Oral History Collaborations

In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom Ruby Baniaga Kalidonis speaks with Markus Faye Portacio, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Ruby shares her family's migration experiences in Hawai'i and Watsonville, California. She recalls how her family arrived in the US and explains how her father Romeo Veo Baniaga and her mother Betty Magarin Baniaga, met. She discusses Romeo's and Betty's work in the agricultural, industrial, and domestic sectors. She also discusses Romeo's affinity for gardening and Betty's skills in strawberry picking. Ruby talks about the community networks her family established in Watsonville and her relationships with her relatives that live in the Philippines. Additionally, Ruby reflects on her experience growing-up mixed-race and her "Mexipino" identity.