Why does one Internet site say the Unamuno landing in 1587 was not in Morro Bay?  Your instructors and librarians both tell you that when you visit Internet sites, it is important to be a critical thinker (see:  Hoax? Scholarly Research? Personal Opinion? You Decide!) because you never know who you are dealing with -- as that classic New Yorker cartoon says, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog".   Anyone can call themselves an historian, but more weight needs to be put on the word of an historian with academic credentials (a professor of history at a university, graduate degrees in history, published on this subject in an academic journal).

There are several facts to consider when looking into the Unamuno landing in California in 1587:

    (A)  Captain Unamuno was inexperienced, but ship's pilot Gomez was experienced.   We are indebted to Pedro de Unamuno because he was explicit in his ship's log when describing the Filipinos among them, the Indios Luzones -- many ship's logs of that time did not.   But although Pedro de Unamuno was an inexperienced captain and a last minute replacement for the untimely death of Francisco Gali, Unamuno's ship's pilot Alonso Gomez -- who put the landing at 35½° latitude, about where Morro Bay is located -- was very experienced.   Gomez had been the pilot on Gali's highly successful voyage as well as several others.   Some point to the workings of an astrolabe, although there is no mention that Gomez used one or relied solely on one.  

    (B)  Determining latitude was scientifically precise 67 years before 1587.   What is important to remember is that by 1587, determining latitude was no longer a problem, it was longitude that continued to baffle navigators.   Latitude was precise 67 years earlier, according to Dr. Patricia Seed, MIT visiting scholar and history professor at Rice University, at her award-winning Internet site, Forum on European Expansion and Global Interactions:
                                "By the 1520s Portuguese experts realized that the
                scientific precision equal to that they had achieved in fixing latitude
                could only be approximated in establishing longitude." [emphasis added]

    (C)  Henry Raup Wagner's research is respected by academic researchers.   Who is Henry R. Wagner, whose research is most referred to regarding the Unamuno voyage?   Long after his death in 1957, his many books and academic journal articles continue to be cited by academic historians.   To determine where Unamuno's landing site Puerto de San Lucas was, Wagner "made several trips to the coast in the neighborhood of 35½° ... the result has been to convince him that the Puerto de San Lucas was what is now known as Morro Bay".   Among his many contributions is the Wagner Collection of Mexican Broadsides at his alma mater, Yale University.   A few academic historians may not have pointed to Morro Bay, these discrepancies are covered in "Filipinos in Unamuno's California Expedition of 1587" (AMERASIA Journal, v.21,#3, Winter 1995-96).

    (D)  Unamuno did not mention the Morro Rock in his log.   Why didn't Unamuno mention the Morro Rock?   We don't know for sure, but we know Unamuno was inexperienced and that this was his first voyage as a captain.   There are also some additional circumstances that may be behind Unamuno's not mentioning the Morro Rock, see (E) below.

    (E)  In 1587, Morro Bay did not look like it does today.   The Morro Bay that Unamuno saw was different than what we now see there, as the configuration of Morro Bay has changed:

        (a) The original entrance to Morro Bay was from the north. The north entrance was closed in 1933 by the WPA construction of the jetty that now connects the Morro Rock to the shore and that changed the configuration of the area.  

        (b) The sand spit to the south had been originally fairly narrow and straight.

        (c) What we now see as the south channel had been dredged during WWII and the breakwater was also just constructed only in the 1940s.  

        (d) Before all of these changes, a sailing ship hugging the coast southward to Acapulco would have used the original northern entrance to enter the bay, and would have been well into the bay and docked near present-day White Point (near the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History), and perhaps missed the Rock due to heavy fog as it entered and left the bay.  

        (e) Most of us visit Morro Bay in the sunny months of summer, and although it is hard to imagine fog so heavy that you couldn't see the Morro Rock, award-winning photographer Robert W. Elayer proves to us how the Morro Rock can "disappear" in his photographic evidence that there are times, such as in October, when California coastal communities witness the familiar periods of almost zero visibility -- this condition can even happen on sunny days, with the marine layer.

To commemorate the Unamuno landing in Morro Bay, and the Filipinos in the landing party, an historical landmark was dedicated on October 21, 1995 by the Filipino American National Historical Society.   The ceremonies were attended by local dignitaries and over 600 FANHS members from all over the U.S. -- Thanks largely to the efforts of the FANHS-California Central Coast Chapter, and its former president, Ernie Cabreana.

