The Mexipino Experience A personal reflection of a multiethnic community in San Diego By Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr. Growing up in a multicultural household was normal to me. I have fond memories of watching my abuelito (grandfather) tend the guava tree he grew for my mother while singing along to the Mexican rancheros that blared from his tiny radio on a rusty table tray in the backyard. When my mother called him in for lunch, he would start whistling, while Linda Ronstadt’s Canciones de mi Padre echoed from the house. We both knew that we would be eating caldo de res con arroz (beef soup with rice). Watching my abuelito eat was a celebration of singing, laughing, and smiles. My mother would be warming up tortillas, filling the house with her love and delightful aromas of comida Mexicana (Mexican food). As a child, I also remember my other grandfather, or tata, coming by monthly to visit us from San Francisco, where he lived. I would stand in the kitchen and watch him and my mother cook Filipino delicacies, such as chicken adobo (a dish of marinated vegetables and meat or fish served with rice), pansit (noodles), and lumpia (egg rolls). He would have us in tears laughing to his jokes, while the smell of soy sauce and vinegar permeated the entire house. From them I learned to cook both Filipino and Mexican food by watching, listening, and partaking in the joyous occasions that we got to spend with each other as a family. I loved this experience. I had the best that both cultures could offer: food, family, and memories. Many of our family functions centered on these experiences. We often ate Filipino food while listening to Mexican music, bathing ourselves in the multicultural experience that was for me the essence of being a multiethnic Mexipino. As a child, I thought I had a unique experience. Besides my siblings, I thought I was the only one who had this lived experience of being both Mexican and Filipino. Oftentimes my Mexican and Filipino friends did not know that I was both, because my physical features looked more Mexican to them (whatever that meant). When I let them know that I was also Filipino, I got the look over, then the eventual “Yeah, now I can tell by your eyes,” as if that were the only way I could be recognized as Filipino. I soon found out over the years that I was not the only one among my friends who shared in this distinct experience. ______________________ I thought I was the only one who had this lived experience of being both Mexican and Filipino. ______________________ As I grew older, I met other friends who were also Mexipino. In college, this number was even greater than I imagined. Not only did I meet those who shared in my multiethnic background, but I also met others who had relatives who shared in this identity. Oftentimes I heard, “Yeah, my tia (aunt) is married to a Filipino.” We laughed at the fact that we had similar stories of eating both Mexican and Filipino food at dinner and other family functions, as well as the smells that came out of our kitchens. I had one friend who often joked that he was the only guy in his barrio who ate burritos and bagoong (fermented salted fish paste). Another friend told me that his favorite thing to eat during Christmas was pancit and tamales. These were fond memories that we all shared, which strengthened our identity as we spoke more about our families and our lives. In sharing these stories we would also exchange labels that we identified with, such as Mexipino. Other terms we identified with included Filicano, Chilipino, Flipsican, Jalapino, Chicapino, Flippin’ Mexican and fish taco, among others. We laughed at the terms we called ourselves, all the while sharing in a sense of pride that we had a language that described our distinct experience. We were a small but growing group within two separate communities that reflected our multiethnic history. It was these experiences, as well as the historical factors that led to this identity formation, that shaped my ideas for what eventually became my dissertation in graduate school. In looking into the experiences of Mexipinos, I found out a lot about the communities that we grew up within San Diego, as well as what it meant for other areas that had large Mexican and Filipino populations. Through the sharing of stories, oral histories, and research on this topic, I also learned more about who I was and how far my family’s (as well as others’) history is rooted in San Diego and the Mexipino experience. San Diego, California has long been an area of settlement for both Mexicans and Filipinos since the early twentieth century. As a border town with Tijuana, Mexico, San Diego has had a continuous influx of Mexican immigration. San Diego is also home to the second largest Filipino community in the U.S. and is among one of the more popular destinations for Filipino migrants today. It is located at the southernmost tip of a migration cycle that many of the early Filipino and Mexican laborers traveled while working in the agricultural fields and fish canneries along the West Coast. San Diego also provided other means of employment for Filipinos and Mexicans, including the service industry. As laborers, Mexicans and Filipinos were both relegated to the hardest, lowest paying jobs in agriculture, fish canning, and service work. This also kept them in constant contact with each other. This relationship proved useful, for example, as they organized in California’s agricultural fields throughout the twentieth century. The most famous of these interethnic unions was the United Farm Workers, which was comprised primarily of Mexican and Filipino members at its onset. ______________________ Because anti-miscegenation laws and even violence by whites kept Filipino men from marrying white women, they chose to marry Mexican women, among others. ______________________ In the formation of their communities, both Mexicans and Filipinos were excluded from living anywhere they wanted in San Diego, as well as where they could