Stockton Ca.'s Annual Barrio Fiesta

Stockton CA.'s Annual Barrio Fiesta

The city of Stockton has an annual Barrio Fiesta, Barrio for short, held downtown in the Filipino Plaza in honor of the Filipino Heritage. Some "Stocktonians" may not know, but Filipinos make up a rather large amount of Stockton's population, which makes Barrio important to the spread of cultural knowledge and awareness. This annual tradition has been alive for 37 years in Stockton and is a great way to hang out with family, friends, and of course, Filipino people. The area that Barrio is held in today, was called the Filipino Plaza but has been renamed Little Manila after the Philippines country capital. Although Barrio is in honor of the Filipino heritage that does not mean Filipinos are the only ones who may attend, you can find all different races there. The main components of the Barrio Fiesta would be the food, special appearances, and performances that last throughout the whole day.

Little Manila has a very interesting story on how it became what it is today. Because of poverty and the push to agricultural jobs, tens of thousands of Filipinos migrated to the U.S. and settled in the San Joaquin Valley in the 20th century. In 1946, Stockton was home to the biggest Filipino community in the U.S. At that time, Little Manila was full of labor unions, stores, restaurants, and social organizations what provided a sense of community to the immigrants. Little Manila was declared a local Historic Site in the year 2000. In the 1950s and 60's, sections of Little Manila were bulldozed by the city to improve Stockton's downtown are. Many Filipinos homes were replaced with a freeway and a few fast food restaurants causing a disruption in community life. Because of this, a Filipino-American community organization fought to raise money to build the Filipino Plaza and succeeded and was completed in 1972. Now, a place that was home to displaced families, some businesses and the barrio fiesta, is now a home for an annual Filipino cultural event held in mid-August. Barrio isn't meant to be anything too fancy. It is an empty lot filled with booths, a shaded are to consume lunch and hang out, a stage where performances take place, and a grassy area to sit on to watch them. Barrio is always in August every year; usually it's still hot out. There are different booths featuring clothes and jewelry, literature, DVD videos, native music, and flags.

Even though Barrio Fiesta is meant to specifically celebrate the Filipino culture, you can find plenty of people of different race whether they are White, Black, Hispanic, etc. It's obvious that the majority of attendees are Filipino but in no way do they separate themselves from other people or act superior. During Barrio you can usually find people socializing with one another, eating with their families, kids running around and playing old childhood games, and a bunch of smiling faces. But without a doubt, Barrio is known for the endless