Thanks, Lizzie, I first learned about María Ylagan Orosa from a Google Doodle, as I expect is true of a number of people around the world who wrote about her since. In the Philippines, I believe she is better known; one of my neighbors indicated she was familiar enough with her and her contributions to Filipino food science and products. Her story certainly struck me as pretty remarkable at the time, and I was pretty fascinated to read the first few articles I came across. Since then, I've actually been extremely fortunate to work in a field over the last 2 1/2 years which closely tracks a lot of María's accomplishments, and to have experienced a level of passion in my work that María undoubtedly did, in hers. So there's a reason her story was my first one, here... Really, all of my "Campfire Stories" so far (and I expect a number of the future ones will, too), are pretty intimately tied with a lot of who I am, what I have done for work and community, and where I have lived, etc. But to get back to María, as extraordinary as she was, she also comes from a pretty extraordinary family...many of her family became distinguished in the Philippines in different fields. Wikipedia has a very good article on her and them (although the year of her birth is inaccurate), and the family website (www.orosa.org) is a trove of information on María and others in her family. There's a children's book that's won an honorable mention about her, too.
Thank you! I think they will get harder/more challenging as I go forward, but we'll see. The Virginia Hall one took the most out of me, so far. I'm still researching the next one. The first three, I had already possessed a certain amount of knowledge about, and had done a certain amount of reading and research on; moving forward, this won't be true of all. One thing I haven't done, that I thought I might almost before I'd begun, is run out of ideas. Turns out, the ideas aren't the hard part...not for this project, anyway. It's doing the work, and delivering! Ain't it always the case! LOL I'm reading this very good and detailed biography of Mary Ann Evans/George Eliot right now, so I have a lot of good inspiration about her research/writing process and the hard work she did to get where she did (and confidence she managed and acquired to get there, too). And insight into her struggles as a writer, and sometimes, complaints. It's called "George Eliot: The Last Victorian." Sometimes I think, that could be said of me, as well. I do relate so closely to a certain number of Victorian writers, and think and write like them, too. The women, especially, but sometimes also the men...I blog like a Victorian would, if a Victorian could blog, I think.
6) She Invented Banana Ketchup & Saved Thousands of Lives. Why Have We Never Heard of Her? The legendary story of María Orosa, the Philippines' greatest war hero., 3/16/2022, Food52, https://food52.com/blog/24700-maria-orosa-profile
7) Giants in History: María Orosa, Fighting for her country against hunger
This is a blog I've started with the fervent hope that you will join in not only reading my "Campfire Stories of Resistance and Resilience," but sharing your own.
If you have a story you would like me to share on the blog and consider publishing, please email me at: Lois@storiesofresistance.org.
Also, please feel free to email if you have any feedback you'd like to share that way, or would like to help brainstorm effective strategies of resilience, resistance, broad coalition-building, and collective action in real life.
Lois- Wow, what a transformative story about Maria’s impact in the world. Your grandfather’s survival. Her academic work. And her stature in life. I love what this means to you—and to everyone reading.
Hi, thanks, I became enraptured with Maria soon after learning about her through a Google Doodle a little more than five years ago, for many reasons, her life and work and accomplishments and humanity are so amazing; and reading some articles about her, since…at the time, I wasn’t working where I am now, but for the last 2 1/2 years the work I do is very closely aligned with much of Maria’s work. I’m not a Filipina nor related to Maria Orosa (or anyone else in the Philippines), but I did a lot of research for this article (and for all my Campfire Stories, since). I was friends with some Filipino kids in junior high and high school, though, and they invited me to some wonderful, warm, family parties where there was a lot of good food, dancing, friendliness and kindness, at a time when I was virtually shunned by so many kids my age and certainly of my “own race” (and, for that matter, religious/ ethnic background). I have had some really wonderful friends and neighbors, since; my neighbors down the hall said, “Sure,” when I asked if they knew of Maria Orosa. And her nephew, who manages the family website, was extremely kind when I contacted him, as well. I shared my story with my local librarian who helps facilitate a book club I’m part of, and she said she’d look into ordering the children’s book about Maria, too. But there’s many reasons I wrote about Maria, first; all of my Campfire Story Heroes and Heroines mean a lot to me; in many ways I have a pretty strung connection to them all, in some way, through work or community organizing or grassroots arts organizing or some other aspect of my life. But she was definitely one of the most special ones and one of those I feel most intimately and spiritually connected to, and that is why I wrote about her, first. If you haven’t yet read about Virginia Hall or the one I finished just week, Emma Tenayuca, I’d reconnect you do. They’re both very special to me, and I feel quite spiritually connected to them both, as well. They’re one about Virginia is shorter, if you want a quicker read! But Emma is really relevant to me, especially this week, given what unions have helped do to protect workers like me and the fight in the courts, and elsewhere, they’re leading, now.
