Project Proposal
“Beautiful Hill”: That’s Where I Want to Be
Adversity of WWII
On April 9, 1942, the year of absolute misery and hell began for Victoriano Calderon, my great-grandfather. He was about to embark on a 60 mile march of death leading him to Camp O’Donnell, a camp for POWs. The Japanese would brutally beat him and starve him. They would make him sit in front of fresh water only to tell him he couldn’t have any or else he would be shot. He would be shoved into metal train cars with thousands of other soldiers as disease spread amongst them. How would he ever survive an event that is destined to end in death?
As my great-grandfather is experiencing one of the greatest war crimes of WWII, his new born daughter, Araceli Calderon, is hiding in the mountains of Nueva Vizcaya along with her brother, Sunny Calderon, and her mother, Leonila Calderon. Staying in the city would cause them to be in great danger as the Japanese had overtaken the island. My grandfather, Octavius Quijada, was also hiding with strangers in the mountains of Cebu to avoid the brutality of the Japanese. Though in separate occasions, my grandparents were finally able to flee the mountains once the Japanese surrendered in 1945.
After the end of WWII, a new life would begin. A life embracing Filipino culture would start for the two of them. Morals and values would be instilled that would shape the course of their lives. Dreams and aspirations would be established that would alter their paths.
Food is a Love Language
If we were to call them by their proper names, it would be Lula and Lolo, but my toddler sister at the time decided Wawa (Araceli Calderon Quijada) and Wowo (Octavius Quijada) would be better.
My Wawa and Wowo are the most loving people I know. After the numerous times I have gotten off the plane at LAX to visit my grandparents, I immediately am pelted with questions of, “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? What kind of food do you want?” Especially for my Wawa, food is her love language. If she isn’t there to pick us up from the airport, you better believe that there will be food on the table when you walk in the door.
You see, the community that my grandparents along with all of my other relatives live in, Loma Linda, Spanish for “Beautiful Hill,” is home to a densely populated area of Seventh-Day Adventists, and Seventh-Day Adventists love their Asian and vegetarian food. When I walk through that door to Wawa and Wowo’s house, the tables are set with orange chicken, eggplant, white rice, fried rice, egg rolls, and spicy beef. Now you would expect the vegetarian food to consist of vegetables and fruits, but my vegetarian food when I visit Wawa and Wowo’s house is full of saucets and big franks, which are vegetarian sausages and hot dogs famous to Loma Linda. I always leave their house with a full stomach.
Candy Apple Red Mustang
My gluttony would not exist without the dedication of Wawa and Wowo to get to America. When Wowo was still in Cebu, Philippines, the place where he grew up, he carried around a picture of a Candy Apple Red Mustang. This photograph represented the future that he envisioned in America. He wanted the opportunity to get his hands on this car, and he wanted to be rich enough to buy this car.
Growing up, my Wowo and Wawa were pushed by their parents to eventually get to America. The culture in the Philippines after WWII encouraged people to move away to America to experience a better life. It was the rags-to-riches scenario that every young Filipino envisioned.
My Wowo and Wawa met in the Philippines while attending college, and they stayed together as Wowo finished medical school in the Philippines. In December of 1966, my grandparents decided to make the leap of faith by immigrating to the United States. They moved to Brooklyn, New York so that Wowo could finish his post graduate for medical school. There they had their first born daughter, Valerie Quijada, my mother. However, the main reason that they came to the United States was to fulfill the American dream that they had always had.
After staying in Brooklyn for about a year and a half, my Wawa and Wowo decided to move to Loma Linda, California in June of 1968 so that Wowo could finish his residency to officially become an anesthesiologist. My grandparents not only chose Loma Linda for his work, but also because they had friends there already and because of Loma Linda’s Seventh-Day Adventist presence.
Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Every time I visit my grandparents in Loma Linda, we attend church. However, going to church in this community is not like the stereo-typical American family. For Seventh-Day Adventism, the Sabbath begins when the sun goes down on Friday. For me, once there is no sunlight, that means no more TV and no more video games. Instead, the Sabbath is meant to be a time spent together bonding as a family.
On Saturday, we would usually attend the University Church in Loma Linda with Wawa and Wowo along with my father’s side of the family, mainly my grandfather and grandmother. The service is very traditional consisting of organ playing, a choir, and a sermon. Attending church there is much more proper than my contemporary church back home.
After the church service is over, we gather for an afternoon lunch with Wawa, Wowo, and the rest of my relatives where we further spend time together as a family. Eventually, the Sabbath concludes when the sun goes down on Saturday.
Prosperous Life in America
For my whole life I have grown up in Nashville, Tennessee. My immediate family made it to Tennessee because of my dad’s career as a doctor. There, I practiced Seventh-Day Adventism until I was about 10 years old and switched to a non-denominational church. I also attended a private, Christian elementary school and went to an all boys college preparatory middle and high school. I was given countless opportunities throughout my childhood to play sports, further my education, and travel the world. And now, I get the amazing opportunity to continue my life at the University of Georgia. Where my life stands today would not be possible without the boldness my grandparents had. They decided to abandon the Filipino lifestyle with the possibility of having a greater life in America. I am forever thankful for what they have done because of the life I am now able to live.
Through this project, I want to learn how deep my roots really are. I want to find out what in the Philippines led them to so daringly choose a life in America. What impact did WWII have on their lifestyle? Why did they become Seventh-Day Adventists? What about the Seventh-Day Adventist lifestyle appealed to them? What was the draw to Loma Linda? What values were instilled to bring about the dream of living in America? I have only scratched the surface of this rags-to-riches story, and I want to know the push and pull factors that made a prosperous life in America for my Wawa and Wowo.
Interview Questions:
- What were you doing during World War II?
- What was the attitude of the Philippines after the war was over?
- What was your childhood like in the Philippines?
- Did you go to school, and did you enjoy school?
- Were you Seventh-Day Adventist growing up?
- Do you know how prominent Seventh-Day Adventism was in the Philippines?
- If there is one value your parents stressed to you, what would it be?
- What were your dreams and aspirations as a child?
- Do you remember the first time your parents mentioned America?
- When was the first time you thought about America?
- What about the United States appealed to you?
- What excited or scared you the most about going to America?
- Why was Loma Linda so appealing to you?
- What about life in Loma Linda or America as a whole is better than America?
- What about life in Loma Linda or America is not as good as the Philippines?
- Would you ever consider going back to the Philippines?
Working Bibliography
Falk, Stanley L. Bataan: The March of Death. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1962.
Knight, George R. Myths in Adventism. Washington D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1985.
MacVean, Mary. “Why Loma Linda residents live longer than the rest of us: They treat the body like a temple.” Los Angeles Times. 11 July 2015.
