INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEW WITH: Aurea Reyes and Bert Duane
PLACE: Oral History Office, Institute of Texan
Cultures
DATE:
INTERVIEWER:
August 5, 1989, Folklife Festival
Esther MacMillan
M: How do you spell it?
R: A-u-r-e-a.
M: A-u-r-e-a.
R: That's just my nickname. A-u-r-e-a.
M: A-u-r-e-a. How do you pronounce it?
R: Aurea.
M: Aurea Reyes .
R: Uh huh.
M: This is an interview with Aurea Reyes . The date is
August 5th, 1989; the place is the Oral History Office of
the Institute of Texan Cultures; and I am Esther MacMillan.
And what we are dealing with in this interview is the
Fil i pinos and their ••• how they fit into the Texas culture,
and can you t ell me when the first Filipino people came to
Texas? Do either one of you know?
R: I believe that the first Filipino that we know or we
heard i s the ••• Mr. Flores. He was here in 189 5 .
M: 1895?
REYES 2
R: Yes. He came here as a cabin boy.
r1: on a ship?
R: Right.
M: Did he dock down in Galves ton?
R: I exactly don ' t know.
M: Maybe Indianola.
R:
D: I think Galveston, could be.
R: Can he help me out?
M: All right , then, let me say I 'm adding to the
interview. What is your first name? You are?
D: Berton •.• Rick, the wino.
M: Bert Duane. Duane. And that Bert is B-e-r-t. All
right , we have two people now. Okay , you answer now.
D: We have couple of ships which ply goods from Manila to
Acapulco.
R: Ah, yeah .
D: Los Galleon was the ship which Mr. Flores rode
to .•• from Manila t o •••
R: ••. Acapulco.
D: Acapulco . Then from Acapulco, he come to Texas .
M: I wonder what made him come to Texas. Why didn't he
stay in Mexico? Didn ' t he like Mexico?
D: Maybe he did not like Mexico. I really could not tell
you. Acco~ding to the children and the grandchildren , Mr.
Flo~es was more or less an adventurous man.
M: Uh huh.
REYES
D: And he's ••• when he come to Texas, he stayed at
Rockport ••• then engaged in fishing industry.
M: He stayed at Rockport.
D: Rockport.
M: And engaged in what?
D: Fishing industry.
M: Fishing. Uh huh , t hat's how he got here.
D: That's how he got here.
3
M: That ' s what I want to know. That's the interest ing . ••
that ' s interesting, that he came in at Acapulco .
D: Yeah.
M: Did you name the ship?
D: No, I couldn't name the ship .
M: Well , you sa i d a word I didn ' t unde rs tand. He came
in?
D: Galleon trade.
M: What does that mean?
D: That is the ship that they were flying from Manila to
Acapulco .
M: Was what?
D: A sort of a • ••
R: Trading ship.
D: Trading ship .
M: Oh, a trading ship. Okay , okay . Hispana.
D: Yes.
M: Oh. Now, in many cases when I interview people who
have immigrated to Texas, they ' re g e tting • • . they are leaving
REYES 4
M: because the economic situation was bad, or they didn't
want to join the army, or some political reason , but this
guy was an adventurer.
D: Yes. He wanted •.•
M: He wanted to see what was on the other side.
D: Yeah .
M: That's what they say about the English, too, you know,
that they are great .•• great adventurers.
D: And while he was there , he married a Mexican in
Rockport; then he has children now, here in San Antonio,
Texas.
M: And his name was Flores?
D: Flores ••• Francisco Flores .
M: Francisco Flores.
D: He is from Cebu .
M: Cebu, all right.
D: Philippines.
M: Phil ippines . Okay. Now , the ••• r have ••. when the
Philippines was ceded to the United States by treaty with
Spain ..•
D: Yes .
M: And granted their independence in 1946.
D: Correct .
R: 1946?
D: Yes .
R: That was the ••.
D: Gule ••• gule.
REYES 5
R: That was the Philippine indepe ndence .
M: It says that in 1889 the Philippine Islands was ceded
to the United States by treaty with Spain.
R: Right.
M: And were granted their independence in 1946.
R: That ' s correct.
M: And then migration of Filipinos to Texas are fairly
recent. Most carne over between 1920 and 1960. That's
pretty recent, isn't it?
