stalwarts of the Bridge Generation: 

Albert Acena, 87, Seattle native and longtime resident of San Mateo, CA passed away on October 28.  Born on October 11, 1932, Al was the son of two pioneer Filipino nurses in America, Rodolfo Eladio Acena and Felicidad Nolasco, both of Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. A close friend and Seattle neighbor of Fred and Dorothy Cordova, he served as best man at their 1953 wedding.  He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Seattle University and masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Washington.  He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany —  experiences that proved to be instrumental in developing his lifelong interest in travel and study abroad. During his 41 years at College of San Mateo, Dr. Acena taught history, served as Dean of the Division of Social Sciences, and was the advisor for Alpha Gamma Sigma — the community college honor society. Al was a board member of the San Mateo County Historical Association, the Filipino American National Historical Society, and the Alvarado Project.  Quiet, intellectual, insightful, compassionate, and possessor of a great sense of humor, he will be long-held in the hearts of his many friends

Glenn Canonigo Abrescy, 76, who first saw the light of day on January 7, 1943 behind a barber shop in Isleton CA, passed away on October 30 in Merced CA.  Known to the martial arts community as Sifu (honored teacher), he founded the art of Kemscrima-Doh that was practiced by affiliates throughout California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Tennessee, and Mexico.  Glenn spent over sixty years in training and teaching his craft – thirty years as the owner of Eastwind Martial Arts Academy in Merced. He was the seventh of seven children of Theodore Kimar Abrescy and Paula (Rivera) Canonigo and the last to survive. He leaves his wife of 33 years, Philomena Abrescy, 7 children, 26 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

Lillian (Crujido) Cubillo, 80, of Fremont CA who passed away on October 11 after a long battle with cancer. (An older sister, Sally (Crujido) Trevino, was my late wife Terri’s maid of honor.)  Lillian grew up in the small river community of Hood, fifteen miles south of Sacramento. After marrying John Cubillo of San Francisco she became a confirmed bay area resident. In retirement Lillian and John were regulars at old-timer Grand Reunions. She is survived by her husband, John, and two adult children.

Happy December Birthdays

• Rose (Bucol) Jamero
• Rosemary (Quitiquit) Figueroa
• Clem Morales
• Mike Nisperos
• Phil Ventura

Pinakbet — News Across America

St. Malo Historical Marker

To officially commemorate St. Malo — the first permanent
Filipino settlement in the United States — the Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society hosted the unveiling of a historical marker on November 9, 2019. The St. Malo marker is the second Louisiana Historical Marker to be placed in the state and keeps with the mission of the PLHS to share the history of Filipinos in the Bayou State. The first marker was unveiled in 2012 and commemorates Manila Village, a stilted village central to the shrimp drying industry in Louisiana. Located in front of the courthouse in the Town of Jean Lafitte, the Manila Village Marker describes Filipino life in the region after the migration of the first settlers in 1763.

Teresita Batayola

The honors keep coming for Teresita Batayola, President and CEO of Seattle’s International Community Health Services.  First, on October 1 “Seatttle Business” magazine named her as outstanding leader in health care.  Thirdly, the Filipina Women’s Network of San Francisco honored her with a prestigious global award for her leadership of strategic and collaborative initiatives.  Finally, Batayola was honored at the 16^th Filipina Global Summit in Paris that ran from October 28 to November 2.  ICHS is Washington State’s largest Asian and Pacific Islander nonprofit organization, operating eleven service sites while providing health care services to 32,000 people.

Filipino American History Month

During the month of October, Filipino Americans throughout America celebrated Filipino American History Month and its theme “Pinay Visionaries”.

FLOAT, First All-Animated Filipino characters by Pixar

FLOAT is among the most unusual of FAHM celebrations. This all animated Pixar Animation Studios short is the first ever to feature Filipino animated characters.  Larry Flores of Seattle may also have made FAHM history. He travelled across the country to New York and New Jersey, just to participate in their celebrations.

Brian Bulatao

Brian Bulatao, U.S. Department of State Undersecretary for Management, is a long-time associate of his boss, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, beginning with  their West Point classmate days.  Bulatao is among the Trump Administration’s highest ranking Filipino Americans.

Musings

Is excluding People of Color in favor of White Nationalism/Supremacy in America’s Future?  Part V: Last month’s episode on this continuing story concluded that the future of White Nationalism/Supremacy will be brief due to Donald Trump‘s falling popularity.  However, with the recent release of transcripts of  depositions from a dozen witnesses followed by televised public hearings of these witnesses, the demise of Trump and thus White Nationalism/Supremacy appears sooner than previously thought.  The transcripts and public hearings — part of the House of Representatives’ Impeachment Inquiry into alleged bribery and extortion of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky by Trump — seriously damaged the president’s pleas of  “No Quid Pro Quo (No This for That)”. The House is now expected to impeach Trump before Christmas …………

Earlier blogs have written of the murders of Fermin Tobera in 1930 and Joseph Ileto in 1999 at the hands of anti-Filipino Whites.  But did you know a Filipino was lynched  in 1930?  In her groundbreaking book, “Little Manila is in the Heart”, Dawn Mabalon wrote of the following brutal incident: “On June 14, 1930, after it was claimed that he had been seen with White girls, the mutilated body of Robert B. Martin, a local lumber worker and Filipino veteran of World War I, was found hanging in a tree in Susanville, a hundred miles north of Stockton.”

Museum Funding Countdown — minus 1 year, 7 months and growing

When will the Board of Trustees, Filipino American National Historical Society — who have program and fiduciary responsibility —  provide critically needed financing to assure keeping open the Filipino American Museum in Stockton, the historic center of Filipino immigration?

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

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