PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

Vallejo, CA • January 31, 2026. The One Photo of My Son That People Keep Finding: five years after a wrestling tournament at Mission San Jose High in Fremont, a Benicia High senior season, and the Tagalog word for the kind of endurance that does not announce itself. wrestling, benicia high school, mission san jose, student-athlete, dumog, tiyaga, fil-am, filipino american, family archive, turtle island, 1/31. Vallejo, CA · January 31, 2026 The One Photo of My Son That People Keep Finding Five years on from a wrestling tournament at Mission San Jose High in Fremont — a Benicia High senior season, and the Tagalog word for the kind of endurance that never announces itself. Benicia High School wrestling at Mission San Jose High School, Fremont, California. Photo by J.F.R. Perseveranda / PinoyBuilt. I have taken thousands of photographs of my children. This is the one people keep finding. It goes up months ag...

Marikina Philippines Chicago USA 1976. August 19 Filipino immigration anniversary. Northwest Orient Airlines Manila Chicago Filipino American migration story Perseveranda family OFW diaspora. DIASPORA MEMOIR • AUGUST 1976 August 19: The Day We Left the Philippines A nine-year-old boy, his Lola, and his sister walk across a Manila tarmac — toward Chicago, toward their parents, toward a new life. Fifty years later, the journey still shapes everything. Manila International Airport (MIA), August 19, 1976. Lola Rosita, Joy, and Jonjo — three generations, one tarmac, one leap of faith. Photo by Tito Sonny (Marciano Perseveranda Jr.), who had airport access through his work at PAGASA. Every August 19, I go back to that tarmac. I am nine years old. My Lola Rosita has our papers. My sister Joy is beside me, probably already calculating whether she would be carsick before we ever reached Chicago. And somewhere ahead of us is a Northwest Orient j...

🎓 707 Family Celebration | Bay Area, California Fil-Am Family | Julian Graduates High School – A NorCal Celebration There’s nothing quite like a Filipino graduation celebration — the lechon, the laughter, the cousins who’ve grown too fast, and the proud elders who paved the way. This photo was taken at my nephew Julian Cervantes ’  high school graduation party , held here in NorCal / Bay Area . For many of us, this kind of milestone isn't just about academics — it’s a moment to honor the whole family’s journey. Behind every graduate is a community — titos and titas who helped with rides and meals, lolos and lolas who whispered prayers, and hardworking parents who sacrificed to give their kids a better shot. I’m proud of my nephew and of what his achievement represents for our family — another step forward in the Fil-Am story. I’ll be sharing more moments like this — scenes from the life of a Filipino family in America: small but powerful memories that reflect wh...