D: Yes.
M: What I want to know is •. . are the Filipino people here
in San Antonio, are they fairly •.• how do they say, do they
stick together? Do you live in the same area or are you ...
are you a tight community or are you scattered all over?
R: We are scattered all over.
M: Are you?
R: But we gather.
M: You get together.
R: Yes. Right , uh huh .
M: Do you keep any special customs from the Philippines?
R: We . •.
M: I mean like holidays and .••
R: We still do.
M: Do you?
R: Uh huh.
M: Like what?
R: Like .•• like , for example, like our Christmas. We still
REYES 6
R: do that just like they do there.
M: But is your celebration different from ours?
R: Uh ••• well, it's more or less the same now because we
have a cul ture of our •..
M: You've been here so l ong .••
R: Right, uh huh.
M: Are most of the Filipinos Catholics?
R: Mostly.
D: Yes.
M: The reason I asked that is that the Vietnamese people
coming over now, a lot of them are keeping their Buddhist
connections, but a lot of them are Catholics , you know . And
one Vietnamese I interviewed said that though he was a
Buddhist, he was taking his children to Catholic church,
too, so they could see two kinds of religion, which I
thought was very interesting.
R: That's being open-minde d .
M: Yeah, for his children to get both sides. I thought
that was terribly interesting. Well, now, so you don't live
together but you do keep ••• do you have a club or an
association or something?
R: Yes.
M: And that keeps you together, doesn ' t it?
R: Right. That's how we got into Texas Folklife .
MK: How did you get in? Through this organizat ion?
R: Right.
M: How long have you been in this ..• in the Folklife?
REYES 7
R: We started back in 1973, and in 1974 we started working
on this.
M: So, it's fifteen years.
R: So it must be 1975 when we had to list our .••
M: Fourteen years.
R: Right, at that time Claudia Bal l was the director of
the Folklife Festival.
M: Who was?
R: Claudia Ball.
M: Oh, yeah , Claudia. She 's here. Have you seen her?
R: No, I haven't.
M: She's he r e. She 's with the chuck wagon •.
R: Ooooh .
M: I haven ' t seen her, either, but she was on television
the other night.
R: Oh .
M: She's nice. I like her . She lives 'way out in West
Texas on a ranch. Doesn't get in here all that much. So ,
Claudia was running things when you started.
R: Right.
M: Is your booth popular?
R: We bel ieve so .
M: You do?
R: From what I ' ve heard.
M: Well, now, do people come up to your booth and say ,
''Hey, we want to know what the Philippines ..• " Do they ask
questions? Are they curious about the Philippines?
REYES 8
R: Yes.
M: Are they? That's what we want them ••• this, uh, the
whole point of this thing is not •.. I was just talking to an
Englishman, and he said that people come ••• They've got a
map of medieval England and with names, English names , and
he said people come in and say , "Oh, my ancestors came from
there", or something. So people are interested. Are
they ..• do people say, "Well, my folks came from the
Philippines", or "I've got a brother living there", or
something?
R: They do.
M: Uh huh. I ... a lady here in town has just done an
interview for me , and she's going to the Philippines next
month. And her daughter is married to a doctor who is with
the military in the Philippines ••• and so, she's all excited
about going to see the Philippines and what it's like and
what not. Have you bee n ove r there?
D: Yeah, I've been.
M: Have you been there?
R: Yeah.
M: Were you both born in the United States?
R: In the Philippines .
M: You were born in the Philippines? Were you? Do you
miss it?
R: I do.
M: Do you?
R: Uh huh.
REYES 9
M: Do you miss it?
D: I miss it.
M: Do you really?
D: Yes.
M: Do you think you 'll ever go back?
D: I wi ll. When I retire , then I 'm going back to the
Phi lippines.
M: Huh?
D: When I retire from my work, I 'm going back to the
Philippines.
M: Are you?
D: Yes.
M: You really are. Do you think you 'll ever get that
political thing settled over there?
R: Oh, I hope so.
M: Do you know •.• Imelda Marcos was on the ••• on the
television the other night, and she said , "That's not true
about my shoes~ I only had a thousand pair." (Laughter)
Have you got some things written there that ••• that you
wish .••
R: Just names. Those people are coming to the booth and
ask questions ... are servicemen or ex-servicemean .
