The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farmworkers Union, a CA Documentary Project-supported film, tells the story of farm labor organizer Larry Itliong and a group of Filipino farm workers who instigated one of the American farm labor movement’s finest hours – The Delano Grape Strike of 1965 that brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW). While the movement is known for Cesar Chavez’s leadership and considered a Chicano movement, Filipinos also played a pivotal role. Filipino labor organizer, Larry Itliong, a cigar-chomping union veteran, organized a group of 1500 Filipinos to strike against the grape growers of Delano, California, beginning a collaboration between Filipinos, Chicanos and other ethnic workers that would go on for years.

Watch the trailer on Vimeo. 

The Delano Manongs will be shown on Friday May 9th, 7:15 pm at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum as part of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest and on Saturday May 10th at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm at the International Hotel’s Manilatown Heritage Center in San Francisco. Sacramento PBS station KVIE will also hold a local broadcast on May 7.