            Please cite as:  "Was the Unamuno landing in 1587 in Morro Bay?",
                                in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                                http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#morrobay

(This section is under construction)

I don't have much experience doing research on religious topics, but as I librarian I will do the research to provide you with some information and credible references on Blessed Pedro Calungsod, who was martyred on Guam (now part of the USA) in 1672.

            Please cite as:   "Would Pedro Calungsod be the first Filipino American saint?",
                        in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                        http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#calungsod

11.  Which is that Chicago library with Filipino materials?

I believe you mean the Newberry Library in Chicago.  As a professional librarian, I am happy to give you a guide to the resources of the Newberry Library, with focus on Philippine research.  The information you need is at the Newberry Library website itself.

The special collections at the Newberry Library that reflect early American interest in the Philippines are:
        • The Ayer manuscript collection
        • Edward E. Ayer Collection
        • Philippine History Bibliographies (lists of books available in the NL)

Of special note on the last link above, it includes:
        Phelan, John Leddy. "The Philippine Collection in the Newberry Library."
        The Newberry Library Bulletin 3.8 (1955): 229-236.
whose author, Phelan, wrote the much referenced The Hispanization of the Philippines.

Also on this bibliography of bibliographies is an index of their Philippine Photograph Collection:
        Newberry Library. "A Tribal and Subject Index to the Philippine Photograph Collection."
        Unpublished, n.d. call number: Special Collections Reference

Also of interest is the NL collection:
        • Spanish-American Manuscripts (also in the Ayer collection)

To search the catalog for particular books or manuscripts, click on "Search the On-Line Catalogue" from the:   Collections & Catalogue page.

NOTE:  You will have to use the onsite Card Catalog, because:
    "The online catalogue: catalogue records added since 1978. Please note that the online catalogue has catalogue records for only 10-15% of the Newberry's holdings. Unless the work was published post-1978, you should consult both Newberry catalogues."

Try a search using the keywords: blair robertson to see just a few manuscripts (added post-1978) from the Ayer Collection that is referenced in the indispensable reference work:
        • Blair, Emma Helen and James Alexander Robertson.
          The Philippine Islands 1493-1803.   55 volumes.
          Cleveland, OH: The Arthur H. Clark Co. 1903.

About instructions to visitors at the Newberry Library, see:
        • Using the Newberry Library: Frequently Asked Questions

I hope I have provided the help you need.  In case you have questions I have not answered, direct those to the librarians at the Newberry Library itself -- "Feel free to contact the Newberry Library Reference Department (reference@newberry.org) with questions."  Good luck on your research, and please keep me informed of your progress and the focus of your research.

                Please cite as:   "Which is that Chicago library with Filipino materials?",
                                in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                                http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#newberry

12.  Was the Yo-Yo really a weapon?   [and other Yo-Yo myths]

The myth of the Yo-Yo being a Filipino weapon was well addressed in Debunking Yo-Yo Myths by Virgilio Pilapil, former president of the Filipino American National Historical Society, a paper presented on June 29, 2000 at the 2000 National FANHS Conference, held at the Virginia Wesleyan College, Virginia.  Based on research which included personal interviews with town elders in the Philippines, the conclusion reached was that the stories about how the Yo-Yo was a Filipino weapon, did NOT originate in the Philippines.

However, since this urban legend persists on the Internet, here again are the documented facts.

In the book, The Klutz Yo-Yo Book by John Cassidy (Klutz Press, 1987), Donald Duncan Jr. is quoted to say that his uncle brought the idea to Duncan Sr. that the yo-yo being an early Filipino weapon would make a good marketing ploy. [Thanks to Daniel Volk, a former Duncan Yo-Yo demonstrator, for providing this citation]

        "Tom Ives, my uncle, was with my father in the early days marketing yo-yos, and
        it could be that he started the idea.  Probably embellished a rumor he'd heard."
                                                                                        -- Donald Duncan, Jr.

Add to this the evidence from physicist Wolfgang Burger, who scientifically challenged the idea of a Yo-Yo being a weapon because, among the points he made, the Yo-Yo is weakest at the point of full extension.

        "The unwinding string acts as a significant brake,
        slowing down the Yo-Yo and softens impact at the bottom."
                                        -- Wolfgang Burger. "The Yo-Yo: A Toy Flywheel"
                                        American Scientist, March-April 1984 (vol.72), p.137-142

Please help set straight this urban myth.  Too many respected Internet sites, who should know better, have relied on sources that are not documented (unlike the above sources), and thereby help promulgate this urban myth.  Please send the link to this section to any website that still repeats this urban myth.  Thanks.

