Carlos Bulosan was the author of America is in
the Heart. His works also include an essay on one of the Four Freedoms, a
project commissioned during the time of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Bulosan was active during his time in the labor movement, promoting the rights
of Filipino farm workers.
Last April 28, Bulosan was the subject of an
all-day symposium, “America
is in the Heart for the 21st Century," at the Library of Congress in this
capital. Nine Bulosan scholars presented their papers, illuminating the
writer’s life and times. Reme Grefalda, founding editor of Our Own Voice,
coordinated the event in partnership with the Library of Congress Asian
Division Friends Society.
On April 29, the Carlos S. Bulosan
Archives was inaugurated at the Library’s Asian Reading Room at the Jefferson Building. Dr. Hwa Wei Lee, Chair of the
Library of Congress Asian Division, Dr. Anchi Hoh, special assistant to the
Asian Division chief, and Bulosan’s grand nephew and veterans advocate R Sonny
Sampayan were among those present at the historic event. Two years ago, the
Filipino Americans in New York City
opened a Carlos Bulosan section at a community library, and New Yorker Sampayan
donated a copy of the Bulosan freedom essay.
Eminent Bulosan scholar Dr. Epifanio San Juan,
Jr. led the panelists at the symposium here. Others were: Dr.Tim Libretti of
Northeastern Illinois University; Dr. Richard A. Baldoz, visiting fellow at Stanford University;
Dr. Susan Evangelista, Bulosan biographer from the Palawan
State University,
in the Philippines,
and the team of Asian American scholars Dr. Lane Hirabayashi and Ms. Marilyn
Alquizola. The papers presented centered on Bulosan’s novel, America is in
the Heart, and its relevance to the present times.
According to a news release by Armando Heredia
of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the
panelists were joined by Dr. Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza, formerly of Rutgers University,
and Jeffrey Cabusao, doctoral candidate from University of Michigan
who emphasized the relevance of Bulosan’s writings and ideology today. Cindy
Domingo, legislative aide to Councilmember Larry Gossett at the Metropolitan
King County Council in Seattle,
Washington, recounted the
Alaskeros’ experiences in the salmon cannery industry. She also stressed the
importance of Bulosan’s documentation of Local 37 activities.
Dr. Jorshi Sonza recalled Bulosan’s
prophetic words in 1943 which “predicted the concept of globalization.” Dr.
Baldoz described the circumstances that early Filipino migrations met in the
hands of White America: panic over being colonized by Filipinos as they came in
droves and threatened the social fabric of puritanical communities in the West
Coast. Film footage excerpts of the play, The Romance of Magno Rubio, adapted
by playwright Lonnie Carter from a
Bulosan short story, was shown courtesy of Ma-yi Theater Company of New York.
By Jennie L. Ilustre
