Oral History Collaborations

In this interview, originally recorded in person, Freddie Leo Castillo speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Ian Hunte Doyle. Freddie details his father Doroteo Lafer Castillo's immigration to the United States from the Philippines through Hawai'i, where he worked on the sugarcane plantations until eventually moving to the mainland to work seasonal agricultural jobs. Freddie explains how Doroteo settled in Watsonville and worked as a sharecropper. Freddie remembers growing up in Watsonville, where he and his sister were raised by his father, Doroteo Lafer Castillo. Fred recalls joining the Filipino Youth Club with his childhood friend Raymond "Ray" Gonzalez, who he refers to as his brother. He also describes working in the fields with Ray throughout high school. Fred talks about growing up half-Filipino and half-Mexican, and he explains how his father introduced him to Filipino culture, primarily through food and cooking.