The Museum of Yo-Yo History got this right:
        "Contrary to popular belief, the yo-yo was never a weapon."

        Please cite as:   "Was the Yo-Yo really a weapon?",
                                in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                                http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#yoyo

13.  Where are the concentrations of Filipinos in the U.S.?

(This section is under construction)

San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago come to mind, initially.   You can say that Filipinos are everywhere in the U.S., but they are invisible -- a common quote goes, "Filipino Americans?   That's a best kept secret!".

Los Angeles also has a large population of Filipino Americans, and a revitalized Historic Filipinotown in the City of Los Angeles (bounded by 101 Freeway to the north, Beverly Blvd. to the south, Hoover St. to the West, and Glendale Blvd. to the East).  

Even Long Beach, also in Southern California, has a Filipino Neighborhood, declared by the Long Beach City Council in 1992, it is located in West Long Beach (centered along Santa Fe Avenue from 20th Street to Spring Street).

Here are some examples of Filipino community histories and Filipino/Manila towns across United States:

• Filipino Americans in Chicago by Barbara Posadas
• Filipino Americans in Seattle by Cynthia Mejia-Giudici -- also Fred & Dorothy Cordova
• The Filipino Community in the greater Los Angeles Area by Paul Dia
• Little Manila (Stockton, CA) - around Lafayette and El Dorado Streets
• Manilatown (San Francisco)
• The Filipino Community in New York City by Lourdes Marzan, Asian Am, Queens College.
• Manila Avenue (Jersey City, NJ)

            Please cite as:   "Where are the concentrations of Filipinos in the U.S.?",
                        in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                        http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#communities

14.  Any oral history examples on Filipino Americans?

Here are a few oral histories available on the Internet.   These include transcript, audio and video examples.   Hope you make yours available online when you school project is done, so others can benefit from it.

• Al Baguio farm worker (on cockfights) -- Filipinos in the Fields - Coastridge audio
• Frank Barba Filipino Labor Contractor -- Agricultural History, UCSC transcript
• Fred and Dorothy Cordova FANHS founders -- Seattle Civil Rights, U Wash. video
• Sugar Pie DeSanto singer/songwriter/recording artist -- Fillmore Stories, PBS   video
• Apolonia Dangzalan: Businesswoman -- Agricultural History, UCSC transcript
• Vicki Draves 2X Gold 1948 Olympics U.S. Diving Team -- LA84 Foundation transcript
• Andy Imutan V.P. United Farm Workers -- Filipinos in the Fields - Coastridge audio
• Alfonso Ossorio abstract artist -- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian transcript
• Bob Santos activist (civil rights movement) -- Seattle Civil Rights, U Wash. video
• Jess Tabasa (taxi dancing, Tobera killing) -- Filipinos in the Fields - Coastridge audio

            Please cite as:   "Any oral history examples on Filipino Americans?",
                        in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                        http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#oralhistory

15.  Who are the early Filipino American music legends ?

Where do I start?!!   At least from the time the Philippines was an American colony, way before apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, Filipinos were on the American music scene.   There were Filipinos in the U.S. Navy Bands before WW1, in marching bands at World's Fairs before and after 1904, in orchestras on American cruise ships in the 1920s and 1930s, and among musical performers in the Traveling Chautauquas in the early 1900s.   There were LOTS of Filipino musicians in our American past.

Let me list just a few names that would be fairly easy to find more information on, and to write about in your paper.

• Danny Barcelona -- drummer, Louis Armstrong's All-Stars band, 1958 until Satchmo died 1971
• Joe Bataan -- King of Latin R&B, his discography, "most famous Afro-Filipino in East Harlem"
• Billy Hinsche -- of Dino, Desi & Billy, now Ricci, Desi & Billy, & Beach Boys - Interview
• Joseph "Flip" Nunez (1931-1995) -- jazz pianist-vocalist-composer, born in Stockton, LA-raised
• Larry Ramos -- with New Christy Minstrels, then with The Association - audio of Cherish, Windy
• Rocky Fellers -- Dinah Shore, 1960; Killer Joe #16 Billboard’s Top 100, 1963; Great Big World

    Please cite as:  "Who are Filipino American music legends ?",
                        in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                        http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#musicians

16.  What is the origin of the poster, Positively No Filipinos Allowed ?

The photo used in this poster is credited to Sprague Talbott, Look magazine photographer, in the book, One Nation by Wallace Stegner (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1945).   This photo appears on page 43 of this now out-of-print book, as part of its Chapter 2 titled, "Legally-Undesireable Heroes: The Filipino in America".   This photograph may be easier to locate and view in the currently in-print book titled, Filipinos, Forgotten Asian Americans by Fred Cordova (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1983), where it appears on page 114.

