Barons, Brokers, and Buyers: The Institutions and Cultures of Philippine Sugar

Acknowledgments

As with all works based upon long-term field research, the list of those who merit acknowledgment and thanks is very long— consider this the abridged version. My parents, Adele and Arnie, did not always quite get what it meant to be an anthropologist, but they supported my decision to become one and pushed me to do good work in whatever field of endeavor I chose. My desire to make my late father proud is never far from my mind. My darling daughters, Shira and Monica, suffered through two periods in the field with relatively good humor. That neither has any interest in becoming an anthropologist is understandable, but I do hope they come to appreciate the ways in which these field experiences enriched their lives. Teaching at a liberal arts college can sometimes try one’s patience, but I have been blessed with wonderful students from whom I have learned a great deal. A few deserve special recognition: Hilton Robinson , Sarah Dugan, Kim Heiser, Brian Pompeo, Ilias Islamov, Fred Fournier, Amy Leicht, and Emily Green. Dan Reichman is the kind of student and person who comes along once in a teaching lifetime. I have also been privileged to work with brilliant, stimulating, and supportive colleagues and friends: Jim Taggart, Misty Bastian, Jan Zeserson, Mary Ann Levine, and Jim Delle. For fourteen years, Arlene Mimm made it easy to organize our work and lives. Franklin and Marshall College helped finance some of my earlier research in the Philippines and granted me a sabbatical in 1993–1994. While in the midst of writing this book, I was diagnosed with cll (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). After six rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, I returned to teaching and writing with a new dedication and fire (as well as entirely new blood cells). Doctors in Lancaster (Swapna Deshpande and H. Peter DeGreen) and at Johns Hopkins (Ian Flinn) saved my life, and a mere “thank you” seems wholly inadequate. Outstanding nurses made my cancer saga bearable: Robin, Theresa, Jean, Barb, Mary, Jane, Evelyn, Amy, Anna, Carol, Marylu—I could go on at great length, and could wax proAcknowledgments ix lific about their kindness. My family and friends who encouraged, rooted, and prayed for me kept me going through this ordeal. My sisters, Ronda and Melinda, and my cousin and chronicler, Bill Glovin, were constant sources of rock-like support. Obviously, my work in the Philippines would have been impossible but for the hospitality of friends, the good will of informants (of which there were nearly four hundred), and the financial help of the Fulbright Scholar Program, which granted me a Senior Research Award in 1993–1994. I could not have carried out the research without the help of friends in the Philippines, including Sally and Boybo Villanueva, Dory and Ed Ledesma, Maribel and Boy Lim, Helen Mendoza, the late Dading Ledesma, Boygie Gallardo, Sally and Boy Ledesma, Tony Rustia, Fred Lopez, Echel and Remo Ramos, Clara Lapus, Nanette and Chick Garcia, Fr. Niall O’Brien, Joe Marie Zabaleta , Gov. Lito Coscolluela, Rafael Abello, Chap Ykalina, Ben Lopue, Jr., Franklin Fuentebella, and (most especially) Anne and Phil Abello. Alex Calata, the director of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (paef), which administers the Fulbright Program in the Philippines, was an endless font of information, contacts, and encouragement . Violeta Lopez-Gonzaga of the University of St. LaSalle in Bacolod and Rolando Dy of the University of Asia and the Pacific in Manila were gracious hosts at those institutions. Tom McHale was a terrific teacher on both sides of the Pacific. Fellow Fulbrighters and wonderful scholars Rick Meixsel and Andrea Esser helped make my time in Manila both entertaining and intellectually stimulating. It has been a pleasure to work with Pamela Kelley at the University of Hawai‘i Press and Esther Pacheco at Ateneo de Manila University Press. Thank you both for your wisdom and your faith in me. The five anonymous reviewers of my manuscript impressed me with their erudition, knowledge, and insights, and their comments helped make this a far better book. I could not imagine a wiser or better copy-editor than David Akin. John Svatek, graphic designer extraordinaire, gave invaluable assistance in cover design, slide preparation , and the map of the Philippines. My wife, Jane Rossetti, is my best friend, my staunchest supporter , and my most constructive editor. She is the “caregiver” to whom I owe my survival and recovery. She buoys my spirits when things are not going well, and pushes...