SARANAC LAKE — Historic Saranac Lake will host an online discussion about Filipino History and President Manuel L. Quezon, the first democratically elected president of the Philippines, who came to Saranac Lake for his health 80 years ago.
“He came sick with tuberculosis. He was exiled from the Philippines during World War II and was sick with TB and came to Saranac Lake for his health and then died here in the summer of 1944,” Amy Catania, executive director of Historic Saranac Lake at the Saranac Laboratory Museum, said.
“It’s a really important history. He was the first democratically elected president in the Philippines, so hugely important to the people in the Philippines and not as well-known here.”
Quezon stayed in Saranac Lake the summers of 1943 and 1944. President Franklin Roosevelt invited him to stay at Camp Massapequa on Lower Saranac Lake to recover. His wife, Aurora, and their three children, spent the summer with him. Quezon may have also spent time at the Gonzalez Cottage in Saranac Lake, where many Spanish speaking patients stayed. Despite his illness, Quezon remained dedicated to his work while curing.
Participating scholars, Luis H. Francia and Manuel Luis “Manolo” Casas Quezon III, will shed light on President Quezon’s important place in the history of the Philippines. The online discussion will be held live on Filipino Independence Day on June 12 at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending the discussion can visit HSL’s website at www.historicsaranaclake.org for the Zoom link.
Quezon III has been a columnist and editorial writer since 1994, and has served in government. He has also taught journalism, worked in TV broadcasting, and has worked as a museum curator. He is the grandson of President Manuel L. Quezon.
Francia is a Filipino American poet, playwright, journalist, historian, and nonfiction writer. He currently works as Adjunct Professor at New York University in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.
The discussion is a lead-in to “President Quezon History Day,” a festival planned for Saturday, Aug. 3 in downtown Saranac Lake to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the death of President Quezon in Saranac Lake. Historic Saranac Lake will announce more information about the Aug. 3 festival soon.
“So, we just decided that we really needed to put together a series of events,” Catania said.
“The biggest one is on Aug. 3, but this talk kind of leads up to it and helps us learn more about the history ahead of the event. Things are growing quickly as far as this History Day is going. It’s exciting. Lots of momentum because there is a quite large Filipino-American community all around us in Albany, New York, Burlington. So, we’re excited to have folks come.”
Historic Saranac Lake is going to march in the NYC Filipino Parade next weekend.
“We have like a banner and everything to publicize our Saranac Lake events,” Catania said.
The online discussion and planning for the Aug. 3 festival is supported by a Vision Grant from Humanities NY.