Rudy and Carmen Paraoan
Photo by Joshua Albeza Branstetter for Mana, with archival images courtesy of Kaye Paraoan.
On May 6, 1972, my parents, Rudy and Carmen Paraoan, immigrated from the Philippines to Anchorage, Alaska to build a new life from the ground up.
At the time, my father had 43 cents to his name and a long road to walk to achieve the American dream. However, hard work and perseverance were no strangers to him. He grew up in Urdaneta, Pangasinan as the oldest of seven children to Victoriano and Basillia Paraoan. At only 7 years old he began selling bitter melon, eggplants, tomatoes, and bales of grass to feed horses to help provide for his family and pay for his education. He eventually graduated from Ramon Magsaysay High School and began college at Mapua Institute of Technology in Manila, Philippines.
In 1969, he met my mother through a group of friends and somehow knew she was the one he was going to build a life with. My mother was born 2 hours away from my father in Mabini, Pangasinan as one of seven children to Enrique and Francesca Vidal. After they met, they started talking to each other every day on the phone in a local grocery store because they didn’t have telephones of their own. They continued this courtship for 2 years until my father graduated with his civil engineering degree and obtained his professional license. Upon graduation, my mother said she was going to move to the United States. In fear of losing her, my father proposed, and they made a vow to begin their lives together over 5,000 miles away from everything they knew.
During their first year in Alaska, they worked in a laundromat and saved their money so that my father could attend the University of Alaska Anchorage to prepare him for his job as a surveyor for the Alaska Pipeline. In 1981, he started working as a civil engineer for the Anchorage Public Works Department and eventually transferred to the Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility in 1986. My mother continued to work in the laundromat and later started a new job at an international in-flight catering company while also caring for my two brothers. Even though money was very tight, they found ways to enjoy life in Alaska by attending parties, watching movies at the 4th Avenue Theater, and they eventually joined the Filipino Community of Anchorage Alaska (FCAA). They met lifelong friends in the community and together they promoted the Filipino cultural heritage by participating in civic activities of the greater community of Anchorage.
Their goal was to live the American dream with their three children but also stay true to their roots by staying involved in Filipino communities, speaking their native language, and continuing traditions to be passed on for next generations to come.
As their youngest daughter, I would have to say that is exactly what they did.