M: Oh, are they?
R: Retired people, and say, "What part of the Philippines
are you from? I have been to Leyte." Some would say, "Do
you live, or have been 1. n. • . " , you know. Maybe those
people, those military men who were in World War II . • •
REYES 10
M: They're the ones tha t are interested •. •
R: Right.
M: The ones that have been there.
R: Uh huh.
M: It's not a strange land to them.
R: Yeah , and some people are from the Peace Corps .
M: Oh, really?
R: Right, that go over there. Yesterday there was the one
fellow who was speaking in dialect that I know.
M: Oh, really?
R: Yes.
M: For gosh sakes.
R: Yes, and what was so surprising ... he was talking in
Milocano. You see , I'm Milocano.
language.
r-1: Oh .
R: It's a bit different dialect.
M: Do you ••. ?
R: Uh huh.
M: You've kept yours.
R: Right.
It's not the national
M: How long have you been in San Anton i o?
R: Uh, since ' 70 •• • ' 68 .
M: '68.
R: Right.
D: Since '72. I stayed • .• (can't understand)
R: We carne to the States in 1961, and we lived in
REYES
R: Oklahoma. My husband was in the army then.
M: Ah.
R: He was in the service, and so that ' s how ...
M: That ' s how you got to San Antonio.
11
R: Right. That ' s how I came to the States and we lived in
Oklahoma. He was in the service then.
M: You do like livi ng in San Antonio?
R: Yes, and it is my • •• I live ••. I came to Texas by choice.
I was working at Fort Sill as a Civil Service employee.
M: Ah , yes.
R: I was • .• I was working there as a librarian.
M: Mmmm.
R: And it seems like I heard so much good about San
Antonio •.•
M: It's a good place .
R: My supervisor was .. . is from Texas, and he works at
Brooks Air Force Base and said, "Oh, you would love San
Antonio." So, at the first opportunity offered to me, I
took it ••• because I thought it was a .• • I was convinced it
was a good place, so . ••
M: It is, too.
R: Right.
M: It's a little bit unusual. It's a little bit • • . not
like ..• for instance , not like Dallas. Dallas is too big.
We've got a sort of a softer edge , I think, and •••
D: And it's diversified.
M: Yeah.
REYES
D: And popular. And it's ... it's just similar to the
Philippines. The Philippines , more or less, is a
diversified population.
M: Oh, is it? Uh huh.
D: Malaysian .
M: Yeah?
D: Chinese, Spanish, American •.•
M: Uh huh.
K: And all the Japanese and other races of the world.
12
M: And that mixes up and makes an interesting difference,
doesn't it?
D: Yes .
M: Except if you're all the same. But there isn't as much
diversity, as much variety. Tell me, now, what about the
Filipino food? What are you serving over there?
R: We ' re serving pancit, which is the ••.
M: Let me •. • I better spel l those out. How do you spell
that?
R: P-a-n-c-i-t.
M: Pancit. What is that?
R: It is like a counterpart of the Chinese ..•
D: Chow mein.
R: Chow mein. Something like that, but it's a Filipino
version.
M: Okay.
R: See , we have been influenced so much. See , the
Philippines is an ••• ! would not say totally oriental
REYES 13
R: country ••. just like other Southeast Asian countr i es .
M: Uh huh.
R: We are •.. we were influenced by Spain; we were
influenced by the Chinese; we were influenced by the
Japanese, Americans. We were under Spain f or more than 300
years. That's how we got our names •.• Spanish names .
M: Uh huh. And the Japanese and Chinese both .••
R: They did not •..
M: But they influenced you?
R: Right. Well, we were under Japan during World War II .
M: Well , now, I suppose they influenced your food, didn 't
they?
R: Yes.
M: Now , what e l se beside pancit?
R: vve have our lumpia.
M: Now , your lumpia is like a spring roll, isn't it?
R: Right , uh huh.
M: But what's different about it?
R: Spr ing roll? Uh, it ••• what you call it?
M: Egg roll, t hey call it sometimes.
R: Egg roll, yeah. It's a version of ••. a Phil ippine
version of the Chinese egg roll .
M: Okay.
