Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Carina’s research also highlighted the resiliency, persevering spirit and closeness of the early Filipino immigrants, as demonstrated in the life of her mother, Rose. Talking about her mother, Carina recalled, "She initially came to America in the late 1940s to visit her older brother, Amor Guerzon, who lived in Seattle and worked in the Alaskan fish canneries during fish season. He later became a key figure in the formation of a union to protect the Filipino cannery workers in providing them with better wages and working conditions. She met my father in San Francisco and married soon after, settling in Los Angeles. When my father fell ill, she had to find work to support two young children, in addition to growing medical bills. Too proud to accept charity, she hired a retired couple from New Orleans who lived next door to babysit my brother, Eric, and I while she attended classes at Los Angeles City College. She took English and business classes, which resulted in her finding a job at Occidental Life Insurance Company in downtown Los Angeles, now the TransAmerica building. Although her salary was low, it was enough to pay the rent, put food on the table, send up to private schools and receive music lessons. The relationship my brother and I had with the babysitters extended beyond the child care years and even to this day we regard that couple from New Orleans as our grandparents."

"My mother did not re-marry, and raised my brother and as a single parent. We belonged to the Santa Maria Association, an Ilocano organization founded in the 1940s. It was a family-oriented organization that held monthly meetings, celebrated holidays such as Christmas, Easter, etc., and provided a place for us to go and feel at home. Organizations such as the Santa Maria Association helped its members during difficult times by contributing money to help pay funeral expenses," Carina recalled.

Carina attended Immaculate Heart of Mary grammar school in Los Angeles, and Holy Family High School in Glendale. She graduated from the College of Great Falls (now University of Montana) in Great Falls, Montana, majoring in Sociology with a minor in criminal justice. To work towards a Masters degree in History, she attended Cal State University in LA but has since transferred to Excelsior College in New York, in an online course that better suits her busy schedule. When not doing historical research, Montoya is a Judicial Assistant to a United States federal judge in downtown Los Angeles. She is also an active reservist in the United States Navy.

Montoya is also the author of the book, Filipinos in Hollywood, and the co-author of a series of Filipino children’s cook books, all written in the spirit of promoting and preserving Filipino culture and tradition.

Comments

Add New Search RSS

Write comment

Name: Email:  do not notifynotify Title: UBBCode:         -color-aquablackbluefuchsiagraygreenlimemaroonnavyolivepurpleredsilvertealwhiteyellow -size-tinysmallmediumlargehuge     Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

Powered by AJPress

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."