Gawaen Tayo!

(Pangasinan phrase for “Go for it!”)

Cynthia Mejia-Giudici

1968, age 15, first visit. 1976 age 24, second visit, my roots trip. I stayed three months and travelled from as far north as the Banaue Rice Terraces, to as far south as Zamboanga, then east to Mayon Volcano.

As a second-generation Filipina, it was important to see my parents’ homeland. Both from Pangasinan, immigrating here at a young age: Tiburcio, age 18 in 1929 and Consolacion, age 22 in 1951. My mother always told us to be proud of our Filipino heritage even though we would, most likely be, the only “brown people” in the room.

While in the Banaue Rice Terraces, Mrs. Joseph Bas invited me to meet her husband, Joseph, a woodcarver. So, we traversed along the cliffside, narrow pathways on the side of the rice fields. The spoons he carved were on display, each spoon with a carving of a native figure at the tip of every spoon. The one with a native figure squatting with a slight smile revealing tiny teeth and even dressed in a loincloth was captivating.

Joseph Bas carving a spoon. Photo by Cynthia Mejia-Giudici.

I consider it a responsibility to educate the greater public about Filipinos and their history. My knowledge of Philippine history is almost nil; however, I would like to still help to advocate for the display and discussion about Philippine art in the public mainstream. My field of study has been focused on the history of Filipinos in the United States with a focus on those who came during the 1920’s until the 1960’s. I have written and studied about Filipino history in the US, originating from a book, The Filipinos in America 1898-1974 (Ocean Press, NY, 1975). This book was a collaboration between my college professor, Dr. HC Kim and me. My task was to gather information about Filipinos throughout the United States through reading community newspapers, microfilm, interviewing old newspaper editors and reporters. From all this information, the book with a chronology of events was published. Unfortunately, this book has been out of print for several years, but the content is still useful.

Now almost 50 years later since that visit to the Philippines, I have worked in the Filipino community as an advocate. Advocacy and persistence encouraged me to approach institutions, such as the Seattle Asian Art Museum, The Wing Luke Museum, the Filipino Community Center of Seattle, HistoryLink.org, and the Filipino American Historical Society. Such relationships have produced museum exhibitions, such as Sheer Realities: Clothing and Power in Nineteenth Century Philippines (Seattle Asian Art Museum, 2000) and I AM FILIPINO (Wing Luke Asian Museum, 2012-current) and written material. My latest collaboration was to add the title FILIPINO TOWN on the Seattle streetcar which traverses through the Seattle Chinatown-International District (CID). This effort was to validate the presence of Filipinos in the CID who had lived, worked, and patronized businesses there. Research revealed 88 Filipino-owned and operated businesses from as early as the 1920s to the 1990s.

In 2024, I was invited to join the Building the Barangay advisory group. It was a unique opportunity to work on the university level with academicians and museum specialists. It was my understanding to contribute ideas regarding the Filipino community in Seattle.

Why not reach out to our Filipino community in hopes of meeting the people for whose these items would have meaning? Two women from the Filipino Community of Seattle were from the Cordilleras who introduced me to more members of the group. So when several members of the BIBAK (an acronym for five indigenous groups: Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, and Kalinga) group were invited to view 1,500 artifacts from the northern Philippine Indigenous group at the Burke Museum, I joined them.

My heart skipped a beat when perusing the items. It was a thrill to experience the BIBAK members’ reactions. They, too, were delighted, enchanted, emotional. Some remembered using or their relatives using the same type of materials in the collection which included, weapons, textiles, cooking utensils, baskets, nose flutes. Members playacted using the weapons in a mock fight. Some respectfully touched the woven materials, the textiles. And when I looked at the drawers full of carved spoons, I was taken back to my visit to the Cordillera mountains. These carved objects made me smile. Made me wonder: did Joseph carve any of the spoons in the collection?

After the tour, the members asked: Why not display these items for the public to see?

I am 100% in support of such an exhibit. Their voices and influence are greatly needed for this idea to come to fruition.

In closing, my reflections are:

There is still more work to do. If you see something that is not right, or if you know something has been overlooked:

Speak up!

Do your research. Gather information. Be intentional in your efforts.

Align yourself with fellow advocates, activists, those who share your passion.

I have been blessed and fortunate to have found my own path with a firm foundation. I am still trying to be the best Pinay I can be.

Community partners including Cynthia (pictured in the center) in front of the Filipino Town streetcar. Photo credited to Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

The work done at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Wing Luke Museum, the Burke Museum, the Filipino American National Historical Society, and the Seattle Streetcar project (Filipino Town Coalition), are just some examples, I could share and celebrate Filipino American and Philippine art and history.

Cynthia Mejia-Giudici (MA, Education of the Deaf) is a retired educator who has taught in the Washington DC area, Seattle, and Kyoto, Japan. She is a published writer, community advocate, and oral historian. Her work includes Filipinos in America 1898-1975, coedited with HC Kim (1976), "Deaf Filipinos in Seattle: Part of the Community," a chapter in Filipino Americans: Transformation and Identity, edited by Maria Root (1999), "Filipinos in Seattle's Chinatown-International District" (Wing Luke Asian Museum, 2023), articles in HistoryLink.org, and in community newspapers. Mentored by Dorothy Cordova to conduct oral interviews, Cynthia was part of the Washington State Bicentennial Oral/Aural history project of Filipinos who came to the US in the 1920s and 1930s (1975). Cynthia is the daughter of Tiburcio (US Navy) and Consolacion (Philippine war bride) from Pangasinan province. She is ina (Pangasinan, mother) of three and bai (Pangasinan, grandmother) to seven apo and is the former Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) Seattle Chapter President and national FANHS trustee.