August 20, 2025 • 45 mins
FilipiNARS: Asian and Asian American Studies
Proud to feature Dr. Mark Padoongpatt and Dr. Constancio Arnaldo—Associate Professors at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas—on PNANV’s FilipiNARS podcast from the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada with the one and only Doris Bauer.
Their insights bring depth to the conversation on Asian American identity, history, and representation—especially in healthcare, education, and community advocacy. In a time when visibility and cultural understanding matter more than ever, their voices help us connect the dots between lived experience and systemic change.
#FilipiNARS #PNANV #AsianAmericanStudies #UNLV #CommunityVoices #FilipinoAmerican #RepresentationMatters #HealthcareAndHeritage
Proud to feature Dr. Mark Padoongpatt and Dr. Constancio Arnaldo—Associate Professors at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas—on PNANV’s FilipiNARS podcast from the Philippine Nurses Association of Nevada with the one and only Doris Bauer.
Their insights bring depth to the conversation on Asian American identity, history, and representation—especially in healthcare, education, and community advocacy. In a time when visibility and cultural understanding matter more than ever, their voices help us connect the dots between lived experience and systemic change.
#FilipiNARS #PNANV #AsianAmericanStudies #UNLV #CommunityVoices #FilipinoAmerican #RepresentationMatters #HealthcareAndHeritage
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Well, hello the Philippe NARS listeners and followers. How are
you all doing fine? We hope it is time again
for Philippine Nars. So thank you so much for joining
us today. And as you all know, Philippine Nars is
brought to you by the p and A n V
or the Philippin Nurses Association of Nevada in collaboration with
PHLV Radio. So we have a very interesting topic today
(01:08):
and it is all about Asian American studies. So, Asian
American studies is an academic field that critically examines the
history issues, sociology, religion, experiences, and culture and policies that
is relevant to Asian Americans. And Asian American studies is
(01:30):
crucial for understanding the diverse experience of Asian Americans here
and that is a population that is very large here
in our community. So UNLV or the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, has Asian American Studies in their curriculum. So
we have invited two professors from the UNLV Asian American
(01:55):
Studies to talk to us about this. So please welcome
doctor Mark dun Pat and doctor Constantio. Let me see
Constantio are nawdough correct? Did I say that?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Well, welcome, gentlemen.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh, of course, of course. And so how about this audience.
We have two scholars in the house.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Isn't this awesome?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, let's get them introduced. So first is doctor Mark
pat and Pat over there. He is an Associate professor
of Asian American Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies and the director
of the Asian American Studies at UNLB. Right, he's currently
working on a book project of Asian American placement in
(02:43):
Las Vegas, and they are the recipient of a three year,
eight hundred thousand grant from the Melon Foundation to sport
what we call the Neon Pacific Initiative, which aims to
expand and enhance and elevate the placemaking and public facing
(03:04):
scholarship activities happening at NLB.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
So, he is also the author of several books, and
he has been in several podcasts. You have shared your
work in podcasts and also in the TV like The
Migrant Kitchen and Taste the Nation.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
How awesome is that?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Do you have anything to add to that?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
No, that was wonderful. Doris. That was wonderful.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
And I will only say that I will my directorship
at UNOB will end in a couple of months because
doctor Ronaldo will be taking over as director of the program.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So I wanted to say, you're not going anywhere, are you?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
I'm not going anywhere, but it is time for me
to take a breather and for new energetic leadership.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Oh my goodness. Okay, you're ready for this, I hope
so okay, So right here is doctor Constantio Ronaldo. And
he is a PhD and an assistant professor, well not
for long, right at the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender and
Ethnic Studies at UNLB. Correct, and you received your doctoral
(04:12):
degree in anthropology from the University of Illinois or Banage
Champagne with concentration on Asian American studies and as a
cultural anthropologist. Doctor Arnaldo's research includes popular culture, immigration, race
and ethnic identity, masculinity and sexuality, and in particular, he
(04:39):
examines the colonial and post colonial experiences of diasporic Filipino
Americans in sports and in their everyday lives. So welcome,
doctor Ronaldo. You have anything to add to that?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Thank you? Yeah, I appreciate that. Warm welcome and introduction.
I will say that I did receive tenure promot, so
I guess I am now a social professor, which makes
me really happy. It's a career achievement. And again I'm
happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Very good, very good.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
And you are also an author of book, right, yeah, yeah,
we can talk about that later later.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Okay, all right, well let's get started. So can you
tell us about and you can tag team on this
on these questions. Tell us about the Asian American, Asian
and Asian American Studies program at TUNLB.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, so you touched upon it a little bit in
the introduction, But our program is composed of two core faculty.
It's doctor Boompot and I. We do have a wonderful
postdoctoral fellow. Her name is doctor Christina Onung. She's on
the second year of her fellowship that came out of
(05:51):
the Neo Pacific grant that we'll talk about later. And
so we have affiliated faculty, in particular doctor Tesla win
Women who's in the history department. But she's been part
of our program and community for I don't know how
many years, like seventy years, wow. And so we're focused
(06:12):
on not only Asia and the Pacific Asia and the
Pacific region. It's people and cultures, but also thinking more
about the Asian diasporg population.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And what.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Asian American studies can offer in terms of the stories
and experiences of Asian American and Pacific islanders. So we're
interested in studying and teaching the historical and contemporary experiences
of Asian Americans and Asians in America and what can
(06:52):
what that can tell us about understanding connections between Asia
and the USA.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And I think the.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Just to add on to this, I think one of
the things that makes our program unique world I think
there's two things. One is, you know, we take we
are global in focus, right, so we see things that
are happening in Las Vegas as more reflections of things
that are happening globally. But also that we take Las
Vegas seriously as a place and so a lot of
(07:24):
people we don't treat it as like this plastic, fake thing,
but it's a real place with real people, and we
approach it as you know, we can learn a lot
of lessons from the place that we live in this
space that we live in. And you know, it's also
important to point out that I am a Thai American
when I saw. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California,
(07:46):
in the San Fernando Valley. Doctor Ronaldo is Filipino American,
and I think that matters in our program because we
try to center the popul Asian populations that have been
typically kind of marginalized in the field of study, in
multiple fields of studies. So we center Filipino Americans in
the Filipino diaspora, and you center them in the narratives
(08:09):
and the histories.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
What can we learn from that population.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
We try to center Thai Americans and Thai immigrants, and
so I think that gives us a unique perspectives as
scholars and as educators too.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
We have such a diverse population here, and you know,
we have an honorable consulate here for Filipino Americans. But
I just learned that there are twenty six types of
people who have We have actually twenty six different honorary
(08:40):
consulates here. So I'm not sure how many of those
are in the Asian realm, but if you can imagine
twenty six and that's not even you know, covering like
the whole, but that's a lot for a certain a
certain place. Correct, Yeah, good good goodness. So we're interested
(09:02):
about this grant from the Melon Foundation, which you guys
got eight hundred k. That's significant and it is to
benefit or for the goal of the Neon Pacific Initiative.
So can you tell us about that? What is that
all about?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah? So, the Neo Pacific Initiative.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Is a project that is funded by the Melon Foundation
for three years and it runs We started in January
twenty twenty four and it runs all the way until
December twenty twenty six, so the end of next year
is three years. And the whole goal is, as you
mentioned at the during the opening, to enhance and elevate
and expand Asian American studies and the research that we're
(09:46):
doing around Las Vegas and Asian Americans. Right, so, how
have Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders shaped Las Vegas? And
then how has Las Vegas shaped Asian America and Pacific
Islander America? And are the goal is to try to
again expand the histories and.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
The narratives of our populations, of our.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Understanding of Las Vegas as a place, right where Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders are typically left out of that story.
