THE GALUTIRA FAMILY
Emidgio Cadiz Galutira also known as “Eppie,” was born on August 5, 1903 in Bacarra Ilocos
Norte, Philippines. His parents were Eustaqui Galutira and Estefania Cadiz. Convinced to
travel from the Philippines with his cousin Filomeno in 1924, Eppie immigrated to the United
State in search of making a better life.
Eppie shared many stories of his younger days in California traveling the unpaved roads of the Pajaro and Salinas Valley in a Ford Model T, saying, “We would never know where the roads would go, we just kept driving, then we had to turn around to go back.” He also recounted the times he had witnessed severe racism against Filipinos. He had shared his dislike for being called derogatory names and how he and his fellow Kababayan were treated unfairly in the fields. Around the time the Watsonville Riots occurred, spreading through California. “Manongs” played a significant role in building the labor and farm workers movement, organizing and striking with the big names, including Filipino labor organizer, Larry Itliong.
Eppie spent a lot of time working in the artichoke fields, but at the age of 27, he went back to the Philippines to marry his love, Claudia Llamas on October 8, 1930. At the age of 36, Eppie was registered for the U.S. World War II Draft on February 15, 1942 in Aromas California. He worked under the employer Jack Marinovich, a grower and shipper of produce. He was given a small home on the Jefferson Ranch in 1959, after helping Walter Jefferson transform his dairy farm into an agricultural ranch on the edge of Castroville and Salinas, where it still operates and stands. After 43 years, Eppie finally became a naturalized citizen of the United States on June 6th, 1967 in San Francisco. The Galutira family resided in Salinas until 1987, then moved to Marina with his sons, Eddie, Philip Stanley Galutira, and their children. His wife Claudia passed away at the age of 91 in 1997.
Eppie was very articulate, able to speak in many different languages - Tagalog, Spanish and Portuguese. Even at the age of 99, he still was in good health, reading the newspaper everyday without glasses. He enjoyed singing and playing his guitar. He prided himself in being able to list all of the U.S. Presidents along with their years served and achieved his goals living the American dream.
He spent his last days at the Rillera Rest Home in Watsonville when he passed at the age of 99 in 2003. Living a very long, active life and a true pioneer of his generation, Eppie was one of the first in the family to settle in the United States. After six generations later, his family is still searching to find more information on their family history, family tree and life achievements. His legacy lives on in his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren who live all along the West Coast from the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern California.