Table Of ContentBECOMING MEXIPINO
Multiethnic Identities and
Communities in San Diego
Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.
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Becoming Mexipino
(cid:2)
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LATINIDAD
Transnational Cultures in the United States
This series publishes books that deepen and expand our knowledge and
understanding of the various Latina/o populations in the United States in
the context of their transnational relationships with cultures of the broader
Americas. The focus is on the history and analysis of Latino cultural systems
and practices in national and transnational spheres of influence from the
nineteenth century to the present. The series is open to scholarship in
political science, economics, anthropology, linguistics, history, cinema and
television, literary and cultural studies, and popular culture and encourages
interdisciplinary approaches, methods, and theories. The series grew out of
discussions with faculty at the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona
State University, where an interdisciplinary emphasis is being placed on
transborder and transnational dynamics.
Marta E. Sánchez, Series Editor, School of Transborder Studies
Rodolfo F. Acuña, In the Trenches of Academe: The Making of Chicana/o
Studies
Marivel T. Danielson, Homecoming Queers: Desire and Difference in
Chicana Latina Cultural Production
Rudy P. Guevarra Jr., Becoming Mexipino: Multiethnic Identities and
Communities in San Diego
Lisa Jarvinen, The Rise of Spanish-Language Filmmaking: Out from
Hollywood’s Shadow, 1929–1939
Regina M. Marchi, Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and
Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon
Priscilla Peña Ovalle, Dance and the Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex, and
Stardom
Luis F. B. Plascencia, Disenchanting Citizenship: Mexican Migrants and the
Boundaries of Belonging
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Becoming Mexipino
(cid:2)
Multiethnic Identities and
Communities in San Diego
rudy p. guevarra jr.
rutgers university press
new brunswick, new jersey, and london
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guevarra, Rudy.
Becoming Mexipino : multiethnic identities and communities in San Diego /
Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr.
p. cm. — (Latinidad : transnational cultures in the United States)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–8135–5283–5(hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–8135–5284–2
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–8135–5326–9
1. San Diego (Calif.)—Ethnic relations. 2. Mexican Americans—California—
San Diego—Social conditions. 3. Filipino Americans—California—San Diego—Social
conditions. 4. Community life—California—San Diego . I. Title.
F869.S22G78 2012
305.868(cid:2)7207307794985—dc23 2011032963
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British
Library.
Copyright © 2012by Rudy P. Guevarra Jr.
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permis-
sion from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100Joyce Kilmer Avenue,
Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by
U.S. copyright law.
Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
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For my parents, Angela and Rudy Guevarra
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Mexicans, Filipinos, and
the Mexipino Experience 1
1 Immigration to a Rising Metropolis 13
2 The Devil Comes to San Diego: Race and
Spatial Politics 41
3 Survival and Belonging: Civil Rights, Social
Organizations, and Youth Cultures 70
4 Race and Labor Activism in San Diego 92
5 Filipino-Mexican Couples and the Forging
of a Mexipino Identity 130
Epilogue 162
Notes 171
Index 227
vii
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Acknowledgments
I can honestly say this project began the day I was born. As a child, I never fully
understood what my experience as a Mexipino meant, other than being
instilled with a sense of pride for both my cultures. I grew up eating both
Mexican and Filipino food and observed the interactions of my relatives at
our family dinners and social gatherings, which were always mixed. What did
resonate with me, however, were the stories I heard growing up. I remember
sitting mesmerized by the family stories I heard at the dinner table whenever
my relatives would visit. My grandparents, uncles, aunts, family friends, and
parents would reminisce over old family stories that always fascinated me.
I had my favorite ones that I would ask them to repeat while my siblings or
cousins and I (whoever could stay up that late) listened attentively. Thus began
my love affair with our history and the oral tradition of sharing our family
narratives. Little did I know that later in life it would be those family stories
and the ones I heard from other Mexipinos who told their own histories over
the years that inspired me to share these narratives. Collectively, these stories
weave together into a narrative that is rich with cultural interactions and
identity formations, terms I would later know and be able to articulate as an
adult. I honor all my relatives, both Mexican and Filipino, who sacrificed
everything to come to the United States. They sought a better life for their fam-
ilies and future generations, and I am the beneficiary. Their stories inspired me
and will continue to live on through me. To them I send a loving and heartfelt
muchisimas gracias, agyamanak,and maraming salamat po.
