Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH) is an initiative organized by Assistant Professor of History Kathleen Gutierrez and Associate Professor of Sociology Steve McKay in collaboration with Roy Recio, founder of the Tobera Project aiming to preserve and uplift the history and heritage of Filipino families in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley.
In April 2022, the initiative launched a digital archive, directed by History graduate student Meleia Simon-Reynolds and HAVC graduate student Christina Ayson Plank documenting the stories of the “manong” generation (Ilokano/Tagalog for “older brother”) of Filipino migrant farmworkers who first settled in the Pajaro Valley in the early to mid-twentieth century.
To read more, download the full Watsonville is in the Heart Campus + Community Spotlight.