Luisianians of the East Coast

Luisiana is one of the fifteen towns of the province of Laguna in the Philippines . Luisiana occupies 7,500 hectares comprising of fifteen barrios: De la Paz, San Diego , San Domingo, San Pablo , San Roque, San Antonio , San Isidro , San Juan , San Pedro, San Salvador , San Buenaventura, San Jose , San Luis, San Rafael , and Santo Tomas.

Luisiana nestles on a small plateau at the southeastern tip of Laguna on a high elevation of 1,400 feet above sea level, barricaded by a massive wall of coconut trees and refreshingly cooled by the gentle breeze coming from the Sierra Madre and Banahaw Mountains

Pandan plants and coconut palm trees are grown in Luisiana. They provide the major source of income in the area. Pandan leaves are used to make hats, mats and baskets or “balulang”. Coconut palm is one of the most useful trees. Its wood is used to build houses and bridges. The leaves are used to make roofs. The sap of the tree’s blossoms is made into a sweet drink called “tuba”. This sap is also used to make sugar, vinegar and an alcoholic beverage called “lambanog”. The crisp, juicy chunks of fresh young coconut, the fruit are sold as is. Shredded and dried coconut meat are made into candy bars or “bukayo”and other foods. Copra (solid, dried coconut meat) contains valuable oil that is used for cooking and to make margarine and soap. Coconut husks are made into mats, ropes, and brooms.  

Most of Luisianians are farmers. A few are landowners. Those who don’t own their land rent their land or pay the owner a share of the crop. Many others work as laborers on coconut plantations. But despite their earnings, they barely have enough money to support their family. So the best way to alleviate their livelihood is to immigrate to foreign countries like Japan, Hongkong, Singapore, Italy, Germany, London, Saudi Arabia and other countries. But the bulk of these immigrants, Lusianians or Filipinos in general are in the United States of America .

Today there are officially two millions Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the United States .  They are considered the fastest growing Asian minority in the country, and they can be found in almost  any field, from government positions to medicine to the arts and even to domestic service. For close to a hundred years, theirs has been a history of invisibility.  But now the presence of Filipino Americans in the United States is beginning to be felt.

Unquestionably, each and everyone has been doing relatively well in the new adopted home. But their success can be traced back to the traits they have learned from the old home town. Thoughts turned to ways and means of giving back to their town of birth. Some token of thanks for its nurturing influence. Charitable work seem to be the answer

So in 1984 when Josie Romana Villafranca received a letter from Noami Romana Lorico requesting financial aid for some needy but deserving youths from Luisiana to acquire a high school education, the founding and the mission of the Luisianians came into fruition. Celso Juacalla Jr., Ma. Cecilia Verano, both second year at Luis Bernardo Memorial High School, and Mylene A. Romana who is starting first year at the same high school were our scholarship recipients.

In the same year the Luisianians had a picnic at Cunningham Park in Queens, New York. The letter was read and the attendees voluntarily gave their donation. That was the first fundraising of the Luisianians of New York. The families who attended were: Jun and Josie Villafranca (nee Pina Romana), Ray and Puring Santos (nee Puring Villatuya), Mario and Betty Sabino (nee Betty Bala), Max and Josie Bala, Raul and Linda Estrellado, Polly and Josie Laguador, Fanny and Joe Macaranas (nee Fanny Megino), Buddy and Vangie Robles (nee Vangie Villatuya), Rebecca Cosculuella (nee Rebecca Reodica), Rienzi Bala and Van Zalameda.

The group felt it necessary to elect officers that should be in charge of future fundraisings. And so the LUISIANIANS OF NEW YORK, now known as LUISIANIANS OF THE EAST COAST was born.