I want to thank my mentors, past and present, who saw something in me
and believed in the story I wanted to tell. I have benefited tremendously from
their love, guidance, and support over the years. Our time together has been
and continues to be a blessing in my life. My mentors include Zaragosa Vargas,
Paul Spickard, David Gutiérrez, Catherine Ceniza Choy, Kathy Nakagawa, Carlos
Vélez-Ibáñez, Mary Romero, Rick Bonus, Michael J. Gonzalez, and Judy Liu.
ix
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x acknowledgments
I hope to carry your example to my students and be the kind of mentor, teacher,
and friend you have all been to me.
A big thank-you to my family, friends, and colleagues who took the time to
read my manuscript in parts or in its entirety; thank you all for providing me
with the valuable insights and critiques needed to shape it into what it has
become. I owe an intellectual debt to all of you. These include my brother Ben
Guevarra, Robert Soza, Karen Leong, Django Paris, Marivel Danielson, Jordan
Gonzales, Kelly Jackson, Seline Szkupinski-Quiroga, Joanne Rondilla, David
Torres-Rouff, Loan Dao, Chris Knaus, Cyndy Snyder, Oscar Fierros, and Tony
Zaragoza.
I also want to thank my friends and colleagues who have provided intellectual
encouragement throughout my career and supported this project in various
ways. These include Tracy Buenavista, Christine Hong, Luis Alvarez, Linda
Trinh Võ, Mary Danico, Evelyn Hu-Dehart, Vicki Ruiz, Reg Daniels, George
Lipsitz, Raúl Ramos, Yen Le Espiritu, María Raquél Casas, Michelle Tellez, Jason
Oliver Chang, Robyn Rodriguez, David Hernández, Victor Hugo Viesca, Melany
Delacruz-Viesca, Camilla Fojas, Rafael Zapata, Judy Patacsil, Felix Tuyay and
everyone in the Filipino American National Historical Society of San Diego, Lori
Pierce, Jonathan Okamura, Dennis Childs, Kip Fulbeck, Jerry Garcia, Gail Perez,
Alberto López Pulido, Douglas Daniels, Pablo Landeros, Jeff Moniz, Charlene
Tomas, John Rosa, Angelica Yanez, Marc Coronado, Matt Kester, Isaiah Walker,
Sharleen Nakamoto Levine, Margaret Hunter, Zeus Leonardo, Diane Fujino,
John Park, Ernesto Chavez, Angela Bruening-Miranda, Charlene Martinez
Qoalexenze, Natchee Blu Barnd Qoalexenze, Farzana Nayani, Jennifer Noble,
Fanshen Cox, Heidi Durrow, Marc Johnston, Laura Kina, Guillermo “Memo”
Pastrano, David Montejano, Dean Saranillio, Ingrid Dineen-Wimberly,
Lily Welty, George Sánchez, Chrissy Lau, Brianne Davila, Kimberly Hoang,
James McKeever, Mike Chavez, Alex Garcia, Lisa Marie Rollins, Fuifuilupe
Niumeitolu, Vika Palaito, Kehaulani Vaughn, Jimmy Patino, Victor Gomez,
Sarah Griffith, Rani McLean, Natalie Cherot, Zelideth Maria Rivas, Ku’ualoha
Ho’omanawanui, Ioane Ho’omanawanui, Sefa Aina, April Henderson, Richard
Griswold del Castillo, Rita Sanchez, Denise Segura, Joanie Cordova, Emily
Lawson, Rick Baldoz, Murray Lee, Darcy Ritzau, Mérida Rúa, Josef Castañeda-
Liles, Alex Fabros Jr., Xuan Santos, Gerardo Aldana, Brandon Yoo, Karen Kuo,
Wendy Cheng, Wei Li, Alan Gomez, Mary Margaret Fonow, Paul Espinosa,
Marta Sánchez, Lisa Magaña, Edward Escobar, Eileen Diaz McConnell,
Maria P. P. Root, Teresa Williams-León, Erika Lee, David Galbiso, Gilbert
González, Edward Slack Jr., Adrian Cruz, Mario Garcia, Dawn Mabalon, Helen
“HQ” Quan, Mario Montano, Cathy Schlund-Vials, Jose Alamillo, Melinda L.
de Jesús, Nancy Magpusao, Anna Gonzalez, Travis Smith, Faye Caronan,
JoAnna Poblete, Gina Velasco, Keith Camacho, Wesley Ueunten, Theo Gonzalves,
Martin Manalansan, Dylan Rodriguez, Dorothy Fujita-Rony, Emily Ignacio,
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