Hello TFS,
I wrote an article on this, sometime ago. I will try and find it and post the information, but here is something you may want to read.
The Filipino Americans (1763-Present): Their History, Culture, and Traditions by Veltisezar Bautista. Bookhaus Publishers. Hardcover, 8 1/2 x 11
"About 235 years ago, a settlement was established by Filipino deserters from Spanish ships at Saint Malo in the bayous of Louisiana, near the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The people who settled there were called Manilamen, who jumped ship during the galleon trade era off New Orleans, Louisiana, and Acapulco, Mexico, to escape Spanish brutalities. Known as Tagalas,* they spoke Spanish and a Malay dialect.** They lived together?governing themselves and living in peace and harmony?without the world knowing about their swamp existence.
Thus, they became the roots of Filipinos in America.
It was only after a journalist by the name of Lafcadio Hearn published an article in 1883 when their marshland existence was exposed to the American people. It was the first known written article about the Filipinos in the U.S.A."
Hearns article describes the village as well as the people in great detail.
The book is a good read and covers alot more early information on Filipinos in America.
Gumagalang
Guro Steve L.
