Public Programs
In 2006, the Smithsonian Institution commemorated the centennial of Filipino migration to the United States with public programs at the Smithsonian and throughout cities with large Filipino American populations, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, New York, Las Vegas and Honolulu. These public programs range from scholarly discussions and film showings to cultural performances providing historical overviews of Filipino Americans in the United States.
San Francisco, California
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Symposium 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Jazz Reception 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
California State University, California Maritime Academy Rizza Auditorium
200 Academy Drive Vallejo, California
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, in collaboration with the Bay Area Filipino Centennial Committee and the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), hosted the San Francisco Bay Area Symposium – A Century of Challenge and Change: The Filipino American Story, in celebration of a hundred years of continuous Filipino immigration to America.
Panelists spoke about their own experiences of the Filipino American experience. Speakers included: Larry Asera, whose family immigrated to Hawai’i in 1906 and is now five generations deep in America; Nazario Orpilla, a 100 year-old manong who arrived in America in 1926; Vangie Buell, the granddaughter of an African American Buffalo Soldier; and Filipino American war brides who arrived after World War II.
Washington, DC
Filipino American Literary Writers
Friday, December 8, 2006, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian
Fourth Street & Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20560
Contemporary Filipino American writers talked about their inspirations and their impact on American literature.
Panelists included Peter Bacho (Cebu, Entrys), M. Evelina Galang (Her Wild American Self, Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images), Marianne Villanueva (Ginseng and Other Tales from Manila, Going Home to a Landscape: Writings by Filipinas, Mayor of the Roses), and Luis Francia (Eye of the Fish: A Personal Archipelago, Vestiges of War: The Philippine-American War and the Aftermath of an Imperial Dream, 1899-1999).
Seattle, Washington
Friday, November 17, 2006 and Saturday, November 18, 2006
9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Photo exhibit, panel discussion, reception (Nov. 17)
10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Filipino Film Festival, panel discussion with authors, book signing (Nov. 18)
Office of Minority Affairs Ethnic Cultural Theatre
University of Washington
3940 Brooklyn Avenue, NE
Two-day commemoration included a photo exhibit, panel discussion, authors' discussion and film fest. Co-sponsored by University of Washington, Department of Ethnic Studies and Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS).
Baltimore, Maryland
Thursday, November 16, 2006
6:00 p.m. –- 9:00 p.m.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland
830 East Pratt Street
Baltimore premiered Sandaan by Filmmaker Noel "Sonny" Izon, and a photo exhibit by local Filipino-American artist Rita Cacas. Also included was a panel discussion featuring Sonny Izon, Filmmaker; Loida Lewis, Chairman and CEO of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc.; Sharon Delmendo, Author of Star Entangled Banner: 100 years of America in the Philippines; and Dan Gonzalez, Professor, San Francisco State University.
Sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, and Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP).
New York, New York
Friday and Saturday, November 10-11, 2006
7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Reception and Readings (Nov. 10)
9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Conference panels, book displays and idea exchange (Nov. 11)
Woolworth Building
NYU SCPS Conference Room, 2nd floor
15 Barclay St.
Moving Archipelago: A Century of Writing Filipino America marked the centennial of Filipino immigration to the United States by commemorating and reflecting on the creative literature penned by generations of Filipino and Filipino American writers, both immigrant and native born.
Los Angeles, California
I AM TODAY'S FILIPINO is a photography and video installation project documenting the multi-faceted Filipino population in Southern California, the largest concentration of Filipinos outside the Philippines.
Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29, 2006
OPENING RECEPTION:
Farmani Gallery
844 South Robertson Boulevard
VIP Reception 6 – 9 p.m. ($50 at the door, $40 pre-sale): October 28, 2006
Opening Reception 12 to 3 p.m. (Free): October 29, 2006
www.farmanigallery.com
EXHIBIT CLOSING RECEPTION: Remy's on Temple Gallery
Historic Filipinotown
2126 W. Temple Street
December 21, 2006 to January 7, 2007
Closing Reception 5 to 8 p.m. (Free): January 6, 2007
To learn more about the exhibit, please visit www.iamtodaysfilipino.com/calendar.htm. For a full list of Centennial events in LA, please visit www.filamcentennial-la.org or contact Celina Taganas-Duffy at 323-857-5337 or celina@tagline.com.
