IGNACIO L. (Bla) BALABA Jr.

In conjunction with Filipino American History Month

By the Filipino American National Historical Society, Sacramento Delta Chapter

By Fred Cordova

This song and dance sequence should be played to the whimsical tune of “Tenderly” for the ubiquitous life of one unheralded Filipino American Sage had been everything but tenderly.

As now historically shared often, growing up as a Pinoy American-born  Second Generation,  provided many experiences so distinct that many of the uninitiated would have been taken aback at just what this unique “Bridge  Generation” had undergone in American lives. 

For one Ignacio L. Balaba Junior - “Bla” as most lovingly called him – was a farm boy, born during the Depression growing up in Walnut Grove and, by his own choice, turned Happy Wanderer.

 He was a godson of Frank and Amanda Mancao of Reedley in Fresno County where in 1931 he became very close to godsister Annie – Annie who had accompanied and watched over him during our FANHS National Conference in 2004 at St. Louis.  Bla was all set to go to Honolulu with Annie for our 12th Conference – despite his kidney dialysis schedule - but Annie in 2005 died in a freak car accident.

Bla is one of the most astute individuals I’ve ever known. One of the best eloquent deliveries I’ve ever come across about our Second Generation, especially about mestizos, came from Bla’s writings some twenty-five years ago.  He wrote:

 “… THE NEXT breed of Filipinos (now called American-born) were composed of blood-mixtures that this West Coast never dreamed could happen even if they legislated it.  By the way, there is a myth that interracial marriages do not work.

“Digest this, if you will – without any laws being passed, without any governmental committees preparing studies or social groups marching for integration, the Filipinos between 1920-1940 not only gave life to Filipinos with so-called ‘pure’ Filipino blood … but now have offspring with Indian, Mexican, Spanish, White, Japanese, Chinese, Blacks, Eurasian —and thank God – many other variations.

“The American-borns – born between 1920-1940 (go ahead and add a few more years for identity sake) - are what I like to refer to as the ‘Link.’  It is important that the Filipino people understands the whole story of how the link in history continues.  A link … provides strength and longevity … endurance.

“The American-born Filipino faced his hardship in a different manner than his predecessor.  Because the American-born spoke fluent English, did not speak Filipino, assimilated into the Great Society so rapidly, was born during the Depression era, fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and shared every prejudicial deed and thought of yesteryears and today, the Link survives.

The Link survives because they had to.  They love life and their families and they work hard, fast and sure as anyother American.  They continue to search for their identity.  Everyday in a crowd, regardless of territory, you’ll see him or her curiously staring at some ‘brown-looking’ person’s face wondering to themselves if ‘that’s a Filipino.’

“The hardy bunch between 1945-1960 … who played basketball … softball and volleyball traveled from the Bay Area through Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley on to the Coast and down to Los Angeles and San Diego to entertain themselves through those hard, decision-making, frustrating years.  They stayed together because they needed each other.

“Because of our dual culture – even our own families had difficulties understanding us.  Imagine listening to your parents in Filipino and speaking back in English, Our own Filipino social communities gave us such a bad time that we organized ourselves and paid our own way.  To top it all off, our own mix blood prevented us from being totally ‘Filipino’ and the Great Society did not need us or want us.

In … 1945-1960, the Link stood out in society like a black dot on a dark brown wall.  We were there, yet we were not.   The mass society could not then – and still cannot now – place us in a nice, neat box.  We look Oriental, Spanish, Mexican and/or White and we have no accents.  We can speak broken foreign languages learned from our parents or neighbors … but we  do it mostly in fun-pride.

“Our own in-breeding does not hamper us but it does confuse society.  Our children are taught immediately that they are Filipino through our blood but that’s the extent of it.  No flag waving, no last hurrahs.

“ ... Look in sixty years, we and our parents suffered many things but those years are gone - it’s today and tomorrow that count.”

THAT’S BLA at his best.

Filipino American history could not be written better than this – by one of our own from Walnut Grove who worked the farmlands all the way to Arvin … then joined the Navy … for more than 23 years with the State of California was chief auditor for the Department of Aging … a die-hard Sacramento resident who did business in taxes, bookkeeping and life insurance … and who, despite his health condition, still believes today is a new and exciting era which is happening for us.

“Hop on board,” Bla has said, “and let’s see where and how far we can go!”