But to also tell a more expansive story of Asian America,
where Las Vegas is typically left out of that story
or seen as you know, again just a kind of
fake place that doesn't have anything important happening. And so
(10:30):
that's kind of the larger goal of the grant. But
we have a number of different activities from mentoring program
and internships for students to curriculum development, which Constantio plays
a heavy role in, so creating classes. So we have
four classes that we offer for those who are listening
at home and are interested in taking classes. Doctor Arnaldo
(10:54):
teaches Asian American Popular Culture which is a new class,
Asian American Sporting Cultures, and Philippine Filipino Philippino American Experience.
And I teach Food in Asian America and Asian Americans
in Las Vegas. And so those are the classes that
we teach. So it's really about just building up the
(11:15):
program so that it's relevant to the field and also
relevant to the city.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Okay, so you have different focuses, you know for the
grant in itself?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Is that to agree? Yeah? I mean, so because of
the grant, I was able to develop a class, a
new class, this becoming false semester called Asian Americans in
popular culture. The grand also allows me to bring in
guest speakers for my classes, and because the grant is
specifically about place making, some of my assignments are about
(11:48):
how Asian Americans claim place or make space for themselves. So,
for example, last semester, I taught the Philipino American Experience
class and I was like, students, we're going to Seafood
City to understand and to say, you know, like, rather
than just assume that Seafood City has no meaning for
(12:10):
it would say, example for Filipino Americans, I'm saying, based
on the scholarship, that it has profound meanings for Filipino
Filipino Americans. And so they went to Seafood City. We
kind of did observation. Students examined, like what does it
mean to have a remittance center? Why do foods appear
(12:33):
in Seafood City but not in a place like Vaughn's.
And so I think the grant helped facilitate that project.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Oh that's wonderful, that's wonderful.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
So you have anything to add to that, yeah, And
I think you know, it's important to say. And I
think Consantio can add to this because we were all
part of the meeting, But it's important to say that
we were we as a program. In our research, we
were already focusing on Las Vegas. We were interested in
this place. You know, it's a suburban, it's a you know,
master planned city, metropolitan area, it's heavily suburban.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
We saw it as this is the future of Asian America.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
There is a spatial what we describe as a spatial
component to the Asian American experience. So not all Asian
American experiences obviously are the same. And part of that
is because we live in different kinds of places, right,
Some live in cities, some live in Chinatown, some live
in suburbs. So that shapes I think Asian American identities
and experiences. And we were already interested in that, and
(13:31):
the Melon Foundation reached out to us, and so they
sent us an email to say, Hey, we're really interested
in what you're doing at UNLB. Would you like to
have a meeting to talk about a potential funding opportunity,
And so that's how we.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We got funded.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Yeah, so we were already thinking, yeah, Las Vegas and
these these spaces in these ways, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So who these classes. Are they like maybe a mixture
of races or are there other people? Are they just
purely Asian Americans.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Or primarily Asian Americans? Primarily we have some Latino African
American I see, Okay students.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, okay, So you mentioned a little bit about the activities,
so I think you have a lot more, right, take up.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
The whole show I'm interested in. Yeah, I mean I
could get you know, if you'd like, I can give
you just a quick bullet point of the activities.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, Well, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
So what we got funded for a narrative podcast series,
so podcasters where there Each episode is sort of a
documentary and it focuses on APIs in Las Vegas.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
We have episode for example.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
On historia and Filipino food culture, right, so just as
an example, we have one on Chinatown. We have one
on Polynesians and Native Hawaiians and football, right so sports
and community.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
And so that's one big research activity. We have the courses,
the curriculum development, internships, mentoring program, and then we also
do workshops and symposiums that are more that are storytelling based.
So nice, it's about placemaking, but it's also about documenting
stories from the perspectives of APIs in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Very good, Very good. So, how does Las Vegas as
a place shape the Asian American Pacific Islanders as an
experience with regards to immigration and race, racial violence, sports,
that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, that's a great question question.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah, that's our question. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So you know, like one of the one of the
questions I asked students is like, how did we get here? Yeah,
Like why are Asian Americans and Pacific calendars in a
place like Vegas in the first place, or the US
more broadly, And so part of it is labor, right,
Like Filipinos are in the hot Italian industry, They're in
(16:02):
the casinos, waitresses, housekeepers, healthcare, healthcare. Filipinos of the largest
Asian ethnic group in Vegas, and so I think that's
part of it. Some folks are just relocating from places
like California to Vegas because it's more affordable. But also,
(16:23):
like during COVID, there's an episode on another podcast called
Exit Spring Mountain that you were a part of. I
think you were the consultant that talked about how Asian
Americans were confronting everyday violence because of the racist designation
of the China virus right, and Asian Americans were targeted
(16:44):
in Vegas, and so yeah, but someone like Pacyao right.
In my book, I have a chapter on pac Yao
and me attending one of his Bible studies in Mandalay Bay.
Michael Jackson won the right. And so in terms of
sports Filipinos, my research is over ten years of studying
(17:07):
Pakiao and me coming to Vegas and looking at the
kinds of fandom that he he creates and why Filipinos
from the Philippines Filipinos in the US are coming to
watch him fight. So Vegas is such an interesting place
because you have folks that live in Vegas, but you
also have folks that come to Vegas who are Asian
(17:30):
and or Asian American.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
That's pretty interesting tidbit about Manny Pacquiao because I didn't
know that he was into the religious realm. I was
trying to get him actually to be interviewed on account.
I think he was helping kids in the Philippines to
do the computer stuff, but never got to connect with him.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
So thro read your book. Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
One of the things associated with this study is food, right,
and we all know that as Asian Americans want to
eat and food, you know, pretty much kind of defines us.
And you have a class on food and Asian America.
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Do you cook there?
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I wish I could, It would be a fire hazard.
I think if I cook, I will bring in food
from my students. But the class is an upper division
course in Asian American studies, and you know, we focus
on the importance of food and the relationship between food
and Asian America.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
So it's not just like an Asian American cooking class.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
It is using food to think about Asian American histories
and experiences, identity, culture, different cultures, and so you know,
we focus on like, you know, the one aspect is
like cultural retention, right, so like food as a way
to connect to your culture, right.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But we also use.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Food as an entry point to talk about things like labor, immigration.
So it opens up these ways for students to explore
bigger concepts that they may not have encountered before.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Right, So like colonialism and imperialism.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Some students come in knowing a little bit about that,
but when they think about it through food, they can
kind of see, oh wow, this was a very deeply
ingrained process and thinking about immigration policies and how foods
even get to the United States.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
So it's a very dynamic class. And you know, every time.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
I teach it, each week we focus on a specific
dish from a specific community. And so week two, right
off the bat, we talk about adobo and they learned.
The way the class goes, they learn how to make
the dish. Again, I don't cook it, but we watch,
you know, a video clip of someone making it, so
they learn how to make it. And then we learned
(19:54):
the history and evolution of a dobo, and then use
that as a window to talk about, Okay, what is
this relationship that Filipinos have with their food their food
and how has their food culture changed and why has
it changed?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
And then that pretty much ends up being a full
three hours all day.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, how about Thai food because I know you're your love.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Oh yeah, that is week eleven. So the dish there
is pot Thai. So we talk about pot thai, yes,
as a popular dish that most if not all my students,
uh and everyone has had. And then we use that
again as a way to talk about the Thai community.
(20:42):
And so in this case we use it to talk
about restaurant culture, labor and the food or the hands
that are making the dishes behind in the in the
back of the kitchen.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
So these are the ways that I think about food.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So knowing the three and background of food the food
you eat is important. So there's one Filipino organization, Historia,
who basically I think you mentioned them, and they go
through that you know, what's the origin of this, what's
the origin. I was able to go to one of
(21:18):
their little banquets where they had six chefs and each
one explained their dish, you know, and that was awesome.