R: That lumpia, the wrapper is not so thick as like the
Ch inese. The wrapper used by the Chinese are t hick , and t he
wrapper used by the Vietnamese are thin. So we are in
between .
REYES 14
M: You are in the middle?
R: Right.
M: Now , the thing that I don't like about the Chinese •••
it's always so full of cabbage. You put more than cabbage
in yours, don't you?
R: Yes. We put cabbage, but not too much.
M: What else goes in there?
R: Bean sprouts ..• uh ..•
M: Onions?
R: Onions, carrots •••
M: Carrots. Do you use any herb or any seasoning?
R: Uh ..• uh .•• celery.
M: Celery. Okay, all right.
R: We put potatoes, too.
M: Potatoes in there? Ah. I bet that's popular . Is that
a popular thing? Do you sell a lot of those?
R: Yes. We are always working, because we run •.. If we
don't, we run out.
M: I noticed the women were filling them right now •• . when
I came by your booth, they were filling those.
R: All day.
M: You keep making them?
R: Right.
M: People love these, don't they? Now , are you selling
just those two things?
R: We also have the ••• the Philippine version of barbeque.
M: Oh, do you?
REYES 15
R: Uh huh.
M: What 's that called?
R: Ine how.
M: I've got to spell that.
R: 1-n-i-h-a-w.
M: 1-n-i-h-a-w. How d id you pronounce that?
R: Inihaw. (Sounds like anyhow)
M: I n ihaw. And that ..• is it?
D: That 's called ..• (can't understand this very well at
all)
R: In ihaw.
M: Inihaw. Is i t beef or chicken?
R: This is pork.
M: Pork?
R: Uh huh.
M: And i t' s like barbeque?
R: Right .
M: That 's probably what smells so good when you come up
here.
D: Yes. Boy , that smells good.
M: Pork . Okay. Are you selling anything sweet?
R: No.
M: You don't s el l anything sweet . What about drinks? Do
you sell coke and stuff l ike that ?
R: Coke and beer .
M: And beer. And that's it?
R: Yes.
REYES 16
M: Do you feel .•• how do you feel about Folklife Festival?
R: Oh, it's my .•• it's my baby.
M: Is it?
R: It is. Since we organized this club, it has been .•.
M: It's your baby.
R: Yes.
M: And you like it?
R: It ' s been my project and I .•• I am one of those who
worked so hard to get into Texas Folklife Festival.
M: I' ve had the Khmer lady . She told about getting into
the Folkl ife Fest ival and said that they fe l t so lost. You
know, they stayed together in some place, and she found out
about Folklife Fes t ival and came and found out that there ' s
all this various people. And she felt so welcome, and it
made the difference in thei r lives entirely - this Folklife
Festival.
R: When we ••• when the Folklife Festival was new , I came
around here and looked at what was • • • what was there - the
exhibits and the e ntertainment - and I felt t hat we have so
much to offer.
M: Absolutely .
R: We •.• I felt this strongly that we had so much to offer
in food , in folk dance, and also our costume . I thought we
had so much to display .
M: You do, too .
R: Uh huh.
M: Is that lace top ••. is that typical? Philippine?
REYES 17
M: That's awfully pretty .
R: Thank you, yes.
D: It's typical.
M: Is that typ i cal? Is that Philippine?
R: Yes.
M: It is?
R: Right.
M: Cotton , I 'll bet.
R: No, not this one.
M: Polyester?
D: I think that this .•• pina.
R: No, not really ; I think this might be ••• We have also
the •.• this is the native material.
M: Uh huh?
R: But I also have a native one.
M: Do you? Is the long skirt typical?
R: Yes.
M: The flowers , the color s , the ••• print on the skirt.
R: Uh huh. The colors are flower prints of the blood
orch id.
M: Oh, yes.
R: My mother used to.
M: Do the women in the Philippines commonly wear a long
skirt like that?
R: My parents; my older people.
M: They still do?
R: Right. Yes.
REYES 18
M: You always hope ••• in Mexico you always .•. for instance,
you always hope they will keep the costumes but more and
more they're making, you know ••• getting away from it.
too bad.
R: Yes.
M: ' Cause they're so pretty.
