International Arrivals speaks with Filipino American artist duo Abang-guard, Maureen Catbagan and Jevijoe Vitug (Phillipines/USA) (https://maureencatbagan.com/) about their current exhibition, Makibaka, at the Queens Museum in which they use the 1964-65 New York World's Fair's Philippines and New York State Pavilions as an entrance for talking about the importance of 1965 for Filipino American labor history. They emphasize the importance of community archives and the interplay between institutional critique and personal narratives, aiming to reclaim and reframe Filipino American history. Their work reconsiders the importance of monuments, Little Manila(s), The Delano grape strike, and pays homage to the bridge generation who came to find their American dream.
The title of their exhibition, Makibaka, is a rallying cry: fight to live, live to fight, dare to struggle, dare to win. It's a slogan that resistance and protest movements used against the Marcos dictatorship and martial law during the 70s and 80s and has become the regular rallying cry of Filipino activists fighting against oppressive systems, both in the Philippines and abroad.