Washington, DC
Friday, October 20, 2006
6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Baird Auditorium, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Creativity of Filipino Americans in Video and Film
Thanks to all who made the premiere of Sandaan, the documentary created for the Smithsonian Filipino American Centennial by Sonny Izon, the award-winning creator of An Untold Triumph, a warm and wonderful success!
Izon’s latest, Sandaan, is an intimate family album of Filipino experiences in America during the past one hundred years – at times exhilarating, at times bittersweet, but ultimately a determined and triumphant journey toward claiming America as home.
In celebrating Filipino American filmmakers, the program also featured two short films: Manongs by Linda Mabalot and an animated film, Maritess vs. the Superfriends, by Dino Ignacio.
This program was the penultimate part of a series of programs throughout 2006 at the Smithsonian Institution to commemorate the centennial of Filipino migration to the United States.
San Diego, California
Saturday, October 14, 2006
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
San Diego Miramar College
10440 Black Mountain Rd
This discussion forum about 100 Years & Beyond: Filipino American Connections & Contributions, featured Fred & Dorothy Cordova, Founders of Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and the San Diego screening of Sandaan by award winning filmmaker, Sonny Izon. Following the screening, there was a Barrio Fiesta featuring Filipina American Recording Artist, Jocelyn Enriquez.
Co-sponsored by Mabuhay Alliance, Filipino American Development Initiatives, San Diego FANHS, and the Miramar San Diego Community College District.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sunday, October 8, 2006
2 p.m.
Clark County Library
1401 E. Flamingo Road
Las Vegas screening of Sandaan, a film by award-winning filmmaker Sonny Izon in honor of the Filipino American Centennial. Event was co-sponsored by the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NAFFaa).
New York, New York
Friday, October 6, 2006
7:30 p.m. Film Screening
ImaginAsian Theater
239 E. 59th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue)
Premiere screening in New York of Sandaan: The Filipino - American Story. It was also featured as the opening and closing movie of the NEW YORK FILIPINO FILM FESTIVAL 2006 which ran from October 6th to 19th.
San Francisco, California
Friday, October 6, 2006
1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
University of San Francisco McLaren Complex, Room 250
2130 Fulton Street
The University of San Francisco Center for the Pacific Rim Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco Annual Lecture Series and The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and The Bay Area Filipino Centennial Working Committee presented 100 Years of Filipino Presence in the United States: A Journey of Hope.
In commemoration of the Filipino Centennial (2006), this symposium recounted the historic struggle of Filipino immigrants from plantation workers in Hawaii in 1906, to cannery workers in Alaska, to soldiers in the military, to professionals during the 1960s immigration wave, to the 21st century diaspora. The second part of the symposium discussed contemporary issues now facing Filipino Americans from veterans and seniors to women and youth. The symposium also included topics on discrimination and political empowerment.
Honolulu, Hawaii– June 29, 2006 and September 29, 2006
Smithsonian APA Program co-sponsored the Filipino American Authors' Reception at the 11th Biennial National Conference of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), “Sakadas and Beyond: Connecting Our Past to Inspire the Future” at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel on June 29, 2006.
Sandaan, the movie that tells the story of the Filipino American in the last 100 years, and produced by Sonny Izon, was shown on Friday, Sept 29 by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), at their 2006 Convention at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki.
Contemporary Issues Facing Filipino Americans
Friday, July 28, 2006, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Lecture Hall
S. Dillon Ripley Center
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW
This program dealt with the challenges faced by immigrants who came after the Immigration Act of 1965 as they settled in the United States. Post-1965 Filipino immigrants, including doctors, nurses, and other overseas workers, faced different challenges from the first wave of immigrants.
Panelists discussed community and political empowerment, multiracial issues, social and community activism, and youth issues. Panelists included Catherine Ceniza Choy, Mary Jo Maralit, Amy Agbayani, and Emil Guillermo. Juanita Tamayo Lott moderated.