What a truly remarkable woman and amazing life!
These are stories that should never fade into oblivion. Thank you for telling this one.
Thanks, Lizzie, I first learned about María Ylagan Orosa from a Google Doodle, as I expect is true of a number of people around the world who wrote about her since. In the Philippines, I believe she is better known; one of my neighbors indicated she was familiar enough with her and her contributions to Filipino food science and products. Her story certainly struck me as pretty remarkable at the time, and I was pretty fascinated to read the first few articles I came across. Since then, I've actually been extremely fortunate to work in a field over the last 2 1/2 years which closely tracks a lot of María's accomplishments, and to have experienced a level of passion in my work that María undoubtedly did, in hers. So there's a reason her story was my first one, here... Really, all of my "Campfire Stories" so far (and I expect a number of the future ones will, too), are pretty intimately tied with a lot of who I am, what I have done for work and community, and where I have lived, etc. But to get back to María, as extraordinary as she was, she also comes from a pretty extraordinary family...many of her family became distinguished in the Philippines in different fields. Wikipedia has a very good article on her and them (although the year of her birth is inaccurate), and the family website (www.orosa.org) is a trove of information on María and others in her family. There's a children's book that's won an honorable mention about her, too.
Thank you! Such interesting information. I will look into her a bit deeper and I look forward to your next Campfire Story.
Nice work! 😊
Thank you! I think they will get harder/more challenging as I go forward, but we'll see. The Virginia Hall one took the most out of me, so far. I'm still researching the next one. The first three, I had already possessed a certain amount of knowledge about, and had done a certain amount of reading and research on; moving forward, this won't be true of all. One thing I haven't done, that I thought I might almost before I'd begun, is run out of ideas. Turns out, the ideas aren't the hard part...not for this project, anyway. It's doing the work, and delivering! Ain't it always the case! LOL I'm reading this very good and detailed biography of Mary Ann Evans/George Eliot right now, so I have a lot of good inspiration about her research/writing process and the hard work she did to get where she did (and confidence she managed and acquired to get there, too). And insight into her struggles as a writer, and sometimes, complaints. It's called "George Eliot: The Last Victorian." Sometimes I think, that could be said of me, as well. I do relate so closely to a certain number of Victorian writers, and think and write like them, too. The women, especially, but sometimes also the men...I blog like a Victorian would, if a Victorian could blog, I think.
Amazing story. Thank you.
You're very welcome! Sorry, I'm just seeing your comment now.
Main Sources for this Story (Continued):
6) She Invented Banana Ketchup & Saved Thousands of Lives. Why Have We Never Heard of Her? The legendary story of María Orosa, the Philippines' greatest war hero., 3/16/2022, Food52, https://food52.com/blog/24700-maria-orosa-profile
7) Giants in History: María Orosa, Fighting for her country against hunger
María Orosa (29 November 1892 - 13 February 1945), Asia Research News, https://www.asiaresearchnews.com/content/mar%C3%ADa-orosa
8) How Philippine Food Scientist María Orosa Saved Thousands of POWs During World War II, Coffee or Die, 2/1/2022, https://coffeeordie.com/maria-orosa
9) Forgotten Foremothers: María Orosa, League of Women Voters of Muncie-Delaware County, 4/23/2021, https://www.lwvmunciedelaware.org/content.aspx?page_id=5&club_id=468470&item_id=63731
10) Maria Ylagan Orosa video by Mye Atienza on the "All About Maria Y. Orosa" webpage (http://www.orosa.org/Maria%20Y.%20Orosa%20Links.htm) of the Orosa family website at www.orosa.gov, produced by the Provincial Tourism & Cultural Affairs Office, Republic of the Philippines, https://www.pangasinan.gov.ph/department/provincial-tourism-and-cultural-affairs-office/.
