Little Manila Rising’s Youth Program’s flyer for their San Francisco Chinatown Trip. The Youth Program traveled throughout San Francisco and visited various places tied to culture. 

According to the U.S. News & World Report, Stockton is reported to be the most diverse city in California. One of the largest Asian groups that resides here are Filipinos. With an estimated population of 28,000 from the American Community Survey of 2019, Filipinos have been a part of Stockton’s historical upbringing.

With so much diversity in Stockton, there are organizations whose mission is to keep the history and culture alive. “Here at Little Manila, we strongly believe that knowing history will help you better know yourself, and better understand others, so we can work together to make the world a better place,” Alycia Raya, the Little Manila After School Program and Youth Cultural Trips Coordinator said. 

Little Manila Rising is an organization focused on keeping the history of Filipino culture alive in Stockton. It started in 1999 by Dawn Mabalon and Dillon Delvo and continues to serve the future generations of Filipinos in learning the history and impact their culture had in Stockton’s upbringing. 

On January 17, Little Manila Rising’s Youth Program took a trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown. The group began their trip at 8 AM and explored City Lights Bookstore, Vital Tea Leaf, a fortune cookie factory, Ross Alley, and ended the day at a Chinese Bakery, coming home at 5:30 PM.

Trips are organized over the course of 1-2 months from the ideas of the Youth Program team with the consideration from the youth in the after school program and youth from past trips.

“After every trip we give youth feedback forms where youth can tell us what they enjoyed, and what they would change. This feedback is so important, it even affects where we choose to eat lunch,” said Raya.

The program’s purpose aims to expose the youth to historically significant places in Stockton and the neighboring Bay Area.

“We interact and connect with the culture of each place by prioritizing eating lunch at locally owned gems, researching and teaching participants about the specific histories and cultures before we leave, and visiting places that can further educate us,” Raya said.

The goal of the trips they take is to inspire the youth to be “curious about their local, state, and even family history.”

Stagg teachers and students keep culture alive

Jay Sanidad is an Ethnic Studies teacher at Stagg who was a part of Little Manila Rising’s after school program and has been actively involved in hosting a couple of workshops. Sanidad, who is Filipino, feels Little Manila Rising at its start was created to honor the former Filipino neighborhood that resided in Stockton before it was torn down.

“I think it’s very important to honor the legacy and then also to provide community resources and support to historically marginalized communities. It’s a way to stop this generational trauma from continuing and persisting.”

While Joy Rialubin Trejo, another Ethnic Studies and Filipino American Studies teacher isn’t directly involved with Little Manila Rising, she believes the programs allows people to understand the importance and impact of Filipinos to Stockton.

“I think everybody deserves to know exactly what the Filipino presence has been like here in Stockton, but also how integral Filipinos have been to the history of creating this town,” said Trejo.

Adrian Jimenez, a senior and Secretary of Stagg’s Filipino Club, feels it’s amazing to be a part of Stockton’s Filipino community. “I feel a sense of inclusiveness, I feel a sense of identity, I feel heard, it’s so nice to be around a bunch of other people who share the same culture as you.

Syrell Gatan, a senior, said, “just catching up and having to relate to someone and that for me is really deep and it creates a sense of community in all of us.”

Senior and member of Stagg’s Filipino Club, Glennel De Jesus shares that the community is energetic. “Whenever I’m out and about and I see another Filipino it’s like we’re automatically family.” 

Little Manila Rising’s importance to community

And while Little Manila Rising’s organization name is tied to Filipino history, the trips and programs are welcomed to all youth from every ethnic and racial background. “Our organization has evolved to serve all people in mainly south Stockton, but also Stockton in general including preserving their histories and celebrating their cultures,” said Raya.

Trejo claims the programs are important in giving Little Manila an eye opening narrative than the clouded one it has currently. “It deserves to known more than just what is now a really bad neighborhood, there’s so much history involved there and everybody should know it,” Trejo said.

Sanidad agrees as he said, “just to at least educate and put some truth to, so like this is not just a one sided narrative, it helps kids know that there are good things about our city.”

Little Manila Rising’s Youth Programs are targeted for teenagers and young adults as a way to connect generations to generations.

“It’s just kind of like a bridge between different generations of people from like elders to older and younger adults,” said Sanidad.

Those interested can visit https://littlemanila.org/ for more information.