Fuentes Family Papers

Alfonso Fuentes, born in 1896, left his hometown in Makato, Aklan in the Philippines and came to the US in the 1920s when he was 18 years old. A ship he was on docked in Seattle, Washington. In Seattle he met his future partner, a Caucasian woman named Ella. They later moved (unknown date) to Santa Barbara, California.

Alfonso’s nephew, Jose Paloma Fuentes, arrived in Santa Barbara in the 1940s. He was a known local chef. He and his wife Connie opened up the State Café from 1958 to 1961. Later, they opened up Connie’s Coffee Shop. Connie also went to beauty school, and soon opened up her own salon at their home on Bath St.

Jose, along with Pete Tenoso and Alex Juan, founded the Filipino Community Association in 1951. It was an organization serving as a social community for Filipino Americans. Jose was its first president. In 1955, using the funds that they were able to raise from memebrs, they purchased the building that they still own on 425 State St. They hold regular meetings and engage in various activities focusing on community involvement. The Association remains active to this day.

Jose’s daughter, Patria “Patti” Fuentes, was born in 1947. Patti and her younger sister Mary Jonnie went to Dolores High School (presently Notre Dame) up to middle school. In 1965, Patti graduated from Bishop Diego Garcia High School, and then later pursued her AA in Santa Barbara City College. In 1968, she flew to the Philippines with her grandmother who wanted to visit the homeland. In 1968, Patti enrolled at the University of the Philippines to study voice, but later worked for an engineering company. She later continued her studies at Philippine Women’s University studying mass communications. She stayed with her uncle Nicanor Ibuna, who was then the mayor of San Juan. Mayor Ibuna was also the nephew of Alfonso, Patti’s great uncle. It was Mayor Ibuna who made possible Santa Barbara’s fist sister city: San Juan, Philippines. When Mayor Ibuna was assassinated in 1970, Patti decided to abandon her studies and return to the US.

In 1973, Patti joined her sister in New York city to work for AT&T where he met her future husband, Ed Van Tassel, a Dutch Canadian from New Brunswick, Canada. Patti and Ed got married three months after their first meeting. They soon moved to Santa Barbara. In 1974, they had their church wedding at the San Roque Church. Ed worked in a car dealership and Patti still runs her travel agency business from her home. Ed passed away in 2008 at 64. He is survived by Patti and their three children