The annual Filipino Fiesta in Sacramento is a very popular community event that has roots in the struggle for social justice through grassroots community organizing. What started off as a revolutionary attempt to promote collaboration in Filipino American Communities has blossomed into a successful, highly-anticipated, yearly showcase of Central Valley Filipino-ness. Celebrated on June 12, Philippine National Day is an official holiday in the Philippines that commemorates its birth as a sovereign nation in after several centuries of colonial rule by Spain.
Filipino revolutionary forces had liberated the majority of the archipelago from Spanish rule over a three-year insurrection, and the last vestiges of the former global empire were holed up within the walls of their fortress at Intramuros, Manila. Completely surrounded and under siege by their former subjects, the Spanish saved some face when a budding new economic power, the United States, pretended to overthrow them in May To celebrate a date that conflicts with the official US record is, in itself, a form of protest.
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Lead organizers Maxi Villones, Vince Reyes and Dick Mazon wanted to organize an event that reflected the spirit of the times: rising political awareness, celebrating cultural heritage, and also celebrating histories of struggle. The first official event was held a year later at nearby Miller Park along the Sacramento River.
Founded in in nearby Santa Cruz, The KDP was a nationwide collection of Fil-Ams and Filipino immigrants who were involved in community organizing around social justice issues in the US and democratic nationalism in the Philippines. The AMLC was a more popular front for the KDP that focused on raising awareness about the economic plundering and human rights abuses being perpetrated by the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Before his political career, Ferdinand Marcos had been a lawyer, and one of his clients happened to be Severino Santa Romana, who was arguably the most important man in US history.
Allegedly, Marcos used his access to Japanese war loot that had been discovered by Santa Romana to launch a political career for himself and to cement the political dynasty of his family. Marcos, who had a murder conviction overturned by the Philippine Supreme Court when he was just 23, was first elected to the Presidency in after a year run as a Legislator. He claimed to be a war hero, but later research has proven that he lied about his war record.