Do you work with them by any chance? Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So before Historia actually took off, I met with the
CEO and founder of Walbert.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
We have mutual connections because I was a grad student
of Illinois.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I was.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
His friend's TA. So he reached out to me in
the beginning before his story took off, like Hey, I'm
doing this concept of pre colonial Filipino food, and I
was like, that is fascinating. You know, if you look
at Filipino restaurants, it's Jolly b It's maybe Max's, there's
Minila Barbecue. But the concept of pre colonial Filipino food
(22:07):
was really interesting. And what I appreciate about Estodia is
that they are telling a story. And so if we
think about storytelling as a way to think about the
human condition, what's missing in the story about Filipino food.
And in many ways, I think they're trying to tell
a story about not only pre colonial Filipino food, but
(22:28):
what happened when the Spanish came, what happened when the
Americans came. And so their food is delicious, and so
I've had Walbert and his I forgot I think Ramon
and a couple of others team members come to my
class to talk about and so I've gone to maybe
(22:50):
three and the food has always been really good. So yeah,
we work. I mean, I'm a huge supporter of them,
and I want them to do well. Hopefully they open
up brick and mortar.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, we're hoping that as well. But that's good. I'm
glad that you're sort of like in touch with them,
So that's good. Now, there's also another organization which I
belong to called h f a N which is the
Healthy Filipino American Nion. Okay, and one of the goals,
it's a holistic thing you know, and we not only
(23:27):
focus on exercise, on other things, focusing on the Philippine
American mental health and all that, but one of the
things that we focus on is nutritious food, so the
wellness of Filipino Americans anyway. So is this part of
the study, like not for the organization in itself, but
(23:50):
healthy cooking as part of you know, either your study
or how would you make it more relevant? We're in
like the people today are into like little diets and
light stuff. So do you incorporate that in your programs?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I mean I would, you know, I think we don't
directly address the healthy eating component.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I think and we don't, you know.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Directly address diet or nutrition in terms of like today,
like what you can eat to become healthier.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I think what's interesting to me about this though, And.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
I know that you had them on the show, so
I was able to kind of listen to the holisticness
of their their approach, right, And I think what's interesting
is that you know, it's always it's to me as
a historian, it's linked to colonialism, and so I'm interested
in that. I think the insight that I can offer
and we can offer is I'm interested in how conversations
(24:45):
about Filipino American health and nutrition are connected to histories
of colonialism, because you know, when when the US colonized
the Philippines, they introduced a ton of processed foods and
kind of got Filipinos hooked on these processes food, can
can goods, highly processed food. And my question is does
(25:09):
that have an impact and did that have an impact
on the Filipino American diet? And I think the answer
is yes, yes, yes, yes, And so you know, for me,
it's it's thinking about food, nutrition, diet in relationship to colonialism.
And also at that same time, you know, American like
(25:29):
ordinary Americans, really tried to change the Filipino diet.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Right, They're like, you're you snack.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Too much, you eat too much, you eat too many desserts,
and so eating healthy is a complicated.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I think question for you it certainly is. It certainly is.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
And basically what we try to teach is that you
don't have to starve yourself or you don't have to
say I'm not eating that adoble anymore. It's basically like portions,
you know, make it a portions, not eat the whole. Yeah, okay,
all right, so thank you for that. So, doctor Arnaldo,
(26:08):
your research includes popular popular culture, immigration, race, ethnicity, masculinity,
and sexuality. That's interesting. Can you tell us about this.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, So, my book titled Filipino American Sporting Cultures the
Racial Politics of Play looks at sports as an important
side of analysis. So sports is often seen as like whimsical,
like people don't take it seriously in as a serious
(26:42):
scholarly topic. But I'm arguing that sports is a really
important way to understand identity formation.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Filipinos a lot of basketball, right, why is that not?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
So my question is again thinking about colonialism, is the
Americans introduced institutionalized sports in the Philippines. That's why the
PBA is the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
And so these are enduring questions about the afterlife of
colonialism in the Philippines and how sports was taken up
(27:14):
by Filipino Americans. But sports is not you know, when
people think about sports, it's like, okay, it's just about merit.
But sports is also exclusionary. At times. It can be
really homophobic and reproduce racist understandings of let's say African Americans.
(27:34):
It can be really sexist. And so these are the
questions I have that I write about in my book,
and that I'm interested because this is my way of
contributing to understanding the long legacy of colonialism in the
Philippines is through sports. Sports is also a side of
(27:56):
possibility to challenge, let's say, how Asian and Asian American
have been viewed as emasculated, or to perhaps challenge out
Filipina and Asian American women have been seen as objects
and hyper sexualized. In one of my chapters, I talk
about how they play flag football and how these women
(28:17):
are dominant against white women. And so I hold intention
the contradictions of sports as a side of possibility and
contradiction that reflects these identity categories like race and class
and gender and sexuality. So someone like Pachyo, for example,
(28:40):
he's obviously super masculine, he's muscular, and in that process
he's challenging how Asian men have been seen as not
masculine enough. But at the same time, his symbolism is
also very contradictory because it reproduces particular exclusions based on
race and sexuality.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Wow, what do you think about that? From a Thai
American perspective.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Yeah, I mean I don't. I think from a Thai
American perspective.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
One of the things that I uh, one of the
many things that I love about Constantio's work and his
thinking and his book, and I think his book is
a beautiful reflection of this is we take seriously the
things that society and scholars even don't take seriously. Right
because even you mentioned like, why wouldn't they focus on sport,
it's such a huge because they think it's trivial, right.
(29:35):
They see things like food as like this is not
a serious academic topic. Where's the policy, where's the big
you know about economic systems, and this is our way
to show that those structures and systems come down to
everyday life and actually.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Have an impact on people, right.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
And so I think that's what Constantio does so well,
and it again is beautiful reflection of what we want
to do and what we're trying to do with the program.
And for Thai Americans, I think it's we have a
similar approach. Food became the thing. Food is the thing
that stands in for Thai people in the United States.
Most people know about Thai people because of Thai food,
(30:16):
correct and so for some for other scholars in the
field to say, well, that's not important.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Like type they only know about us, because how can
you say that that's not important? So yeah, I think
that that's that's my response.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Wow wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
So what's the title of your book Filipino American Sporting
Cultures The Racial Politics of Play. It's with NYU Press.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Okay, and you have a book as well?
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Yes, actually, yeah, my book which was published in twenty
seventeen University of California Press called Flavors of Empires Food
in the Making of Thai America.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Oh okay, so y'all you can avail yourselves of these bookstart. Yeah,
So there is a segment in Is there a segment
in the studies in your grant that talks about healthcare
and healthcare professionals in Las Vegas?
Speaker 4 (31:19):
There is, you know, as Constantio mentioned, we were trying
to build on the episode in Exit Spring Mountain that
focused on Filipino healthcare workers. But in my class on
Asian Americans in Las Vegas, that's where it's most relevant.
I do a whole lecture class session on Filipino healthcare workers,
the history of Filipino nurses.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
To the United States and temporary migration.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
And so my approach to Filipino nurses is to think
about it historically where they're being trained, also the Philippines
exporting nurses to the United States.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
But I also want my students to think about what
it means.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
To come here and care do care work in the
United States, but still be a temporary migrant, right and
you have to think about all these pathways for visas,
and you're caring for the survival of so many US
citizens and people who live here. And so that's the
interesting part for me is how Filipino healthcare workers are
(32:20):
such a major part of the United States, of the diaspora,
but also of the United States. But they're also caught
in this kind of like we're not fully citizens or
just imported labor.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
But that's how I approach it in my classroom.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Oh that's good, that's good.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
And I think for me, my mom is a retired nurse.