This is a blog I've started with the fervent hope that you will join in not only reading my "Campfire Stories of Resistance and Resilience," but sharing your own.
If you have a story you would like me to share on the blog and consider publishing, please email me at: Lois@storiesofresistance.org.
Also, please feel free to email if you have any feedback you'd like to share that way, or would like to help brainstorm effective strategies of resilience, resistance, broad coalition-building, and collective action in real life.
Main sources for this story:
1) Overlooked No more: Maria Orosa, Inventor of Banana Ketchup, The New York Times, 9/29/2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/obituaries/maria-orosa-overlooked.html
2) Maria Ylagan Orosa and the Chemistry of of Resistance, Lady Science, 7/23/2020, https://www.ladyscience.com/features/maria-ylagan-orosa-chemistry-of-resistance
3) Maria Ylgagan Orosa, National Park Service article, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/maria-ylagan-orosa.htm
4) Maria Orosa: The Martyr Who Not Only Invented Banana Ketchup, Vinta Journal, 3/22/2024, https://vintagallery.com/blogs/news/maria-orosa-say-her-name-the-martyr-who-not-only-invented-banana-ketchup?srsltid=AfmBOooGnAgwy410-WF0UHMtGkBl-aTI3hnk5yXxqWFgQZgCJw0WNHpd
5) Maria Y. Orosa, Pioneering Food Technologist and Inventor, https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=7b280e03475a7637423b9010b5fce3224e735533)
Lois- Wow, what a transformative story about Maria’s impact in the world. Your grandfather’s survival. Her academic work. And her stature in life. I love what this means to you—and to everyone reading.
Hi, thanks, I became enraptured with Maria soon after learning about her through a Google Doodle a little more than five years ago, for many reasons, her life and work and accomplishments and humanity are so amazing; and reading some articles about her, since…at the time, I wasn’t working where I am now, but for the last 2 1/2 years the work I do is very closely aligned with much of Maria’s work. I’m not a Filipina nor related to Maria Orosa (or anyone else in the Philippines), but I did a lot of research for this article (and for all my Campfire Stories, since). I was friends with some Filipino kids in junior high and high school, though, and they invited me to some wonderful, warm, family parties where there was a lot of good food, dancing, friendliness and kindness, at a time when I was virtually shunned by so many kids my age and certainly of my “own race” (and, for that matter, religious/ ethnic background). I have had some really wonderful friends and neighbors, since; my neighbors down the hall said, “Sure,” when I asked if they knew of Maria Orosa. And her nephew, who manages the family website, was extremely kind when I contacted him, as well. I shared my story with my local librarian who helps facilitate a book club I’m part of, and she said she’d look into ordering the children’s book about Maria, too. But there’s many reasons I wrote about Maria, first; all of my Campfire Story Heroes and Heroines mean a lot to me; in many ways I have a pretty strung connection to them all, in some way, through work or community organizing or grassroots arts organizing or some other aspect of my life. But she was definitely one of the most special ones and one of those I feel most intimately and spiritually connected to, and that is why I wrote about her, first. If you haven’t yet read about Virginia Hall or the one I finished just week, Emma Tenayuca, I’d reconnect you do. They’re both very special to me, and I feel quite spiritually connected to them both, as well. They’re one about Virginia is shorter, if you want a quicker read! But Emma is really relevant to me, especially this week, given what unions have helped do to protect workers like me and the fight in the courts, and elsewhere, they’re leading, now.