Oral History Collaborations

In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Bobby Mariano speaks with Dr. Steve McKay, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. Bobby describes his father, Marcelino "Bob" Mariano's immigration and labor histories including his migration from the Philippines to Hawai'i then from Hawai'i to California and his lifelong work in agriculture first as a migrant laborer and eventually as a foreman. He also discusses his mother, Hazel Maxine Bickle, whose family immigrated to Watsonville from Oklahoma during the 1920s. Bobby discusses his parents' interracial marriage as well as the other mixed-race families in Watsonville that he knew growing up. He also describes his father's military service during World War II and his own experience enlisting in the Army during the 1960s. Bobby shares memories of going to cockfights with his father and his experiences in school. Throughout the interview, Bobby expresses that his parents shielded him from experiences of racism and economic hardship as well as his childhood perception of Watsonville as a multicultural community without racial or class divides. Additionally, Bobby discusses his parents and other families in Watsonville who overcame experiences of racism and poverty. In doing so, he articulates beliefs about Filipinos in Watsonville that align with the model minority narrative.