Tobera was an American National from the Philippines who worked as an ag worker in 1930 in Watsonville, California.
His death is a symbol in an era of anti-Filipino riots across the nation, most notably the five-day riots that took place in the central California coast town of Watsonville.
Tobera was in his bunkhouse when a group of white men shot up the living quarters. Tobera was shot in the heart. The mob of white men tracked down the Filipinos who they knew
had been dancing with white women in a Watsonville dance hall. They took out their revenge on Tobera.
It remains the single most famous example of what I call “Filipinophobia” in America.
On the video go to 15 minutes in to hear a discussion of Tobera.