Storytelling and Book Signing
Sunday, July 16, 2006, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Discovery Theater, S. Dillon Ripley Center
Smithsonian Institution
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW
Washington, DC
Two Filipino American children's book authors/illustrators delighted audiences, young and old, with storytelling and readings. Book illustrator Jose Aruego (Milton the Early, Herman the Helper) explored the humorous animal characters from his books and Almira Astudillo Gilles read from her latest work Willie Wins, an endearing story of a Filipino American father and son and their love of baseball.
A Salute to Filipino American Men and Women in the U.S. Military
Friday, June 9, 2006, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Lecture Hall, S. Dillon Ripley Center
Smithsonian Institution
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW
Washington, DC
From the Navy to the Army, Marines, Coast Guard, and the Air Force, Filipinos and Filipino Americans have been members of the U.S. military as early as the 1920s. This public program discussed the politics and policies that made the recruitment of Filipinos and Filipino Americans to the U.S. military possible and the many challenges they encountered within the ranks as Filipinos and U.S. citizens in the U.S. Armed Forces.
This public program also featured two noted Filipino American photojournalists and their images of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the military. Panelists included Major General Antonio Taguba, WWII veteran and retired Major in USAF, Valentine Ildefonso, Patricia Pasick, Cheryl Diaz Meyer, and Paul Tanedo. Irene Bueno, Filipino American Centennial Committee member, moderated.
Presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and co-sponsored by the American Coalition for the Filipino Veterans, Inc., National Network for Veterans Equity, and Japanese American Veterans Association.
Filipino American Activism and the American Labor Movement
Friday, April 14, 2006, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Meyer Auditorium, Freer Gallery of Art
Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20560
Early Filipino American history is largely a story of struggle as plantation workers and farm workers. Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz were among the early immigrants who became leaders of the farm workers. Filipinos initiated the strike that became the famous Delano grape strike of 1965.
Four renowned panelists gathered to discuss the rich history of Filipino American labor activism. They covered important events such as labor organizing among cannery workers in Alaska, and the activism of the next generation in the campaign to save the I-Hotel in San Francisco. The panelists also addressed contemporary issues facing Filipinos and Filipino American workers and the future of Filipino Americans in the labor movement.
The panelists included Augusto Espiritu, history professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Bill Sorro, community activist and board member of Manila Heritage Foundation; Cindy Domingo, board member of National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, co-founder of the Carlos Bulosan Historical Project, and legislative aide to King County council member Larry Gossett; and Tony Sarmiento, president and executive director of Senior Service America, Inc. and former assistant director of the AFL-CIO Education Department. The moderator was Gloria Caoile, former assistant to the president of AFSCME, AFL-CIO and current board member, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA).
The program also featured the musical group Agos with Rico Ortanez, Badette Navasca Ortanez, and Joe Penano. Agos is a Filipino American band that seeks to promote cultural and social awareness through music.
Presented by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. Free and open to the public.
2006: A Century of Challenge and Change: The Filipino American Story
February 10, 2006, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Carmichael Auditorium, National Museum of American History
14th Street and Constitution Avenue
Washington, DC
This public program provided an overview of Filipino American history- from American colonization of the Philippines at the turn of the century to the aftermath of the Immigration Act of 1965. Scholars discussed the Philippine American War and US media constructions of Filipino images. These images shaped the experiences of early Filipino immigrants.
Panelists discussed the history of immigrants who arrived in Hawai'i in 1906 to work on sugar plantations and those who migrated to the mainland. Panelists also discussed those who came in the 17th century with the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade who settled in Louisiana as well as the pensionados who arrived to study, beginning in 1903. They then focused on the "bridge generation" or the second generation Filipino Americans and the formation and development of Filipino American communities throughout the country during the 40s and the 50s. Finally, panelists explored the creation of a unique culture created after the radical changes initiated by the 1965 Immigration Act.
Panelists included Professors Enrique dela Cruz, Dean Alegado, and Pauline Agbayani.