Episode 129 – Digging up the Truth: The Celine Archive with Celine Parreñas Shimizu (Social Distance Series)

This Filipino American Life

In 1932, Celine Navarro, a young Filipina American, was buried alive and murdered by other Filipinos just outside of Stockton, California. The murder of Navarro caught national media attention, sensationalizing the crime and painting Filipinos as savage members of primitive cults. Though mostly forgotten now, this horrific incident reverberated through the Filipino American community during the 1930s.

In this TFAL episode, we spoke with filmmaker and professor Celine Parreñas Shimizu about her upcoming film THE CELINE ARCHIVE. The documentary film explores the murder of Celine Navarro, its impact on Navarro’s descendants, and its importance in Filipino American history and the history of race and gender in the United States. Listen as we dive deep into a largely unknown and dark part of Filipino American history.

Listen through the embedded player below, download directly here or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts here. For folks who are on Spotify, you can take a listen to us here.

You can check out the film, THE CELINE ARCHIVE, at its world premiere in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Buy tickets here: https://laapff2020.eventive.org/passes/buy. You can also check out the film as part of CAAMFest later this month.

Finally, check out TFAL co-host Elaine Dolalas as she moderates an online panel to further discuss THE CELINE ARCHIVE with Celine Parreñas Shimizu as well as members of Celine Navarro’s relatives. The panel happens on Friday, October 2, 2:00pm PST. Link here: https://festival.vcmedia.org/2020/special_events/c3-the-celine-archive/.