And it wasn't until I took my first ever Asian
American Studies class that talked about why Philipino, Why have
there's so many Filipino nurses in the US. And I
read this wonderful book. It's still relevant today called empire
of care, like Catherine Sen needs a choice. And so
(32:59):
when my class as I do talk about the labor
of care and that my mom is now a retired
nurse and she provided the care work for hundreds of patients,
and that during COVID, Filipino nurses were the highest percentage
to dive from COVID, correct, but constituted the smallest percentage
(33:21):
of nurses. And so that was really alarming and disturbing
and maybe angry and frustrated that in many ways they
provide this care work for labor and yet their their
labor is invisible and easily disposable.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Nice right, right, there is a there is a movie.
Well it's a it's called Nurse and yes, and we're
trying to bring that back because I think UNLB had
a screening on it, but there wasn't a lot of people.
So we're trying to get that back. And it basically
you are correct because if you go to any hospital
(34:02):
or any facility, health care facility, you see mostly all
Filipinos or Asian Americans, whatever.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
But.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
They had the highest rate of deaths in COVID. And
you know why that is because most of these people
volunteered to go to or work in the ICUs in
the intensive care units, and that's where they placed all
of the front lines of the COVID. So but they
were never really recognized properly, right.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
And let me just correct it was Empire of care,
not labor of care empire. Yeah, I mean, I appreciate
that question so much because it's it hits deep for me.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Yes, yes, And if you look at me, you know
I came here years and years ago, went in Florida.
I had one hundred dollars in my pocket and my
nursing uniforms and a one year contract with a hospital.
So there it is. Anyways, okay, so oh so far.
What kind of stories have you heard from Asian Americans
(35:04):
here in your like anything relevant or anything that really
sticks out there.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
I mean I mentioned it earlier, but during COVID it
was affecting Asian American communities students. Some of my own
students were targeted. We share students. Some were just scared.
But also, like I think what's really great about the
grant is that there's an event called my Own Story.
(35:35):
I think you mentioned it earlier, and it's a way
for them to perform in public for the first time
the story about what it means to be Asian American.
And so you get a diverse cast of folks that
tell the story about either moving to Vegas or being
born and raised in Vegas and talk about what it
(35:59):
meant for them to live in a place like Vegas,
which is the entertainment capital of the world that doesn't
necessarily get recognized as a site of Asian America. So
that's been one of the really great things to come
out of the ground among the many others, because you
hear stories about their lived experiences.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Yeah, and I think even though the stories are so
different depending on the kind of population and community they
come from.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
You know. One of the things that has.
Speaker 4 (36:29):
Also been great to see is the students and our
colleagues actually thinking about Las Vegas and kind of embracing
it as home or trying to think about it more
as you know, not just like oh I hate it here,
I want to leave, like this is like a city
that's not like any it's not even a real place.
(36:50):
But they're actually starting to reflect on wait a minute,
I think our experiences here are important as part of
the Asian American experience, and they want to for that.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Yeah, that matters.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
That really matters, because every time I have like not
relative even friends that come here or maybe some acquaintances
and said, so do you go to the casino every
day to get And I'm like, no, there's actually a
life outside of the trip.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Do you avoid the strip pretty much too?
Speaker 3 (37:23):
I do.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
I don't want to lose my money. Too hard for it,
It don't work hard for it. Okay, very good. So
for you and your team, what is the most important
and significant part of your data gathering?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, I think it's the I can speak to the podcast.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
It as one aspect of this that I think is
has been really important because you know, that's where we
do a lot of the interviews, and they're not traditionally
like we're trained to do oral history interviews and that
that has a whole set of professional like protocol and
ethics behind it, and of course obviously we're being ethical
(38:03):
when we do these interviews for the podcast. So you
have a.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
Podcast associated with the Grand Yes, oh, yes, okay, and
so for that series we interview and try to interview.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
So like for the episode on Historia, you know, we
interview Monica and one of our former students who is
now working at Astoria Eva Cardinho. So we interviewed her
and her experiences growing up in her relationship to Filipino
food in Las Vegas. And I think that as a
form of data collection that is very collaborative right.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Where our interviews are.
Speaker 4 (38:39):
Are yet they document the experience, but it's also very
collaborative in nature.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Okay, that's good.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Okay, So I know you said the grand duel and
on the twenty twenty six at the end of the year. Okay,
so are you going to be publishing the results.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
Of what are And that's the plan. The plan is
to have you know, five episodes of the podcast. Each
of them will be about forty five minutes, and we
plan to host them on a multi media website where
you can listen to an episode but also see suggested readings,
(39:20):
maybe some archival images, and so that's how we want
to make it accessible to.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Everything, accessible to everyone. Well, that's good, that's good. So
what is your message to the Asian American community regarding
the study and participating in actually telling their stories once
to go?
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I mean, our stories are our stories matter? Yeah? Sure,
And for so long we've been seen as quiet as
this model minority. We don't make a ruckus. But I
think our stories are important to understand again the human condition,
and that our story have been rendered invisible to dominant
(40:05):
understandings of who Asian Americans are. And so it's important
to tell these stories because we're not a monolith or
hter geneous. We're diverse, we have different experiences, and a
place like Vegas is such a critical site to understand
Asian America beyond the East coast, West coast, the south right,
(40:25):
we have a particular experience in Vegas, and I think
it's really important for people to understand.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Yeah, and yeah, I would just you know, add to that.
That was wonderfully said.
Speaker 4 (40:37):
I think anyone who is interested in kind of Asian
American studies, it's not just about Asian Americans, right, So
I don't I want people to not just think, oh,
it's about that group over there, and even if they
like it, they're like, oh, but it's just about them.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
This is about all of us.
Speaker 4 (40:52):
And so if you're interested in popular culture, right, this
is one way for you to think.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
About popular culture more broadly. If you're interested in.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
Urban and suburban design, this is a place for you
to go through Asian American experiences to think about what
is this place, Las Vegas, and why is it built
the way that it's built, Why does it look the
way that it looks if you're interested in food and
how food works, right, So all of these so it's
not just about Asian Americans. And I think the last
(41:21):
thing I'll say quickly is we have a we're in
a very important moment that we often can't see because
we're in it.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
But Vegas is emerging. It's an emerging place.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
So we must and have to document our stories told
by Asian Americans and Pacific Houndards. This is our opportunity
to not have what happened, you know, in the last
one hundred and fifty two hundred years, where those stories
were written for us, and they were written for us
to exclude us, to leave us out of the story.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
We do not want to be left out of the
Las Vegas story.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
And so it's it's our job, I think, and it's
an exciting thing to document and tell stories about APIs
from our perspectives and to leave that legacy behind.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
And I think that that's really exciting.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
That is so wonderful. Well, Doctor Mark pattonpat and doctor
Constantio Arnaldo, thank you so much for coming to the
podcast today. It's really an honor for.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
Us for you to be here.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
And you are doing such a great work in relation
to Asian American studies, and we do appreciate.
Speaker 4 (42:32):
What you do.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
So we cannot wait for the outcome of your study,
I guess so we have to we have to have
you back, right, Yeah, we'd love to, yes, yes, good, good, good.
And we also have to thank the u n LB
uh U n LB for having Asian American studies, you know,
in their curriculum offerings, So thank you for that. My
(42:57):
daughter graduated from you and Elie yes, okay, And to
our listeners, we leave you with this. Asian American studies
emerged in the late nineteen sixties as a response to
the civil rights movement and the call for a more
inclusive curriculum in higher education. So the field deepens the
(43:18):
understanding of the Asian American history and its relevance to
contemporary issues and facing these communities, while also encouraging the
solidarity among marginalized groups. Through the study of Asian American experiences,
students develop critical thinking, collaboration, public speaking skills, and more importantly,
(43:42):
Asian American studies plays a vital role in promoting social justice,
fostering inclusivity, and cultivating an appreciation for the rich and
diverse narratives within the Asian and Asian American cultures, and
ultimately it helps shape a more informed, emphatic, and socially
(44:03):
conscious citizenry. So thank you so much for joining us today.
