Peter Reme Bacho is a Filipino American author who serves on the faculty of The Evergreen State College–Tacoma campus. There are currently plans for his novel Cebu, which won the American Book Award in 1992, to be turned into a feature film.
I caught up with Bacho to learn about his inspiration for the novel and what Cebu’s transition into film means to him.
Daniele Meñez: How has your background led you on the path to become a novelist?
Peter Bacho: I was raised in Seattle’s Central District in the 1950s and 1960s; it was a rich multicultural, working class community. My parents were, at least in the first few years of my life, struggling to eke out a living in an era that was very hostile to people of color. My father was for many years a migrant worker—the fields and Alaska in the summer. I was part of that cycle, until my mom put a stop to it and insisted that he needed to find another line of work.
So, he did, and our economic condition began to improve. Over time, I figured that these were stories that needed to be told. Dad lived a life of “blood money,” and he did it so I wouldn’t have to. My parents insisted that I go to college, so that was never a question. They didn’t want me to break my back working for some boss, like my father did. Unlike most of my generation, I was one of a handful to earn a college degree.
