Filipinos have shaped the community of Juneau for over a century. Mga Kuwento – “the stories” in Tagalog – grew from a desire within the Filipino community to record and share these stories.
Mga Kuwento is a history project that launched in October 2023 with a community celebration, podcast series and museum exhibit. It was led by executive producer Tasha Elizarde and produced by the KTOO Newsroom in partnership with Juneau-Douglas City Museum and Filipino Community, Inc.
On Oct. 8, 2023, around 300 people came to Filipino Community Hall to celebrate Alaska's first Filipino American History Month since it became state law. In total, over 1000 people joined the 3-day weekend celebration hosted for Mga Kuwento. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Mona Piñeda Stevick poses with her husband in front of an image of the Filipino Community Inc. in 1931. The photo features her grandfather, Frank Piñeda, holding a saxophone and was presented in the Mga Kuwento exhibit. (Photo courtesy of Agnes Elizarde)
Local Filipino chefs, including Lionel Uddipa and Nove Barril-Duncan, shared kakanin for the opening of the Mga Kuwento exhibit at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Oct. 6, 2023. All food offered through the weekend was catered by In Bocca al Lupo’s chef de cuisine Rachel Carrillo Barril. (Photo courtesy of Christy Ciambor)
One rare image displayed in the Mga Kuwento exhibit is of Tony Bucat and his daughter, Lisa, singing inside Juneau’s first Filipino Community Hall. The first hall burned down in the 1960s, and there are limited photos of the building. (Photo courtesy of Tasha Elizarde)
Alaska Rep. Genevieve Mina, Mga Kuwento executive producer Tasha Elizarde, and Juneau assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale are photographed after their speeches at the Mga Kuwento exhibit launch. (Photo courtesy of Agnes Elizarde)
Clark Bolanos, a Mga Kuwento volunteer, poses with a map of the Philippines in fall 2023. Funding for Mga Kuwento was used to install new features in the Filipino Community Hall, including this interactive map. (Photo courtesy of Tasha Elizarde)
Historical objects in the Filipino Community Hall were curated for Mga Kuwento. This corner displays a costume from Juneau’s Ati-Atihan drumming group, a library of Filipino literature, and a collection of photo books. (Photo courtesy of Tasha Elizarde)
Carrillo’s Caldo employees point at faces in a newly installed image of early Filipino Community Inc. members in fall 2023. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde)
Kaye Roldan and Chris Mariano, Filipino Community Inc. board members, hold the Mga Kuwento exhibit poster after helping archive the Filipino Community Hall dance studio in fall 2023. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Fernando Pintang teaches a workshop on kali to visitors on Oct. 7, 2023. During the FAHM celebration, practitioners facilitated cultural workshops around martial arts, ati-atihan drumming, and more. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Rachel Carrillo Barril caters various snacks provided for the FAHM celebration on Oct. 7, 2023. The table includes food from chefs Melvin Cristobal and Aims Villanueva. Food was provided in-kind and through Mga Kuwento funding. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Ysabel Wilson performs violin on Oct. 7, 2023 for Theater Alaska’s neighborhood cabaret at the Filipino Community Hall. Local Filipino musicians were featured in a free live show for the community for the Mga Kuwento celebration. (Photo courtesy of Flordelino Lagundino)
Miko Montoya and WORD PLAY rap original songs for Mga Kuwento’s FAHM celebration. The show was brought on through a collaboration with Theater Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Flordelino Lagundino)
Mark Rosales plays the guitar at Mga Kuwento’s FAHM celebration for Theater Alaska’s neighborhood cabaret. All musicians were compensated through Mga Kuwento. (Photo courtesy of Flordelino Lagundino)
This corner of Filipino Community Hall’s dance studio brings together costumes, literature, and games for the kids who play there. Note: photo was taken after the FAHM celebration, when the Hall went through more changes. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Marcelo Quinto, featured in episode 4 of the Mga Kuwento podcast, points to his father in a photo displayed at the Filipino Community Hall on Oct. 8, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Agnes Elizarde)
Various Filipino restaurants provided food for a community lunch on Oct. 8, 2023. Diniguan, kare kare, pinakbet, and more were offered to Juneau by Carrillo's Caldo, Twilight Cafe, GoldDigger Restaurant, Bernadette's Cafe, In Bocca al Lupo, Kultura Sa Isla Restaurant, and Valley Restaurant. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Elders fill their plates with food provided by various restaurants around Juneau on Oct. 8, 2024. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Bob Paulo, featured in episode 4 of the Mga Kuwento podcast, shares an impromptu speech about his time playing basketball with Juneau-Douglas High School. Afterwards, he gifted his basketball jacket and a photo to display at Filipino Community Hall. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Rebecca Carrillo is surprised by Rep. Andi Story with a legislative citation at the celebration. The citation honors Carrillo's years working for the state and her service as Alaska's second Philippine honorary consulate. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Chefs Morris Carrillo and Rachel Barril take a break after cooking for a crowd on Oct. 8th, 2023. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Mona Pineda Stevick, a volunteer and grandchild of an Alaskero, facilitates a trivia game about Filipino history in Juneau. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Nita Coronell, a board member of Filipino Community Inc., wins a prize during Filipino history trivia on Oct. 8, 2024. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
Dante Reyes, a former Filipino Community Inc. vice president, wins a prize during Filipino history trivia on Oct. 8, 2024. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO).
Myra Pugh wins a rice cooker during Filipino history trivia. Mona Pineda Stevick, who facilitated the game, donated the rice cooker in ceremony of her grandfather, Frank Pineda, one of the first Filipinos to come to Juneau. (Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)
On the first episode of Mga Kuwento, we explore two central questions of the series: how did Filipinos get to Juneau, and just as importantly, why do they stay?
The desire to provide for themselves and their loved ones has driven Filipino migrants to make a lasting impact on so many of Juneau’s industries today.
For more than 50 years, the building has been a literal and figurative home to Juneau’s Filipino community. But it’s getting older, along with many of the people who made it what it is today.
In the fourth episode of Mga Kuwento, learn the story of a community with historic roots in Juneau — roots that are both thousands of years old and a bit more recent.
At one point, Filipinos from elementary schoolers to elders learned and shared the story of Filipino history through dance. But it’s been more than a decade since those dancers took the stage.
Funding for Mga Kuwento is provided by:
Juneau History Grant from the Juneau-Douglas City Museum; City and Borough of Juneau and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council; The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Telling the Full History Preservation Fund with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; 2023 Juneau History Grant administered by the Juneau Douglas City Museum with funding from the Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum and the Juneau Community Foundation; a grant-in-aid from the Alaska State Museum; and KTOO supporters like you.
Our logo is designed by Rizza Mae Marvel / Z Squared Studio.
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