__NOTOC__ Alfred A. Robles (February 16, 1930 - May 2, 2009) was a

Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

poet and community activist in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Born in 1930, he was the second eldest in a family of ten brothers and sisters and grew up in the Fillmore district of San Francisco. A community character, he was instrumental in the political fight against the city to stop the demolition of the International Hotel on

Kearny Street Kearny Street () in San Francisco, California runs north from Market Street to The Embarcadero. Toward its south end, it separates the Financial District from the Union Square and Chinatown districts. Further north, it passes over Telegraph ...

. He was also a prominent member of the San Francisco-based Asian American writers' collective

Kearny Street Workshop Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) in San Francisco, California, is the oldest multidisciplinary arts nonprofit addressing Asian Pacific American issues. The organization's mission is to produce and present art that enriches and empowers Asian Pacific A ...

. Al Robles combined heritage with experience. His poetry and community work honored Filipino elders (Manongs) and also inspired and encouraged the young students, activists, writers and artists to connect to their Filipino heritage. Verses about traditional Filipino foods, his experiences in Hawaii, New Mexico, and community personalities in San Francisco resulted in countless poems, and two published works: "Looking for ''Ifugao Mountain: Paghahanap Sa Bundok Ng Ifugao'' and ''Rappin' with Ten Thousand Carabaos in the Dark''. In 2008, filmmaker Curtis Choy released a documentary about Al Robles called ''Manilatown is in the Heart: Time Travel with Al Robles,'' focusing on Robles' many personalities and community roles. It has been shown at countless film festivals, including the ''2009 DisOrient Film Festival'', in Eugene, OR, ''Asian Pacific Heritage Month 2009'' in

Los Altos Hills Los Altos Hills (; ''Los Altos'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 8,4 ...

, and the ''2009 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival'', where it was a Finalist for the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary.

Works

Poetry

*''Ifugao Mountain: Paghahanap Sa Bundok Ng Ifugao'' (1977) *''Rappin' with Ten Thousand Carabaos in the Dark'' (1992)

Film

*''Manilatown is in the Heart: Time Travel with Al Robles'' (2008)

References

External links

Family Memorial SiteManilatown: Inspirations of Al Robles
* ttp://www.aasc.ucla.edu/aascpress/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=11 Rappin with Ten Thousand Carabaos in the Dark {{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Al American poets of Asian descent American writers of Filipino descent Writers from San Francisco 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American poets