Works for Prospect 3. Biennial

untitled (Carmelo Astilla interview and sounds of St. Malo) 2014
Audio from Louisiana
by Jerome Reyes + William Cordova
Custom vinyl LP, record player, headphones and shelf
Duration: 9 minutes

in our lifetime (Pantera Negra, Manilamen, Simon Bolivar…) 2011-2014
in collaboration with William Cordova and Monique Walton
Single channel 16mm film digitized for video projection (color, sound)
Duration: 6 minutes

This 2014 vinyl soundscape records a rainy February morning on the existing Louisiana coast closest to what is geographically known as St. Malo, the first settlement of Filipinos in Louisiana. As one of a series of recordings on similar sites, which includes what is left of Manila Village, this sound recording aimed at the water known closest to St. Malo corresponds to the 1883 Harper’s Weekly article noting the settlement and Filipinos arriving in the United States.

The vinyl record also interviews Carmelo Astilla Ph.D. a Professor of History at Southern University of New Orleans, and vice-president of the Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society. Among decades of various academic and community based projects for Filipinos in the United States, recently, Dr. Astilla co-created the 2013 public historical inscription commemorating Manila Village, one of the first settlements in the U.S. of Filipinos, which is located in front of the town hall at Lafitte, Louisiana. Film footage from this research also became part of a larger single channel 16mm film installation depicting various charged sites across New Orleans.