Oral History Collaborations

In the first part of this three part interview, Paul Phillip DeOcampo speaks with Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. DeOcampo briefly discusses his father and mother's migration history and their relationship. He briefly recounts a trip he took back to the Philippines at the age of eleven. Lastly, he details his experiences growing up in the small town of Aromas, California, and the racial demographic of his school.

In this interview, originally recorded over Zoom, Ruth Tabancay speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Maia Mislang. Ruth is a Bay Area-based textile and fiber artist. Ruth explains how her mother Esther Galicia immigrated to the United States from the Philippines to attend Hartnell College in Salinas. Esther's immigration to the US was sponsored by her aunt, Paula Galicia. Ruth discusses Esther's twenty-five years of experience working at Green Giant cannery in Watsonville. Ruth also explains that her father Benny Tabancay worked in the dry cleaning business rather than in the agricultural fields like many other men. Throughout the interview Ruth reflects on her time growing up within the Filipino American community in Watsonville, as well as how her identity and experiences impact her current art practice. She fondly recalls participating in Filipino folk dance classes, wearing traditional Filipiniana clothing, playing street games with neighborhood kids, and making decorations Fourth of July parade floats with her mother and other members of the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville.

In this interview, originally recorded via Zoom, Mariano Sulay speaks with Dr. Kathleen "Kat" Cruz Gutierrez, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart project team. Sulay recounts his experience growing up in the Pajaro Valley after the 1960s. Sulay recounts memories of his father at the end of his career as an agricultural worker. In addition, he shares memories of his mother's engagement in social clubs such as the Filipino Community and the decline of her involvement later in life. He also discusses his experience growing up as a mixed-race Filipino and learning about the Watsonville Riots later in his life.