Source Set 1: Labor and Leisure


Source 1.A: Manuel Bersamin Interview by Dr. Steve McKay

In this interview clip, Manuel Bersamin describes the Filipino migrant agricultural labor during the early 20th century. He refers to these Filipino men as manong which means "older brother" in many Philippine languages. Manuel's father, Eulalio "Max" Bersamin worked as a field laborer in Central California and the Pajaro Valley for over fifty years.

ā€œManuel Bersamin interviewed by Steve McKay. Links to an external site.ā€ May 6, 2021. Bersamin Family Collection, Watsonville is in the Heart: A Community Archive and Research Initiative, accessed September 20, 2023.


Source 1.B: Man in the Cauliflower Fields

A black and white photograph of a man standing in a cauliflower field near Beach Road in the Pajaro Valley during 1970. The man is holding a harvested head of cauliflower. This photograph is part of a series of photographs included in the essay "Watsonville's Filipino Bachelor Community: Frontiers in Asian American Experiences." Anastacio wrote the essay and took the photographs while he was an undergraduate student at UC Santa Cruz.

Photograph described in text above

Asuncion, Anastacio. Man in the Cauliflower Fields. 1970 Links to an external site.. Photograph. Asuncion Family Collection, Watsonville is in the Heart: A Community Archive and Research Initiative, accessed June 29, 2023.


Source 1.C: A Group of Men Having a Meal in the Fields

A photograph of a group of men having a meal in an agricultural field. In the back row, from left to right are Marcelo "Marcel" Cardona Bosque, Leon Begonia, and an unidentified man. In the front, from the left to right are an unidentified man and Mike Buencoupo. This photograph was likely taken in San Juan Bautista or Watsonville.

Photograph described in text above

Unknown. "A Group of Men having a Meal in the Fields Links to an external site.." C.1930s. Photograph. Bosque Family Collection, Watsonville is in the Heart: A Community Archive and Research Initiative, accessed June 29, 2023.