JT Restaurant: Conversation with Tita Tess Diaz

Tess of JT Restaurant preparing daily servings of home-style Filipino cuisine, 953 Mission Street, South of Market district, from the series My Ancestors Followed Me Here, 2020; inkjet print; courtesy the artist; © Erina Alejo

Tess Diaz, the youngest daughter of a family of nine children,

Artist note:

comes from a lineage of merchants and livestock farmers from Laguna, Philippines. After a decade of working at the New Filipinas Restaurant, she took over its operations and renamed the business JT Restaurant after herself and her husband, Juan. Her brother Boying, previously managed the adjacent Manila Meat Market. Erina calls their elder Tess, “Tita,” which means auntie, but she is also lovingly known as “Tasing” (pronounced tah-seeng) to her community.

Interview conducted by Erina Alejo, September 17, 2020. Part of My Ancestors Followed Me Here, created for Bay Area Walls, a commission series initiated by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2020. This interview was transcribed by Erina Alejo and has been edited for clarity. A downloadable PDF of this transcript is available on SFMOMA. An excerpt is also published in the newspaper format of this project, designed by Jerlyn Jareunpoon Phillips. Photos by Alejo.

JT Restaurant: Conversation with Tita Tess Diaz

By Erina Alejo
September 17, 2020
953 Mission St., SOMA Pilipinas, South of Market

Tess Diaz: Noong unang dumating ako dito? February 8, 2001. I-start na ‘ko non! Pagdating ko!
When did I first arrive here? February 8, 2001. I started working right then!

Erina Alejo: Ah, talaga!? [Natawa]
Oh, what?! [Laughs.]

TD: Dumating ako nang umaga, 7:30 ng umaga. Dere-derestso ako! Nakabihis pa ako.
I arrived at 7:30 in the morning. Straight to work! I was still dressed from my flight.

EA: Dito po, sa New Filipinas?
Here, at New Filipinas? 

TD: Dito, at tsaka sa store. Alam kong gumawa ng tocino, alam kong gumawa ng tapa, alam kong mag-barbeque, alam ko lahat yong ganon. Kaya niya ako kinuha.
Here and at the store. I know how to make tocino, tapa, barbeque—everything. So my brother hired me. 

EA: Puwede niyo pong ikuwento, lumipad kayo…
Can you tell the story? So you took your flight . . .

TD: Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.

EA: Tapos nung umagang nakarating kayo dito…
Then, that morning you arrived . . .

TD: Mm-hmm. Dere-deretso na ako
Mm-hmm. I started working right away.

EA: Wala kayong tulog…
No sleep . . .

TD: Wala! Excited ako e. Diba?
None! I was excited. Isn’t that something?

EA: [Natawa]
[Laughs.]

TD asks her husband, Juan, to serve a customer who has ordered rice and longganisa. “Yes! Six dollars,” she calls out. “Five dollars in total for the longganisa and the rice.”

TD: See? Ano talaga ako sa trabaho. Noong araw na buhay ang tatay ko, hindi pa naman ako nakakauwi na ano noon. Dahil siyempre, kaliliitan ng mga bata. So, kailangan kong magtrabaho. Nagpunta sila dito noon.
See? I’m serious about working hard. When my dad was alive, I wasn’t able to visit back home in the Philippines. My kids were still very young, and I needed to work. They visited me here.

EA: Yung magulang niyo pareho?
Both your parents?

TD: Mm-hmm. 2003. Pero four months lang sila. Doon umiyak ang tatay ko nung nakita niya ko kung paano ako magtrabaho. Alas kuwatro, gising na ako, nagtatrabaho na ako. Tapos natutulog ako, 11 o’clock. Minsan, pag may catering, o yung halimbawa, may Pistahan, ganyan, alas dos na ako nakakatulog, tapos 4 o’clock, gising na uli ako. Doon umiyak ang tatay ko, na, sabi niya, “Hindi ko alam, ganyan ka pala magtrabaho, at—hindi ko alam na parang ipis ang tulog mo.

