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Length: :55 Peter Yamamoto, Lou Syquia, and Oscar Peñaranda describe Al’s unique character.
Excerpts from “Manilatown Is In The Heart” by Curtis Choy.
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Length: 1:30 In 2005, Norman Jayo took Al Robles, Lou Syquia, and KPFA radio producers on a trip to the Hopi Nation with stops at Agbayani Village and the Grand Canyon.
Clips provided by First Voice Media Action Program at KPFA.
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Length: :30 Rosalyn Tonai and Peter Yamamoto remind us of Al’s strong connection to the Fillmore District.
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Length: :45 Peter Yamamoto and Lou Syquia explain how Al mixed together his love for manongs, poetry, and food.
Additional photo by Joe Born under a Creative Commons license.
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Length: 1:38 Lou Syquia and Peter Yamamoto remind us that Al was not just a poet, but also a soulful musician.
Excerpts from “Manilatown Is In The Heart” by Curtis Choy.
Additional photo by Rick Miller under a Creative Commons license.
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Length: 1:09 Peter Yamamoto recalls traveling with Al to Manzanar, one of the sites where Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated during World War II.
Additional photos by Dave Golden, Robert Garcia, John B Muller, Ken McCown, DB Hershman, Gann Matsuda, and Daniel Mayer under a Creative Commons license.
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Length: 1:23 Lou Syquia talks about Al’s life-long commitment to serving seniors.
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Length: :57 Lou Syquia and Virginia Cerenio-Jordan talk about the impact of Al’s poetry.
Excerpts from “Manilatown Is In The Heart” by Curtis Choy.
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Length: :58 Virginia Cerenio-Jordan and Peter Yamamoto talk about Al’s skill at getting the Filipino seniors to share their life stories with him.
Excerpts from “Manilatown Is In The Heart” by Curtis Choy.
Manongs of Manilatown: The Inspiration of Al Robles Project Personnel
Ron Muriera, Executive Director
Rissa Duque, Program Coordinator
Chelsea Sullivan, Administrative/Facilities Officer
Isaac Obenzinger, Program Assistant/Volunteer Coordinator
DiAnne Bueno, Administrative/Program Assistant
Ellen-Rae Cachola, Archival Coordinator
Evelyn Luluquisen, Archival Assistant
Nancy Hom, Arts Curatorial Consultant
Robert Hsiang, Digital Scanning & Output
Featured Photographers
Tony Remington, Chris Huie, and Chris Fujimoto
Website
Derek Chung: Website Production
Desu Sorro: Webtech Admin
Robynn Takayama: Producer, Director, Video Editor
Interviews with: Virginia Cerenio-Jordan, Oscar Peñaranda, Lou Syquia, Rosalyn Tonai, and Peter Yamamoto.
Additional Audio and Video Clips: Excerpts from ‘Manilatown Is In The Heart’ by Curtis Choy, First Voice Media Action Program at KPFA, San Francisco Arts Commission
Additional Photos: Robert Hsiang, Robynn Takayama, and the Manilatown Heritage Foundation Archives.
Funders
Manongs of Manilatown: The Inspiration of Al Robles is made possible, in part, through the support of the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants, the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, and the California Arts Council.
Manilatown Heritage Foundation also thanks the James Irvine Foundation, the Dado and Maria Banatao Family Fund and the many individual contributors to this project and to the Manilatown Center.
Special thanks to: Chris Durazo, Dioscoro R. Recio, and Tony Robles.