hang out. Through restrictive covenants and racial segregation, both groups oftentimes were relegated to living in overlapping communities. These communities were located in or around the South Bay, Southeastern, and downtown sections of San Diego. In these communities, Mexicans and Filipinos lived, worked, and attended the same Catholic churches, such as St. Mary’s in National City. As a child I remember seeing familiar faces, both Mexican and Filipino, during Mass. Stories from former residents of the community of Logan Heights also highlighted the fact that there were various Mexican social clubs and rock-and-roll groups in the area that had at least one if not more Filipinos in them. These were but a few examples of how both groups interacted with each other on various levels in their communities. The Navy was also a major contributor to Filipino migration to San Diego. The Naval Training Center (NTC) in San Diego brought in many Filipinos directly from the Philippines. Most of the early Filipinos to San Diego were young single men. As bachelors, Filipino men sought companionship and love. Because anti-miscegenation laws and even violence by whites kept Filipino men from marrying white women, they chose to marry Mexican women, among others. It was Mexican women however who proved to be the preferred spouses for Filipino men. In looking at the background of both Mexicans and Filipinos, it made sense that Filipino men would prefer Mexican women. As both Mexico and the Philippines were colonized by Spain, they shared a similar culture, Catholic religion, and to some degree language. Mexicans and Filipinos also participated in a 250-year cultural and human exchange during the Acapulco-Manila galleon trade that flourished between 1565 and 1815. Filipinos comprised the majority of crewmembers on these galleons, laboring as slaves, servants, and sailors. Upon reaching the shores of Acapulco, Mexico, many Filipinos jumped ship and blended into the local population, marrying Mexican women. The descendants of these Filipino-Mexican relationships still reside in Mexico. Mexicans also made their way to the Philippines, where they too were absorbed into the local Filipino populations. This coming together in a cultural exchange of goods, language, and people had a lasting impact on the histories of both Mexicans and Filipinos. This was the historical connection that Mexicans and Filipinos came to share in the twentieth century in places such as San Diego. Because both shared a Spanish colonial past, they often had similar cultural practices. Filipino debuts are similar to Mexican quinceñeras, a coming of age party for young Filipina and Mexican women. Both groups celebrate religious and community fiestas and have strong ties to family, both immediate and extended. They also share in the practice of compadrazgo, or godparenthood. This experience reinforced familial and kinship ties as Filipinos and Mexicans intermarried and baptized each other’s children. It is experiences such as these that provided the immediate connection between both communities. I believe that is why Filipino men preferred Mexican women as their spouses. This unspoken understanding between each other gave rise to several generations of Mexipinos in San Diego, my family included. Even today, with a greater influx of Filipina women to the U.S., both groups continue to intermarry. Not only do you still have Filipino men marrying Mexican women, but also Mexican men marrying Filipina women. These bonds continue to have a lasting impact on both communities to this day. ______________________ Filipino debuts are similar to Mexican quinceñeras, a coming of age party for young Filipina and Mexican women. ______________________ Looking back at the city’s Mexican and Filipino communities, as well as my own family history, has given me a greater understanding about myself and the distinct experience I share with other Mexipinos. As a distinct group within two separate overlapping communities, we are the bridge that reinforces the already close historical bonds between Mexicans and Filipinos. We are proof that multiplicity is a good thing. However, I will be the first to point out that this is not a perfect relationship. As we all know, relationships have their positive and negative aspects to them. There was at times both economic and social competition between Mexicans and Filipinos. Some of the other Mexipinos I spoke with, as well as my own experiences, have shown that oftentimes we have to prove ourselves to both Mexicans and Filipinos that we are “Mexican enough” or “Filipino enough.” Our physical appearance comes into question at times, as does our ability to speak either language. Some of us have to perform our ethnicity in order to be accepted, while in other instances we are fully embraced by both communities. Yet I think that the close ties that we have to our families, friends, and community far outweigh any negative experience. Our lives are a reflection of two communities coming together, and as a product of this experience we owe it to our family, friends, and others to be the multiethnic bridge that connects multiple communities far beyond our own borders. We are Mexican; we are Filipino; and yes, we are Mexipino, among other terms. And as Mexipinos, we provide a new way in which to see our multiethnic communities and the world around us. A similar version of this article originally appeared in Mavin Magazine. Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr. is a native of San Diego. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is co-editor and contributing author of Crossing Lines: Race and Mixed Race Across the Geohistorial Divide (Alta Mira Press, 2005). He is also the creator and owner of Multiracial Apparel, a clothing line dedicated to celebrating the mixed race experience.© 2004-2006, Rudy P. Guevarra, Jr. All rights reserved. This website: Copyright © 2006 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. 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