'We meant something in labor history': Delano honors Filipino community with new Larry Itliong Unity Park

DELANO — Johnny Itliong, son of the famous Filipino farm labor movement organizer Larry Itliong, teared up as he recalled how he and his siblings would honor their uncles, whom they referred to using the Tagalog term “manongs.”

Although they were not related to them, Johnny Itliong said the manongs would watch over him as if he were their own child while they worked in the Delano grape fields in the 1970s. Johnny Itliong said although these manongs would become the building blocks of the local Filipino community, most of his manongs did not have families of their own.

“One of the worst things about being the son of Larry Itliong was having to bury manongs who didn’t have families and I didn’t realize this. I thought everybody did this until like only a few years ago,” Johnny Itliong said. “That was the worst part but also the best part because those people were family.”

Born in 1965 — the same year as the Delano Grape Strike — Johnny Itliong remembers the work his father and manongs did to fight for better working conditions for farmworkers.

Larry Itliong was one of the leaders in the Filipino community who inspired the strike. He also worked with labor union activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to start the United Farm Workers.

Johnny and the Itliong family came to see the city of Delano honor their father with a park named in his memory. The Larry Itliong Unity Park hosted its grand opening Saturday morning in Delano. The 7-acre park located at 200 W. 11th Avenue is open to the public and includes a playground and the outdoor Manong Amphitheater.

The $4.5 million park also includes the only community pool in Delano after the previous pool was closed around 2000, said Delano Mayor Joe Alindajao. He said the city bought the land for the park in 2013 and broke ground in 2022 when it was dedicated it to Larry Itliong. Alindajao said the park will serve as a reminder of Itliong’s work and the contributions of the Filipino community to the city.

“Like any community, our diversity of ethnicities contributes their part to what the fabric of the community is and I think this is our sort of investment of our Filipino community and culture,” Alindajao said.

Hundreds of guests, including Huerta, gathered on the field in front of the Manong Amphitheater to hear several speakers talk about their memories of the manongs, of the labor strike and Larry Itliong.

Huerta called Larry Itliong a “fearless leader,” remembering how she and Itliong worked together to start the organization originally known as Agricultural Workers Association.

Huerta said Itliong and the manongs should never be forgotten for their sacrifices made during the five-year strike.

Several Filipino community members at Saturday's event are descendants of those who participated in the strike, such as Suzanne Villaruz, whose father was a manong.

Villaruz said she remembers being taught about the Delano Grape Strike in college at UCLA by a professor who had never been to Delano. Knowing the sacrifices her father made, she thought her professor had no idea what she was talking about. She said now this park is a way to honor the history of the manongs such as her father and Itliong.

“Now people will know we meant something in labor history. We stood shoulder to shoulder with our Mexican brothers and created the UFW,” Villaruz said.

Cherry Papoy said she followed in the footsteps of her mother to contribute to the Filipino American community. Both her mother and Papoy were educators and members of the Filipino American National Historical Society, for which Papoy is the school liaison. She said there is a push for Larry Itliong and the Filipino community’s contributions to the Grape Strike to be included in California curriculum.

“This park is really a big step in bringing our Filipino cultural history into our town and bringing awareness,” Papoy said.

The president of the local Filipino American National Historical Society, Herb Delute, said the new park in Delano is a form of respect to the Filipino community.

“If you don’t know history, you don’t know yourself and that’s what we want to share. Our story is also the Filipino story, which is the Filipino American history story, which is really American history,” Delute said.