Nicholas G. Viernes

Biography

Nicholas G. Viernes (1902–1991) migrated to the US from the Cagayan Valley region of the Philippines in 1926 and, after a stint as a farmworker, settled in Chicago, where he worked as a pipefitter for General Motors. He also became a dedicated amateur filmmaker and community documentarian, shooting hundreds of 16mm reels that capture Filipino diasporic life with sensitivity and affection. On both Kodachrome and vivid black-and-white reversal stocks, his films animate an underrepresented history of migrant social club picnics and baseball leagues, thriving multiracial families, and everyday life in the city and country.