Doon ako-- hindi ko malilimutan yung mga sinabi niya ng tatay ko. Tapos e, nagluluto ako dito, ‘andon sila sa tindaan. Eleven o’clock ng gabi, lumabas ang tatay ko, eh, ano na siya noon, 80 something na, 84, ganyan. Sabi ko, “Bakit kayo nagpunta dito, madilim na!” “Eh anak kita e.” Di ba? Yun ang hindi ko malilimutan yung mga ganun. Kasi doon niya nakita kung paano ako magtrabaho.

Mm-hmm. In 2003. But only for four months. My dad cried when he saw how hard I worked. I’d be up at four in the morning, already working, then go to sleep at eleven o’clock. Sometimes, when we made food for catering, for the Pistahan Parade and Festival for instance, I’d go to sleep at 2 a.m. then awaken at 4 a.m. My dad wept, saying, “I didn’t know that you toiled this way. That you slept so little, like a roach.” I will never forget my dad’s words.

Afterwards, while I was cooking here, my parents stayed with my big brother Kuya Boying. One night my dad, already eighty-four years old then, came to see me. I said to him, “Why’d you come here? It’s already dark!” “Because you’re my child,” he replied. Isn’t that something? I won’t forget that. He was able to witness and experience my work ethic.

---

EA: Di ba po, nagsimula yung shelter-in-place natin nung Marso? Eh, kumusta po yun noong anim na buwan na mahigit.
How has it been since San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order started in March? It’s been over six months.

TD: Nung yung dalawang buwan na iyon, mahirap. Kasi talagang totalling nawala ang mga nagtatrabaho. Ang hotel, diba, nagsara. InterCon, malimit ako dyan nagki-cater. Hampton, nagsara. Dental Pacific, nawala lahat ang mga estudyante. Paisa-isa na lang ang dumadaan sa akin kasi hindi naman sila yung ang, ano nila, online. Tapos yung tech dito sa 965, nagsara din lahat yon! Naglipat sila. Kasi, work at home na. Nawala lahat. Pero sa tulong din ni Desi, every week meron akong order na worth $400. Tapos, tinulungan din ako ng Bindlestiff. Umorder din sila. Pero, SOMCAN ang nagdedeliver.

The first two months were difficult. Workers had completely disappeared. The hotels closed, including InterCon, a hotel I often did catering for. Hampton Inn closed. Dental Pacific’s students would only come one by one, because they did remote learning. Then the tech companies at 965 Mission closed their physical offices. Because it’s now work-from-home. Everything and everyone was gone. But with Desi’s [1] help, I had orders worth $400. Bindlestiff [2] also helped by ordering food. SOMCAN [3] delivered those orders.

EA: Ah, iyon ba po yung Filipinos Feed the Frontlines [4] ?
Was that Filipinos Feed the Frontlines?

TD: I think yon yon. Awa ng Dios maraming tumulong sa akin. Kaya sabi ko, kung hindi dahil sa kanila na ano, wala din ako, diba? Yung huli ng Bindlestiff, rice, daing na bangus na may tomato, so, 50, no-- 60 heads na ready to eat na. And then, ito, [nagpapakita ng litrato sa cell phone niya] beef kaldereta with rice. Ganyan din ang ginawa ko.

I think so. With God’s mercy, so many people helped me. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here. Bindlestiff’s last order was rice with vinegared milkfish and tomato. They placed sixty ready-to-eat orders. And then, here [shows a photo from her phone of one of Bindlestiff’s orders], beef stew with tomato sauce and rice. I cooked dishes like that, too.  

---

EA: Marami nang pilipino nung lumipat kayo dito.
There were already many Filipinos in the South of Market when you moved here.

TD: Oo. Dati kasi diba ang Arkipelago ‘an dito. Yung Manilatown.
Yes. Remember when Arkipelago Books [5] was here in the Mint Mall? And do you remember the Manilatown [Heritage Foundation] [6] being here, too? 

EA: Opo sa baba.
Yes, downstairs.

TD: Mm-hmm. Kaya si Bill Sorro [7] —love na love ako non. Pati ni Al Robles [8] .
Mm-hmm. Bill Sorro adored me. And so did Al Robles.

EA: Tsaka si Tito Al!
And Uncle Al!

TD: Yeah! Pati si ano, Emil De Guzman [9] ! Ang tawag nila sa akin, si Tasing.
Yeah! And Emil De Guzman! They all called me Tasing.

