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Immigration Blues | Introduction

‘‘Immigration Blues,’’ by Filipino American writer Bienvenido Santos, won the award for fiction from New Letters in 1977 (an award that includes publication of the work as part of the prize) and is available in his short-story collection Scent of Apples (Seattle and London, 1979). Santos writes frequently of the Filipino experience in America, which is the subject of ‘‘Immigration Blues.’’

The story is a poignant study in the loneliness and sense of exile that have often been a part of the Filipino experience in the United States from the end of World War II through the 1970s, when the story was written. ‘‘Immigration Blues’’ also reveals the fact that many Filipinos desperately wanted to come to the United States and remain there, in spite of the difficulties. As the story relates, many Filipino women were prepared to do almost anything to achieve their goal of living in America.

‘‘Immigration Blues’’ is written in a simple style that belies the emotional subtlety it conveys. It was awarded the fiction award from New Letters and shows Santos’s art at its finest.

Immigration Blues Summary

One summer day in San Francisco, two Filipino women, one fat and the other thin, call on Alipio Palma, an old Filipino widower who lives alone. He has been an American citizen since 1945, after the Japanese surrender that ended World War II. Alipio has had a recent run of misfortune. His wife died, and then he was involved in a car accident that left him bedridden for a year. He now can walk, although he limps and must take great care as he moves around. He seldom sees or talks to anyone, so it is a surprise for him when two women he does not know arrive on his doorstep. He invites them in. The fat woman does most of the talking, while the thin one is silent. The former introduces herself as Mrs. Antonieta Zafra, the wife of Carlito, and says that Carlito and Alipio had been friends in the Philippines. Alipio inquires about Carlito, and Mrs. Zafra says he is now retired and lives in Fresno. She introduces her elder sister as Monica. Monica has never been married. She looks uncomfortable. Alipio says he thought Carlito must be dead, since he never hears from him anymore. Alipio then reminisces about his dead wife, Seniang, who died of a heart attack. He addresses a remark to Monica, but she is still unable to speak.

Alipio invites the two women to stay for lunch. Mrs. Zafra offers to help him prepare it, but he says there is nothing to prepare. He likes to eat uncooked sardines with rice and onions. Mrs. Zafra tries to bring Monica into the conversation, but she is very shy. When Alipio shows them all the canned food he has in his cabinet, Mrs. Zafra says that all she needs is a cup of coffee. He shows them more food, and Monica, plucking up courage to speak, wonders why he keeps so... » Complete Immigration Blues Summary