Skip to Main Content

Exhibits Archive

Pilipinx American Heritage

Filipino Americans are the second-largest Asian American group in the nation and the third-largest ethnic group in California, after Latinas/os and African Americans. The celebration of Filipino American History Month in October commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinos in the continental United States, which occurred on October 18, 1587, when “Luzones Indios” came ashore from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Esperanza and landed at what is now Morro Bay, California. In 2009, U.S. Congress recognized October as Filipino American History Month in the United States.  

Learn more

Famous Pilipinx

Corazon Aquino

Corazon Aquino

Airman Gerald B. Johnson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Corazon Aquino was the first female president of the Philippines. Her 1986 election was largely a response to the assassination of her husband who was from a well-known and historic political family in the Philippines. 

Full Bio

Jo Koy

Jo Koy

Credit: Public Domain Dedication. Public Use Notice of Limitations: https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright

Began performing stand-up in small Las Vegas venues. Koy landed a breakthrough role on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005, then toured with Carlos Mencia. Today his specials have breaking records for ticket sales.

Full Bio

Manny Pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao

Malacañang Photo Bureau, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A prize-winning boxer, the five-foot, six-inch tall Manny Pacquiao's nicknames are Pac-man and the Destroyer. Pacquiao is the first boxer ever to win eleven world titles in eight different weight divisions. 

Full Bio

Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga

The Tony Awards, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Best known for originating the role of Kim in the 1990 London stage hit Miss Saigon. She won every major New York drama award including a Tony Award for Best Actress in 1991 and was the singing voice for Aladdin and Mulan.

Full Bio

Lou Diamond Phillips

Lou Diamond Phillips

Rob DiCaterino, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Has had a varied career in film, television, and stage. Of Philippine, Hispanic, Hawaiian, Scotch-Irish, Chinese, and Cherokee descent, Phillips has played characters of widely different backgrounds.

Full Bio

Tia Carrere

Tia Carrere

Toglenn, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Wayne's World Cassandra, a heavy-metal rock and roller, Carrere continued to act in films and television roles.  As a musician, after releasing a handful of albums, she was awarded Grammy Awards in 2009 and 2011.

Full Bio

Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas

Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

At 16 he learned he was an undocumented immigrant and kept his undocumented status a secret. In 2008, he won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2008. In 2011 he revealed his status through an article for the NY Times.

Full Bio

Emil Guillermo

Emil Guillermo

New America Media, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Radio and television journalist known as NPR's "All Things Considered" anchor. His commentaries and humorous essays led to his column "Amok," which is published monthly in Filipinas magazine.

Full Bio

Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars

slgckgc, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Born and raised in Hawaii by his Puerto Rican and Jewish father and Filipina mother, he has sold more than 130 million albums. With a net worth of more than $100 million he is one of the most successful musical artists of all time. 

Full Bio

Bienvenido Santos

Bienvenido Santos

Palhbooks, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Author of novels, short stories,and poems, he is best known for works such as the American Book Award–winning collection Scent of Apples. He writes about Filipino American identity amid the political upheaval of the 20th century.

Full bio

Image of DJ Qbert By Griz-Lee Christian Zebrowski - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3569531

DJ Qbert

Sylvain Habib from Grenoble, France, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Renowned Filipino American turntablist who performed with Mix Master Mike and DJ Apollo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. 

Full Bio

Read Books and eBooks

Watch Films