EA: Ano po ang hilig nila Tito Al, Tito--?
What did they all like to eat? 

TD: Pinakbet, pancit--basta ang mga ganyan. Tapos, alala ko pa noon. Ang Pasko ng SoMa, dito yan ginagawa.
Stewed vegetables with pork, pancit, foods like that. I remember that our SoMa Christmastime festivities also took place here.

EA: Di ba sa baba po? Kasi dito, kumakanta kami…
Wasn’t it downstairs? We sang carols there as children.

TD: Dito ang pagkain, event sa baba, lahat yan!
The food was served here, at my restaurant, and all the events were downstairs! 

EA: Ah, ganun pala!
Oh, that’s right! 

TD: Alam mo ba si Bill Sorro. Hindi ko malilimutan yan. Everytime na mag-aano ng ganyan, bibigyan ako ng extra $50. Para sa akin. Lagi yan ganon. Kaya nung tribute niya sa Mission?  ‘Andon ako! Talagang, ano din ako doon. Kaya yung mga anak niya, kilala ako. Talaga kung saan ano, sama ako! Naka Hawaiian pa nga ang mga costume don.

You know, I will never forget Bill Sorro. Every time he would order from me, he’d give me an extra fifty dollars. Just for me. It was always like that. So when his tribute in the Mission took place, after his passing, I was there. That’s community. His children remember me, because whenever there was an event, I was there! I even wore a Hawaiian shirt in honor of Bill.

EA: Mahilig nga po si Tito Bill sa ganyan.
Uncle Bill did truly like Hawaiian shirts.

TD: Yeah! Andon ako, totoo. Si Emil De Guzman, ayan, “Si Tasing, si Tasing!” Ganyan ang ano nila sa akin.
Yes, I was there. Emil De Guzman would be like, “It’s Tasing! Here’s Tasing!” They referred to me in this way.  

EA: Bakit po tawag sa inyo Tasing?
Why are you known as Tasing? 

TD: Kasi gayon ang tawag ng nanay ko. Lahat kami may ~i-n-g: Boying, Tasing, Doding, Yaying-- lahat kami ganon.
My mom gave me that nickname. All my siblings and I have nicknames ending in “ing”: Boying, Tasing, Doding, Yaying—we are called that.

Footnotes:

1. Desi Danganan is Executive Director of Kultivate Labs, an economic development and arts nonprofit inspired by SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District, founded in 2016. 

2. Founded in San Francisco in 1989, Bindlestiff Studio is one of the only permanent, community-based performing arts venues in the nation showcasing emerging Filipino American and Pilipino artists.

3. The South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) has been serving low-income immigrant youth and families in SoMa, Excelsior, and greater San Francisco since 2000, providing social services, community organizing, and community planning.

4. Filipinos Feed the Frontlines is an alliance of Filipino food businesses and allied organizations providing meals to essential workers. The initiative was created by the nonprofit Kultivate Labs to provide aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. Filipina-women-founded and led Arkipelago Books has been a pillar of the SoMa community for over twenty years. It is one of the only two distributors of Filipino specialty books outside of the Philippines.

6. Founded in 1994, Manilatown Heritage Foundation promotes social and economic justice for Filipinos in the U.S. through preserving Filipino history, advocating for equal access to resources and opportunities, and advancing the arts and culture of the Filipino community.

7. Bill Sorro (1939–2007) was a lifelong activist and a human rights and housing advocate active in the struggle for the International Hotel (also known as the I-Hotel), which helped spark the housing movement in San Francisco in the late 1960s. The Bill Sorro Housing Program (BiSHoP), a nonprofit dedicated to providing access to affordable housing in the city, is named in his honor.

8. Al Robles (1930–2009) was a poet and community activist in San Francisco. He organized the I-Hotel struggle alongside Bill Sorro and was a prominent member of Kearny Street Workshop, an Asian Pacific American arts organization.  

9. Emil De Guzman (b. 1947), a student leader of the Third World Strike that took place across college campuses in the Bay Area in 1969, worked closely with Bill Sorro and Al Robles in the long fight to achieve justice for the community affected by and the residents evicted from the I-Hotel, and in the founding of Manilatown Heritage Foundation.

Location of JT Restaurant, 953 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103