The revolution had Filipino fingerprints all over it — history just forgot to mention it.
The Delano Manongs 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 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.
Direction
Aroy packs decades of erasure into under 30 minutes.
Editing
Archival footage hits like a gut punch — no narration needed.
Writing
Larry Itliong finally gets his cigar-chomping close-up.
Director
Marissa Aroy
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The term 'manong' is Ilocano for elder brother, a term of respect — the film reclaims it from obscurity.
Director Marissa Aroy made this after realizing her own high school textbook devoted 12 pages to Chavez and zero to Itliong.
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