Please be safe and be well until next time. This
is Doris Bauer. You're Filippin Ar's host, signing off for now.
(44:56):
Just like a friend from back home, this is your
Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas p h l V
Radio a sh
Well, hello the Philippe NARS listeners and followers. How are
you all doing fine? We hope it is time again
for Philippine Nars. So thank you so much for joining
us today. And as you all know, Philippine Nars is
brought to you by the p and A n V
or the Philippin Nurses Association of Nevada in collaboration with
PHLV Radio. So we have a very interesting topic today
(01:08):
and it is all about Asian American studies. So, Asian
American studies is an academic field that critically examines the
history issues, sociology, religion, experiences, and culture and policies that
is relevant to Asian Americans. And Asian American studies is
(01:30):
crucial for understanding the diverse experience of Asian Americans here
and that is a population that is very large here
in our community. So UNLV or the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas, has Asian American Studies in their curriculum. So
we have invited two professors from the UNLV Asian American
(01:55):
Studies to talk to us about this. So please welcome
doctor Mark dun Pat and doctor Constantio. Let me see
Constantio are nawdough correct? Did I say that?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Well, welcome, gentlemen.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Oh, of course, of course. And so how about this audience.
We have two scholars in the house.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Isn't this awesome?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Okay, let's get them introduced. So first is doctor Mark
pat and Pat over there. He is an Associate professor
of Asian American Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies and the director
of the Asian American Studies at UNLB. Right, he's currently
working on a book project of Asian American placement in
(02:43):
Las Vegas, and they are the recipient of a three year,
eight hundred thousand grant from the Melon Foundation to sport
what we call the Neon Pacific Initiative, which aims to
expand and enhance and elevate the placemaking and public facing
(03:04):
scholarship activities happening at NLB.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
So, he is also the author of several books, and
he has been in several podcasts. You have shared your
work in podcasts and also in the TV like The
Migrant Kitchen and Taste the Nation.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
How awesome is that?
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Do you have anything to add to that?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
No, that was wonderful. Doris. That was wonderful.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
And I will only say that I will my directorship
at UNOB will end in a couple of months because
doctor Ronaldo will be taking over as director of the program.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So I wanted to say, you're not going anywhere, are you?
Speaker 4 (03:40):
I'm not going anywhere, but it is time for me
to take a breather and for new energetic leadership.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
Oh my goodness. Okay, you're ready for this, I hope
so okay, So right here is doctor Constantio Ronaldo. And
he is a PhD and an assistant professor, well not
for long, right at the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender and
Ethnic Studies at UNLB. Correct, and you received your doctoral
(04:12):
degree in anthropology from the University of Illinois or Banage
Champagne with concentration on Asian American studies and as a
cultural anthropologist. Doctor Arnaldo's research includes popular culture, immigration, race
and ethnic identity, masculinity and sexuality, and in particular, he
(04:39):
examines the colonial and post colonial experiences of diasporic Filipino
Americans in sports and in their everyday lives. So welcome,
doctor Ronaldo. You have anything to add to that?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Thank you? Yeah, I appreciate that. Warm welcome and introduction.
I will say that I did receive tenure promot, so
I guess I am now a social professor, which makes
me really happy. It's a career achievement. And again I'm
happy to be here.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Very good, very good.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
And you are also an author of book, right, yeah, yeah,
we can talk about that later later.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Okay, all right, well let's get started. So can you
tell us about and you can tag team on this
on these questions. Tell us about the Asian American, Asian
and Asian American Studies program at TUNLB.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, so you touched upon it a little bit in
the introduction, But our program is composed of two core faculty.
It's doctor Boompot and I. We do have a wonderful
postdoctoral fellow. Her name is doctor Christina Onung. She's on
the second year of her fellowship that came out of
(05:51):
the Neo Pacific grant that we'll talk about later. And
so we have affiliated faculty, in particular doctor Tesla win
Women who's in the history department. But she's been part
of our program and community for I don't know how
many years, like seventy years, wow. And so we're focused
(06:12):
on not only Asia and the Pacific Asia and the
Pacific region. It's people and cultures, but also thinking more
about the Asian diasporg population.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And what.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Asian American studies can offer in terms of the stories
and experiences of Asian American and Pacific islanders. So we're
interested in studying and teaching the historical and contemporary experiences
of Asian Americans and Asians in America and what can
(06:52):
what that can tell us about understanding connections between Asia
and the USA.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And I think the.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Just to add on to this, I think one of
the things that makes our program unique world I think
there's two things. One is, you know, we take we
are global in focus, right, so we see things that
are happening in Las Vegas as more reflections of things
that are happening globally. But also that we take Las
Vegas seriously as a place and so a lot of
(07:24):
people we don't treat it as like this plastic, fake thing,
but it's a real place with real people, and we
approach it as you know, we can learn a lot
of lessons from the place that we live in this
space that we live in. And you know, it's also
important to point out that I am a Thai American
when I saw. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California,
(07:46):
in the San Fernando Valley. Doctor Ronaldo is Filipino American,
and I think that matters in our program because we
try to center the popul Asian populations that have been
typically kind of marginalized in the field of study, in
multiple fields of studies. So we center Filipino Americans in
the Filipino diaspora, and you center them in the narratives
(08:09):
and the histories.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
What can we learn from that population.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
We try to center Thai Americans and Thai immigrants, and
so I think that gives us a unique perspectives as
scholars and as educators too.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
We have such a diverse population here, and you know,
we have an honorable consulate here for Filipino Americans. But
I just learned that there are twenty six types of
people who have We have actually twenty six different honorary
(08:40):
consulates here. So I'm not sure how many of those
are in the Asian realm, but if you can imagine
twenty six and that's not even you know, covering like
the whole, but that's a lot for a certain a
certain place. Correct, Yeah, good good goodness. So we're interested
(09:02):
about this grant from the Melon Foundation, which you guys
got eight hundred k. That's significant and it is to
benefit or for the goal of the Neon Pacific Initiative.
So can you tell us about that? What is that
all about?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah? So, the Neo Pacific Initiative.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Is a project that is funded by the Melon Foundation
for three years and it runs We started in January
twenty twenty four and it runs all the way until
December twenty twenty six, so the end of next year
is three years. And the whole goal is, as you
mentioned at the during the opening, to enhance and elevate
and expand Asian American studies and the research that we're
(09:46):
doing around Las Vegas and Asian Americans. Right, so, how
have Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders shaped Las Vegas? And
then how has Las Vegas shaped Asian America and Pacific
Islander America? And are the goal is to try to
again expand the histories and.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
The narratives of our populations, of our.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Understanding of Las Vegas as a place, right where Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders are typically left out of that story.
But to also tell a more expansive story of Asian America,
where Las Vegas is typically left out of that story
or seen as you know, again just a kind of
fake place that doesn't have anything important happening. And so
(10:30):
that's kind of the larger goal of the grant. But
we have a number of different activities from mentoring program
and internships for students to curriculum development, which Constantio plays
a heavy role in, so creating classes. So we have
four classes that we offer for those who are listening
at home and are interested in taking classes. Doctor Arnaldo
(10:54):
teaches Asian American Popular Culture which is a new class,
Asian American Sporting Cultures, and Philippine Filipino Philippino American Experience.
And I teach Food in Asian America and Asian Americans
in Las Vegas. And so those are the classes that
we teach. So it's really about just building up the
(11:15):
program so that it's relevant to the field and also
relevant to the city.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Okay, so you have different focuses, you know for the
grant in itself?