It's
R: Yeah. I think, from what I see, even •.• even the othe~
nations, I think they want to copy the Americans . This way
of dress and •••
D: I think the Filipinos wanted to copy the way ..• the
American way of doing things, but they could not really do
it because they do not have the resources to back whatever
they bring out.
M: Yeah . They have to get ••• to make it . One of the
things I've discovered in interviewing ••• for instance, the
Czechs .•. they said that when they first came, they wanted to
be assimilated into the United States riqht away , and the
kids didn 't want to speak Czech - they wanted to speak
American. They wanted to do everything American, and they
sa id now, two or three generations later, the kids are going
to school to learn the Czech language. They are not ashamed
of it anymore . Do your people speak Spanish? Your kids ,
for instance, do they s peak Spanish?
R: No .
D: More or less, the peoples ••• they can go to the
Phi lippines and go to the remotest barrio ••.
M: Yes?
REYES
D: And they speak English •. • ninety five percent of the
people will understand you.
M: Really?
D: Yeah ••• because when the Americans conquered the
Philippines •••
M: Yeah.
D: They send pictures all over the barrios in the
Philippines •.• they were called the Tomas •••
R: Thornasites.
D: Yeah. Thornasites.
M: Oh?
R: I think that's about the place and the name of the
church that they carne from.
D: Yeah .
M: Oh, really?
R: Yeah .
19
M: Well , do you realize that the English is being spoken
all over the world now?
D: Yes.
M: It 's the international language , which is very
interesting to me because French for years was the inte r­national
language, and how it's become English , I don ' t
know. But I think I have such a hard ... I was studying
Spanish •.• and I had such a hard time learning a language.
And I think somebody foreign corning into this country and
t rying to learn English, gee, that must be a hard job ••.
' cause we use so much slang .
REYES 20
R: (Laughter)
D: It's so.
M: You know, we use so much idiomatic expressions, it must
be a very hard language to learn. My mother learned
Spanish when she was seventy. She had a flair for Eng • ••
for language. She just picked it up. I've been studying
Spanish for years, and I still am no good at it. I simply
can't learn another language eas ily, but I'm so g lad ••.
R: You have to live with them.
M: Yeah.
R: I know it. I feel •.•
M: My daughter lives in Spain and if it ••. I've got a
pretty good vocabulary and I can express myself, but I can't
understand when they talk .•• Have you ever been in Spain?
R: No.
M: They go rrrrrr, and I can't understand a word they
say. They talk so fast, and they do that th, you know; they
say platha (plaza). They do sah ••• catha •••
R: (Laughter)
M: I get over there and I'm just completely lost, but it 's
a good thing. How do you feel about the Folklife Festival?
D: I like it 'cause it more or less •.• it's a way o f
getting out of the daily work ••• and relaxation.
M: Is that so?
D: Yes.
M: Do you like talking to the people?
R:L Yes.
REYES 21
M: It's a good friendship feeling, isn't it?
R: Yes.
M: This English man that was interviewed just before you
came, said that year after year, you meet old friends and
friends you have made during the years, and he said that is
such a pleasant experience of the feeling of interchange of
friendship with eve rybody.
D: I totally ••. would be ••• when the Filipino arrive in
Tex •.• in San Antonio, and he meets another Filipino, then
this Filipino will tell him that there is somebody there
that is Filipino, there is somebody who is a Filipino,
that's why we come very close • ..
M: Keep in touch with each other.
D: Yeah •.. in touch with ones.
M: That's good.
D: We do not isol ate ourselves from our compatriots .
M: That's good. And you kind of keep some of your old
customs and traditions •••
D: Yes. We speak our own language when we are together.
M: That's nice. I think you should ••• You know that when
I was young, they called us a melting pot. Now, we don't
want to say melting pot anymore •••
R: Salad.
M: Because they want •••
(Laughter)
D: In the salad , you have your identity , when in a melting
pot you are •.• you j ust become one.
REYES 22
M: Yeah. But you're right ••. the salad ..• the tomatoes are
separate, the lettuce , the onions and the celery ••• that's a
good point . That's a good idea because each person is
keeping his identity.
R: That's how I look at Folklife - it's a salad, not a
melting pot.
M: That's nice. I've never heard anybody say that.
That's nice. I like that on the tape. That's good. I
thank you for coming .
END OF TAPE