This is just one of several signs seen in California in the late 1920s and 1930s.   Another such sign read, No Dogs or Filipinos Allowed.   It was a time when Filipino were made to feel unwelcome and were even victims of racial violence.   Anti-Filipino riots broke out in Exeter in the San Joaquin Valley, in Watsonville, and even spilled over into other communities in California, such as Stockton.

        Please cite as:   "What is the origin of the poster, Positively No Filipinos Allowed ?",
                                in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                                http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#poster

17.  How do I learn about an ancestor who was a student Pensionado ?

Glad you found an ancestor among the names in Eloisa's List: Filipinos in America - Early Names Index.  I am not a genealogist, although as a librarian, I did provide a list of sources for tracing Filipino ancestors, and I did write an article identifying research sources for local history on a person in Collecting Family Stories, Saving Filipino American History.

The earliest Pensionados arrived in the United States from the Philippines in 1903.  A list of the Pensionados who came in the first few years are listed in the publication, Directory of Filipino students in the United States, which may be available at a local university or public library in the city where you live.  Bryan Quisquirin, a FANHS member, has provided online Pensionados lists from 1903, 1904, and 1905.

Here are some additional resources on these Pensionados.  Pensionados: Riverside's First Filipinos was an exhibit at the Riverside Metropolitan Museum (Riverside, California) in 2003, which celebrated "100 Years of Filipinos in Riverside", curated by UC-Riverside PhD, Christian Trajano.  The Sutherland-McManus Papers, 1868-1990 is located in the Rio Grande Historical Collections at the New Mexico State University Library.  William Alexander Sutherland was in charge of the Pensionado Program.  Mario Orosa did research on Pensionados while writing the story of his father, Vicente Ylagan Orosa, who was a Pensionado in 1906.

Filipinos in the Philippines kept coming to the U.S. through the 1920s and 1930s to attend universities throughout the United States, and increasingly they paid their own way.  The Philippines was a U.S. colony, and Filipinos were U.S. nationals who could travel freely into the U.S.

    Please cite as:  "How do I learn about an ancestor who was a student Pensionado ?",
                        in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                        http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#pensionados

18.  When were the Waves of Filipino immigration to America ?

What a great question!  I wish there were a simple answer, but even academics may disagree on a single set of years to correspond to the Waves of Filipino Immigration to America.  Just glance down the column for the 2nd Wave in the following table, and you can’t miss the lack of uniformity, even with this limited sample of sources.

What appears to be confusion underscores the fact that so little is known about the history of Filipinos in America.  So much research still remains to be done before the rich, multi-faceted and long history of Filipinos in America can fully unfold for students and everyone to learn.  As new or newly-uncovered information is found, previous conclusions need to be revisited.  Beware of those unwilling to open their minds to new credible research, the truth is not their goal. 

If you would like an interesting example of how new information over time redefines the accepted body of knowledge, consider researching the argument of whether the coconut is indigenous to the Americas.  As a side benefit, if you engage in this exercise, you may learn of the Filipino contributions to the origin and cultivation of coconut in the Colima province of Mexico in the sixteenth century.

To help you with your current paper, perhaps it may help if you focus on one of the arrival groups of Filipino immigrants to America.  Here is a quick list. 

Crew on Sailing Ships of Exploration
Seamen during the Manila Galleon Trade
Servant Women and Concubines on Galleons
Chieftains exiled to New Spain
Merchant Mariners 1830- (for American ships)
Pensionados 1903- (Filipino students)
Sakadas 1906- (contract workers in Hawaii)
Alaskeros (workers in Alaska fisheries)
Steamship Crew (for Cunard Lines and others)
U.S. Navy Musicians
WWII Military Recruits
War Brides (after WWII)
Post 1965 Professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.)
Mail Order Brides
Vietnam Era Military Recruits


        Please cite as:   "When were the Waves of Filipino immigration to America ?",
                                in  Americans of Filipino Descent - FAQs  by Eloisa Gomez Borah
                                http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/eloisa.borah/filfaqs.htm#waves

Compiled by Eloisa Gomez Borah
©1997-2008  Eloisa Gomez Borah  All Rights Reserved.

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