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Is that to agree? Yeah? I mean, so because of
the grant, I was able to develop a class, a
new class, this becoming false semester called Asian Americans in
popular culture. The grand also allows me to bring in
guest speakers for my classes, and because the grant is
specifically about place making, some of my assignments are about
(11:48):
how Asian Americans claim place or make space for themselves. So,
for example, last semester, I taught the Philipino American Experience
class and I was like, students, we're going to Seafood
City to understand and to say, you know, like, rather
than just assume that Seafood City has no meaning for
(12:10):
it would say, example for Filipino Americans, I'm saying, based
on the scholarship, that it has profound meanings for Filipino
Filipino Americans. And so they went to Seafood City. We
kind of did observation. Students examined, like what does it
mean to have a remittance center? Why do foods appear
(12:33):
in Seafood City but not in a place like Vaughn's.
And so I think the grant helped facilitate that project.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Oh that's wonderful, that's wonderful.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
So you have anything to add to that, yeah, And
I think you know, it's important to say. And I
think Consantio can add to this because we were all
part of the meeting, But it's important to say that
we were we as a program. In our research, we
were already focusing on Las Vegas. We were interested in
this place. You know, it's a suburban, it's a you know,
master planned city, metropolitan area, it's heavily suburban.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
We saw it as this is the future of Asian America.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
There is a spatial what we describe as a spatial
component to the Asian American experience. So not all Asian
American experiences obviously are the same. And part of that
is because we live in different kinds of places, right,
Some live in cities, some live in Chinatown, some live
in suburbs. So that shapes I think Asian American identities
and experiences. And we were already interested in that, and
(13:31):
the Melon Foundation reached out to us, and so they
sent us an email to say, Hey, we're really interested
in what you're doing at UNLB. Would you like to
have a meeting to talk about a potential funding opportunity,
And so that's how we.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
We got funded.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
Yeah, so we were already thinking, yeah, Las Vegas and
these these spaces in these ways, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
So who these classes. Are they like maybe a mixture
of races or are there other people? Are they just
purely Asian Americans.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Or primarily Asian Americans? Primarily we have some Latino African
American I see, Okay students.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Yeah, okay, So you mentioned a little bit about the activities,
so I think you have a lot more, right, take up.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
The whole show I'm interested in. Yeah, I mean I
could get you know, if you'd like, I can give
you just a quick bullet point of the activities.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, Well, go ahead.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
So what we got funded for a narrative podcast series,
so podcasters where there Each episode is sort of a
documentary and it focuses on APIs in Las Vegas.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
We have episode for example.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
On historia and Filipino food culture, right, so just as
an example, we have one on Chinatown. We have one
on Polynesians and Native Hawaiians and football, right so sports
and community.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
And so that's one big research activity. We have the courses,
the curriculum development, internships, mentoring program, and then we also
do workshops and symposiums that are more that are storytelling based.
So nice, it's about placemaking, but it's also about documenting
stories from the perspectives of APIs in Las Vegas.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Very good, Very good. So, how does Las Vegas as
a place shape the Asian American Pacific Islanders as an
experience with regards to immigration and race, racial violence, sports,
that sort of thing.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, that's a great question question.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Yeah, that's our question. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So you know, like one of the one of the
questions I asked students is like, how did we get here? Yeah,
Like why are Asian Americans and Pacific calendars in a
place like Vegas in the first place, or the US
more broadly, And so part of it is labor, right,
Like Filipinos are in the hot Italian industry, They're in
(16:02):
the casinos, waitresses, housekeepers, healthcare, healthcare. Filipinos of the largest
Asian ethnic group in Vegas, and so I think that's
part of it. Some folks are just relocating from places
like California to Vegas because it's more affordable. But also,
(16:23):
like during COVID, there's an episode on another podcast called
Exit Spring Mountain that you were a part of. I
think you were the consultant that talked about how Asian
Americans were confronting everyday violence because of the racist designation
of the China virus right, and Asian Americans were targeted
(16:44):
in Vegas, and so yeah, but someone like Pacyao right.
In my book, I have a chapter on pac Yao
and me attending one of his Bible studies in Mandalay Bay.
Michael Jackson won the right. And so in terms of
sports Filipinos, my research is over ten years of studying
(17:07):
Pakiao and me coming to Vegas and looking at the
kinds of fandom that he he creates and why Filipinos
from the Philippines Filipinos in the US are coming to
watch him fight. So Vegas is such an interesting place
because you have folks that live in Vegas, but you
also have folks that come to Vegas who are Asian
(17:30):
and or Asian American.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
That's pretty interesting tidbit about Manny Pacquiao because I didn't
know that he was into the religious realm. I was
trying to get him actually to be interviewed on account.
I think he was helping kids in the Philippines to
do the computer stuff, but never got to connect with him.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
So thro read your book. Okay, So.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
One of the things associated with this study is food, right,
and we all know that as Asian Americans want to
eat and food, you know, pretty much kind of defines us.
And you have a class on food and Asian America.
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Do you cook there?
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I wish I could, It would be a fire hazard.
I think if I cook, I will bring in food
from my students. But the class is an upper division
course in Asian American studies, and you know, we focus
on the importance of food and the relationship between food
and Asian America.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
So it's not just like an Asian American cooking class.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
It is using food to think about Asian American histories
and experiences, identity, culture, different cultures, and so you know,
we focus on like, you know, the one aspect is
like cultural retention, right, so like food as a way
to connect to your culture, right.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
But we also use.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Food as an entry point to talk about things like labor, immigration.
So it opens up these ways for students to explore
bigger concepts that they may not have encountered before.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
Right, So like colonialism and imperialism.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
Some students come in knowing a little bit about that,
but when they think about it through food, they can
kind of see, oh wow, this was a very deeply
ingrained process and thinking about immigration policies and how foods
even get to the United States.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
So it's a very dynamic class. And you know, every time.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
I teach it, each week we focus on a specific
dish from a specific community. And so week two, right
off the bat, we talk about adobo and they learned.
The way the class goes, they learn how to make
the dish. Again, I don't cook it, but we watch,
you know, a video clip of someone making it, so
they learn how to make it. And then we learned
(19:54):
the history and evolution of a dobo, and then use
that as a window to talk about, Okay, what is
this relationship that Filipinos have with their food their food
and how has their food culture changed and why has
it changed?
Speaker 3 (20:11):
And then that pretty much ends up being a full
three hours all day.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, how about Thai food because I know you're your love.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Oh yeah, that is week eleven. So the dish there
is pot Thai. So we talk about pot thai, yes,
as a popular dish that most if not all my students,
uh and everyone has had. And then we use that
again as a way to talk about the Thai community.
(20:42):
And so in this case we use it to talk
about restaurant culture, labor and the food or the hands
that are making the dishes behind in the in the
back of the kitchen.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
So these are the ways that I think about food.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
So knowing the three and background of food the food
you eat is important. So there's one Filipino organization, Historia,
who basically I think you mentioned them, and they go
through that you know, what's the origin of this, what's
the origin. I was able to go to one of
(21:18):
their little banquets where they had six chefs and each
one explained their dish, you know, and that was awesome.
Do you work with them by any chance? Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So before Historia actually took off, I met with the
CEO and founder of Walbert.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
We have mutual connections because I was a grad student
of Illinois.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
I was.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
His friend's TA. So he reached out to me in
the beginning before his story took off, like Hey, I'm
doing this concept of pre colonial Filipino food, and I
was like, that is fascinating. You know, if you look
at Filipino restaurants, it's Jolly b It's maybe Max's, there's
Minila Barbecue. But the concept of pre colonial Filipino food
(22:07):
was really interesting. And what I appreciate about Estodia is
that they are telling a story. And so if we
think about storytelling as a way to think about the
human condition, what's missing in the story about Filipino food.
