Poet Al Robles honored in New International Hotel Exhibit
July 30, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO - Over 100 people gathered in Manilatown’s International Hotel on July 26 for the opening of a photo exhibit and reception honoring Filipino poet and activist Al Robles.
Attendees were treated to a heart-warming afternoon of song, dance and food. The festivities began with a roast-like speaking and reading from friends and fellow writers, each honoring Robles’ work with the elderly Filipino “manong” community.
Referred to as a “one-man social service,” Robles has dedicated his life to these elderly veteran community members, roaming single occupancy hotels and taking manongs to appointments, bringing them lunch and listening to their stories. Poet Russell Leong wrote in the introduction to his 1996 collection of Robles poems: “Perhaps no one has listened as closely to the voices of the Pilipino American community during the last thirty years.”
Throughout the mid-twentieth century, the International Hotel was home to elderly “manong” Filipino soldiers who served the United States in World War II. But in 1977 the city evicted the manongs, leaving many of them with nowhere to live.
The hotel’s community center photo exhibit, “Manongs of Manilatown,” is part of an ongoing effort to document the history and struggle of the Filipino American “manong” community. With photos and captions by Robles and friend Tony Remmington, the exhibit displayed pictures of manong tenants and activists from the late 1960s to 1970s at International Hotel protests, along with a collection of interviews compiled by Hotel Art Curator Nancy Hom.
Events like these bring awareness to manongs and their struggle, said International Hotel Administrative Program Assistant DiAnne Bueno.
“Not that many people know about the history of the manongs,” Bueno said.
The exhibit is the first in a three part series celebrating the 31st commemoration of the International Hotel eviction. The next event, at the International Hotel on August 9, will feature a poetic documentary, Time Travel with Al Robles, by Curtis Choy.
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For more info: manilatown.org/events.htm
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