This coastal city in California known as Morro Bay was known to its iconic 'Morro Rock', an ancient volcanic mound at the end of Morro Rock Beach was also a home for ancient Filipinos who first to discover the place on October 18, 1587.
According to the report, this special rock which still obscured in history marks the original landing of Filipino to America on October 18, 1587, some 33 years before the Pilgrims landed.
No one would have even learned of the Filipino discovery without the original research by Eloisa Gomez Borah on Unamuno's logs, according to Filipino American journalist Emil Guillermo.
Borah is a librarian and a trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), who initiate the case for the presence of the Filipinos in her report published in UNLAS's American Journal in 1996.Then it found out that Unamuno wasn't a random explorer, but served under Captain Francisco Gali as part of the Spanish expedition in 1584.
The time Gali died, Unamuno lost two ships under his command he inherited after taking a side trip to Macao. Unamuno was able to buy another boat named Nuestra Senora de Buena, a single-deck three-masted vessel after stranded in Asia, described by Borah. Of course, a hired help who joined him on his journey were mostly Filipino.
They started sailing on July 12, 1587 towards east, together with the Franciscan Father Martin Ignacio de Loyola, nephew of the founder of the Jesuit order, a few priest, and soldiers - they ended their voyage in Acapulco, Mexico on November 22, 1587. But before they reached their destination, they spent a three-day land excursion between October 18-20 on California's central coast.
Unamuno's logs also reveal the presence of at least eight Filipino identified as "Yndios Luzones," or Luzon Indians from the Northern Philippines.
Borah noted that Filipinos present on these early explorations and trade ships were overlooked in captains' logs. Borah counted "Yndios" appearing 42 times total in Captain Unamuno's logs. In 23 times, they referenced the native inhabitants of California that they encountered, and 19 times it described the crew.
On October 18, Unamuno made a landing party, consists of 12 armed soldiers led by Father Martin Ignacio de Loyola, bearing the Catholic cross in hand. It was described based on there typical formation, two Filipinos armed with swords and shield marched ahead before them.
On day one, the log revealed that expedition was able to conquer two hills of the land for the King of Spain. On October 19, an exploration party consists of eight Filipino soldier, followed by a priest and 12 soldiers. The third day of exploration, October 20, they encountered violence, were the ship's barber and some Filipino were able to offer food and clothing for peace offering.
The log noted one unnamed Filipino soldier was killed, by a javelin, his blood spilled over American soil. Unamuno left by daybreak on October 21 for Acapulco trip.
The state of California has been celebrating October as the "Filipino American History Month" since 2009 in honor of the first Filipinos to set foot in California 432 years ago. History reminded us before the pilgrims, and Jamestown, Filipinos were the first to arrive in the so-called "land of opportunity."
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