And in many ways, I think they're trying to tell
a story about not only pre colonial Filipino food, but
(22:28):
what happened when the Spanish came, what happened when the
Americans came. And so their food is delicious, and so
I've had Walbert and his I forgot I think Ramon
and a couple of others team members come to my
class to talk about and so I've gone to maybe
(22:50):
three and the food has always been really good. So yeah,
we work. I mean, I'm a huge supporter of them,
and I want them to do well. Hopefully they open
up brick and mortar.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Yeah, we're hoping that as well. But that's good. I'm
glad that you're sort of like in touch with them,
So that's good. Now, there's also another organization which I
belong to called h f a N which is the
Healthy Filipino American Nion. Okay, and one of the goals,
it's a holistic thing you know, and we not only
(23:27):
focus on exercise, on other things, focusing on the Philippine
American mental health and all that, but one of the
things that we focus on is nutritious food, so the
wellness of Filipino Americans anyway. So is this part of
the study, like not for the organization in itself, but
(23:50):
healthy cooking as part of you know, either your study
or how would you make it more relevant? We're in
like the people today are into like little diets and
light stuff. So do you incorporate that in your programs?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (24:08):
I mean I would, you know, I think we don't
directly address the healthy eating component.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
I think and we don't, you know.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
Directly address diet or nutrition in terms of like today,
like what you can eat to become healthier.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I think what's interesting to me about this though, And.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
I know that you had them on the show, so
I was able to kind of listen to the holisticness
of their their approach, right, And I think what's interesting
is that you know, it's always it's to me as
a historian, it's linked to colonialism, and so I'm interested
in that. I think the insight that I can offer
and we can offer is I'm interested in how conversations
(24:45):
about Filipino American health and nutrition are connected to histories
of colonialism, because you know, when when the US colonized
the Philippines, they introduced a ton of processed foods and
kind of got Filipinos hooked on these processes food, can
can goods, highly processed food. And my question is does
(25:09):
that have an impact and did that have an impact
on the Filipino American diet? And I think the answer
is yes, yes, yes, yes, And so you know, for me,
it's it's thinking about food, nutrition, diet in relationship to colonialism.
And also at that same time, you know, American like
(25:29):
ordinary Americans, really tried to change the Filipino diet.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Right, They're like, you're you snack.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
Too much, you eat too much, you eat too many desserts,
and so eating healthy is a complicated.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
I think question for you it certainly is. It certainly is.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
And basically what we try to teach is that you
don't have to starve yourself or you don't have to
say I'm not eating that adoble anymore. It's basically like portions,
you know, make it a portions, not eat the whole. Yeah, okay,
all right, so thank you for that. So, doctor Arnaldo,
(26:08):
your research includes popular popular culture, immigration, race, ethnicity, masculinity,
and sexuality. That's interesting. Can you tell us about this.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Yeah, So, my book titled Filipino American Sporting Cultures the
Racial Politics of Play looks at sports as an important
side of analysis. So sports is often seen as like whimsical,
like people don't take it seriously in as a serious
(26:42):
scholarly topic. But I'm arguing that sports is a really
important way to understand identity formation.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Filipinos a lot of basketball, right, why is that not?
Speaker 2 (26:51):
So my question is again thinking about colonialism, is the
Americans introduced institutionalized sports in the Philippines. That's why the
PBA is the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
And so these are enduring questions about the afterlife of
colonialism in the Philippines and how sports was taken up
(27:14):
by Filipino Americans. But sports is not you know, when
people think about sports, it's like, okay, it's just about merit.
But sports is also exclusionary. At times. It can be
really homophobic and reproduce racist understandings of let's say African Americans.
(27:34):
It can be really sexist. And so these are the
questions I have that I write about in my book,
and that I'm interested because this is my way of
contributing to understanding the long legacy of colonialism in the
Philippines is through sports. Sports is also a side of
(27:56):
possibility to challenge, let's say, how Asian and Asian American
have been viewed as emasculated, or to perhaps challenge out
Filipina and Asian American women have been seen as objects
and hyper sexualized. In one of my chapters, I talk
about how they play flag football and how these women
(28:17):
are dominant against white women. And so I hold intention
the contradictions of sports as a side of possibility and
contradiction that reflects these identity categories like race and class
and gender and sexuality. So someone like Pachyo, for example,
(28:40):
he's obviously super masculine, he's muscular, and in that process
he's challenging how Asian men have been seen as not
masculine enough. But at the same time, his symbolism is
also very contradictory because it reproduces particular exclusions based on
race and sexuality.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Wow, what do you think about that? From a Thai
American perspective.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Yeah, I mean I don't. I think from a Thai
American perspective.
Speaker 4 (29:12):
One of the things that I uh, one of the
many things that I love about Constantio's work and his
thinking and his book, and I think his book is
a beautiful reflection of this is we take seriously the
things that society and scholars even don't take seriously. Right
because even you mentioned like, why wouldn't they focus on sport,
it's such a huge because they think it's trivial, right.
(29:35):
They see things like food as like this is not
a serious academic topic. Where's the policy, where's the big
you know about economic systems, and this is our way
to show that those structures and systems come down to
everyday life and actually.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Have an impact on people, right.
Speaker 4 (29:55):
And so I think that's what Constantio does so well,
and it again is beautiful reflection of what we want
to do and what we're trying to do with the program.
And for Thai Americans, I think it's we have a
similar approach. Food became the thing. Food is the thing
that stands in for Thai people in the United States.
Most people know about Thai people because of Thai food,
(30:16):
correct and so for some for other scholars in the
field to say, well, that's not important.
Speaker 3 (30:22):
Like type they only know about us, because how can
you say that that's not important? So yeah, I think
that that's that's my response.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Wow wow, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
So what's the title of your book Filipino American Sporting
Cultures The Racial Politics of Play. It's with NYU Press.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Okay, and you have a book as well?
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Yes, actually, yeah, my book which was published in twenty
seventeen University of California Press called Flavors of Empires Food
in the Making of Thai America.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Oh okay, so y'all you can avail yourselves of these bookstart. Yeah,
So there is a segment in Is there a segment
in the studies in your grant that talks about healthcare
and healthcare professionals in Las Vegas?
Speaker 4 (31:19):
There is, you know, as Constantio mentioned, we were trying
to build on the episode in Exit Spring Mountain that
focused on Filipino healthcare workers. But in my class on
Asian Americans in Las Vegas, that's where it's most relevant.
I do a whole lecture class session on Filipino healthcare workers,
the history of Filipino nurses.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
To the United States and temporary migration.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
And so my approach to Filipino nurses is to think
about it historically where they're being trained, also the Philippines
exporting nurses to the United States.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
But I also want my students to think about what
it means.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
To come here and care do care work in the
United States, but still be a temporary migrant, right and
you have to think about all these pathways for visas,
and you're caring for the survival of so many US
citizens and people who live here. And so that's the
interesting part for me is how Filipino healthcare workers are
(32:20):
such a major part of the United States, of the diaspora,
but also of the United States. But they're also caught
in this kind of like we're not fully citizens or
just imported labor.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
But that's how I approach it in my classroom.
Speaker 1 (32:35):
Oh that's good, that's good.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
And I think for me, my mom is a retired nurse.
And it wasn't until I took my first ever Asian
American Studies class that talked about why Philipino, Why have
there's so many Filipino nurses in the US. And I
read this wonderful book. It's still relevant today called empire
of care, like Catherine Sen needs a choice. And so
(32:59):
when my class as I do talk about the labor
of care and that my mom is now a retired
nurse and she provided the care work for hundreds of patients,
and that during COVID, Filipino nurses were the highest percentage
to dive from COVID, correct, but constituted the smallest percentage
(33:21):
of nurses. And so that was really alarming and disturbing
and maybe angry and frustrated that in many ways they
provide this care work for labor and yet their their
labor is invisible and easily disposable.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
Nice right, right, there is a there is a movie.
Well it's a it's called Nurse and yes, and we're
trying to bring that back because I think UNLB had
a screening on it, but there wasn't a lot of people.
