History San José honors Filipino American History Month

SAN JOSÉ, California –The entire month of October celebrates Filipino American History Month (FAHM). This year History San José (HSJ) will hold a series of events with activities for both families as well as adult education.

In partnership with the Filipino American National Historical Society’s (FANHS) Santa Clara Valley Chapter, History Park will host a Filipino American History Day on Saturday, October 13 at History Park, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This family day celebrates the heritage, and features culturally significant music, dancing, performances, Filipino food, and children’s crafts and activities.

Also on this day, the exhibit Through My Father’s Eyes, a photographic experience documenting Filipino American life in San Francisco during the 1940’s and 1950’s, will be highlighted at the Gallery in the Pacific Hotel at History Park.

Admission is free for History San José members, adults are $8 each, children five and under are free, and seniors and students are $5 with valid identification.

Then on Saturday, October 27, A Photographic Field Trip with Master Photographer John Paulson, will offer an adult educational workshop. A hands-on photographic workshop, attendees will be invited to bring their own camera & tripod. After viewing the Through My Father’s Eyes exhibit, Paulson will share exposure, lighting, composition ideas, etc. with participants using History Park as a backdrop.

The workshop is from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and costs $15 for HSJ members, $25 for non-members, and includes weekend admission to History Park. Reservations are recommended by contacting Barbara Johnston at 408 918-1047.

Later that same day in the Empire Firehouse at History Park, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., is Reclaiming Our Stories, Creating New Images. Created by the Alvarado Project, who also curated the exhibit Through My Father’s Eyes, the program will include speakers and discussions of Filipino American culture.

The Program includes the following speakers with time for Q. & A. from the audience:

* Presentation of Grandmothers and Aunties: two generations of women bridging 3rd generation Filipino American writer/educator, Lisa Suguitan Melnick to her “roots”

* Performance of Evangeline (Vangie) Canonizado Buell’s Story,

“7 Card Stud & 7 Manangs Wild”

* Reading by Oscar Penaranda, Poet Laureate

* Admission is free for History San José members, adults are $8 each, children five and under are free, and seniors and students are $5 with valid identification.

* Light refreshments will be provided.

The exhibit will run through January, 2013: Through My Father’s Eyes: The Filipino American Photographs of Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado (1914 – 1976) is a collection of 50 photographics chosen from more than 3,000 discovered by his daughter, Janet Alvarado after his death. This exhibit offers a rare view into the daily life of the Filipino-American community in the post-World War II era in the Bay Area.

Ricardo Alvarado emigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1928, part of the early 20th-century wave of immigrants known as the ‘Manong Generation,’ meaning ‘older brother’ in the Ilocano language. He served in the Pacific Theater with the U.S. Army’s First Filipino regiment during World War II. When the war ended, Alvarado supported his passion for photography by working as a civilian cook at Letterman Hospital at the Presidio Army base in San Francisco. For more than 20 years following the war, Alvarado documented postwar Filipino American life. His poignant photographs capture every aspect of day-to-day activities, public and private.

Alvarado’s photography was more than a hobby. He photographed weddings, funerals, baptisms, and parties. His ‘view camera,’ a Speed Graphic, documented street scenes, beauty pageants, cock fights, agricultural workers tending crops, and entrepreneurs on the job.

The exhibit is at the Gallery in the Pacific Hotel at History Park in Kelley Park. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Museum Store and O’Brien’s Café are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Gallery admission: Tuesday through Friday is free; Saturday and Sunday: Free for HSJ members, Adults $8, Seniors and Students $5, Children under 6 are free.

For more information visit www.historysanjose.org or www.thealvaradoproject.com

About History San José

History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology.

History San José     1650 Senter Road     San José, CA  95112       408.287.2290

www.historysanjose.org

About The Alvarado project

The Alvarado Project is a non-profit founded in 1998 and is headed by Executive Director Janet Alvarado. The Alvarado Project has an advisory board. It is a community-based volunteer organization of artists, students, and educators. The project seeks to foster

multicultural understanding, strengthen the community through art, cultural programs, and collect historically significant artifacts and material about the Filipino American community.

www.thealvaradoproject.com

About Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS)

Founded in 1982, the Filipino American National Historical Society is a national organization with 28 chapters throughout the United States. The Society’s mission is to promote, preserve and document the contributions of Filipino Americans to the United States and to provide education on the significance of the Filipino American experience. www.fanhs-santaclara.org