So we're trying to get that back. And it basically
you are correct because if you go to any hospital
(34:02):
or any facility, health care facility, you see mostly all
Filipinos or Asian Americans, whatever.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
But.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
They had the highest rate of deaths in COVID. And
you know why that is because most of these people
volunteered to go to or work in the ICUs in
the intensive care units, and that's where they placed all
of the front lines of the COVID. So but they
were never really recognized properly, right.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
And let me just correct it was Empire of care,
not labor of care empire. Yeah, I mean, I appreciate
that question so much because it's it hits deep for me.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Yes, yes, And if you look at me, you know
I came here years and years ago, went in Florida.
I had one hundred dollars in my pocket and my
nursing uniforms and a one year contract with a hospital.
So there it is. Anyways, okay, so oh so far.
What kind of stories have you heard from Asian Americans
(35:04):
here in your like anything relevant or anything that really
sticks out there.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
I mean I mentioned it earlier, but during COVID it
was affecting Asian American communities students. Some of my own
students were targeted. We share students. Some were just scared.
But also, like I think what's really great about the
grant is that there's an event called my Own Story.
(35:35):
I think you mentioned it earlier, and it's a way
for them to perform in public for the first time
the story about what it means to be Asian American.
And so you get a diverse cast of folks that
tell the story about either moving to Vegas or being
born and raised in Vegas and talk about what it
(35:59):
meant for them to live in a place like Vegas,
which is the entertainment capital of the world that doesn't
necessarily get recognized as a site of Asian America. So
that's been one of the really great things to come
out of the ground among the many others, because you
hear stories about their lived experiences.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Yeah, and I think even though the stories are so
different depending on the kind of population and community they
come from.
Speaker 3 (36:28):
You know. One of the things that has.
Speaker 4 (36:29):
Also been great to see is the students and our
colleagues actually thinking about Las Vegas and kind of embracing
it as home or trying to think about it more
as you know, not just like oh I hate it here,
I want to leave, like this is like a city
that's not like any it's not even a real place.
(36:50):
But they're actually starting to reflect on wait a minute,
I think our experiences here are important as part of
the Asian American experience, and they want to for that.
Speaker 2 (37:00):
Yeah, that matters.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
That really matters, because every time I have like not
relative even friends that come here or maybe some acquaintances
and said, so do you go to the casino every
day to get And I'm like, no, there's actually a
life outside of the trip.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
Do you avoid the strip pretty much too?
Speaker 3 (37:23):
I do.
Speaker 1 (37:23):
I don't want to lose my money. Too hard for it,
It don't work hard for it. Okay, very good. So
for you and your team, what is the most important
and significant part of your data gathering?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, I think it's the I can speak to the podcast.
Speaker 4 (37:43):
It as one aspect of this that I think is
has been really important because you know, that's where we
do a lot of the interviews, and they're not traditionally
like we're trained to do oral history interviews and that
that has a whole set of professional like protocol and
ethics behind it, and of course obviously we're being ethical
(38:03):
when we do these interviews for the podcast. So you
have a.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
Podcast associated with the Grand Yes, oh, yes, okay, and
so for that series we interview and try to interview.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
So like for the episode on Historia, you know, we
interview Monica and one of our former students who is
now working at Astoria Eva Cardinho. So we interviewed her
and her experiences growing up in her relationship to Filipino
food in Las Vegas. And I think that as a
form of data collection that is very collaborative right.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Where our interviews are.
Speaker 4 (38:39):
Are yet they document the experience, but it's also very
collaborative in nature.
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Okay, that's good.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Okay, So I know you said the grand duel and
on the twenty twenty six at the end of the year. Okay,
so are you going to be publishing the results.
Speaker 4 (38:59):
Of what are And that's the plan. The plan is
to have you know, five episodes of the podcast. Each
of them will be about forty five minutes, and we
plan to host them on a multi media website where
you can listen to an episode but also see suggested readings,
(39:20):
maybe some archival images, and so that's how we want
to make it accessible to.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Everything, accessible to everyone. Well, that's good, that's good. So
what is your message to the Asian American community regarding
the study and participating in actually telling their stories once
to go?
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I mean, our stories are our stories matter? Yeah? Sure,
And for so long we've been seen as quiet as
this model minority. We don't make a ruckus. But I
think our stories are important to understand again the human condition,
and that our story have been rendered invisible to dominant
(40:05):
understandings of who Asian Americans are. And so it's important
to tell these stories because we're not a monolith or
hter geneous. We're diverse, we have different experiences, and a
place like Vegas is such a critical site to understand
Asian America beyond the East coast, West coast, the south right,
(40:25):
we have a particular experience in Vegas, and I think
it's really important for people to understand.
Speaker 3 (40:32):
Yeah, and yeah, I would just you know, add to that.
That was wonderfully said.
Speaker 4 (40:37):
I think anyone who is interested in kind of Asian
American studies, it's not just about Asian Americans, right, So
I don't I want people to not just think, oh,
it's about that group over there, and even if they
like it, they're like, oh, but it's just about them.
Speaker 3 (40:51):
This is about all of us.
Speaker 4 (40:52):
And so if you're interested in popular culture, right, this
is one way for you to think.
Speaker 3 (40:58):
About popular culture more broadly. If you're interested in.
Speaker 4 (41:01):
Urban and suburban design, this is a place for you
to go through Asian American experiences to think about what
is this place, Las Vegas, and why is it built
the way that it's built, Why does it look the
way that it looks if you're interested in food and
how food works, right, So all of these so it's
not just about Asian Americans. And I think the last
(41:21):
thing I'll say quickly is we have a we're in
a very important moment that we often can't see because
we're in it.
Speaker 3 (41:30):
But Vegas is emerging. It's an emerging place.
Speaker 4 (41:33):
So we must and have to document our stories told
by Asian Americans and Pacific Houndards. This is our opportunity
to not have what happened, you know, in the last
one hundred and fifty two hundred years, where those stories
were written for us, and they were written for us
to exclude us, to leave us out of the story.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
We do not want to be left out of the
Las Vegas story.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
And so it's it's our job, I think, and it's
an exciting thing to document and tell stories about APIs
from our perspectives and to leave that legacy behind.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
And I think that that's really exciting.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
That is so wonderful. Well, Doctor Mark pattonpat and doctor
Constantio Arnaldo, thank you so much for coming to the
podcast today. It's really an honor for.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
Us for you to be here.
Speaker 1 (42:24):
And you are doing such a great work in relation
to Asian American studies, and we do appreciate.
Speaker 4 (42:32):
What you do.
Speaker 1 (42:32):
So we cannot wait for the outcome of your study,
I guess so we have to we have to have
you back, right, Yeah, we'd love to, yes, yes, good, good, good.
And we also have to thank the u n LB
uh U n LB for having Asian American studies, you know,
in their curriculum offerings, So thank you for that. My
(42:57):
daughter graduated from you and Elie yes, okay, And to
our listeners, we leave you with this. Asian American studies
emerged in the late nineteen sixties as a response to
the civil rights movement and the call for a more
inclusive curriculum in higher education. So the field deepens the
(43:18):
understanding of the Asian American history and its relevance to
contemporary issues and facing these communities, while also encouraging the
solidarity among marginalized groups. Through the study of Asian American experiences,
students develop critical thinking, collaboration, public speaking skills, and more importantly,
(43:42):
Asian American studies plays a vital role in promoting social justice,
fostering inclusivity, and cultivating an appreciation for the rich and
diverse narratives within the Asian and Asian American cultures, and
ultimately it helps shape a more informed, emphatic, and socially
(44:03):
conscious citizenry. So thank you so much for joining us today.
Please be safe and be well until next time. This
is Doris Bauer. You're Filippin Ar's host, signing off for now.
(44:56):
Just like a friend from back home, this is your
Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas p h l V
Radio a sh
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