Paredes Family, circa 1920s-2006 and undated

Evangeline "Vangie" Abellera Paredes was the daughter of Tomas Rulloda Abellera, who left the Philippines to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War I, and Francisca Estrada, who was born in Asturias, Spain and worked as a translator on Wall Street in New York City. Vangie was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 26, 1916 and the family moved to Washington, D.C. when Tomas became a chief master mechanic at the Navy Yard in 1921. After attending Congress Heights School and Eastern High School, Vangie won a scholarship to secretarial school and began working as a telephone operator in the office of the Resident Commissioner of the Philippines. In the early 1930s, Vangie attended George Washington University and studied interior decorating. After she graduated she became an executive secretary to the Resident Commissioner (1). She married Juanito Paredes in 1941 and they lived on Chesapeake Street in southeast Washington, D.C. Juanito was the nephew of Quentin B. Paredes (1884-1973), the Philippine resident commissioner to Washington, D.C. in 1935 (2).

During World War II, Vangie was President Manuel Quezon's secretary and after Philippine independence she served as the public relations officer for the Philippine Embassy (3). She worked for the Philippine government from 1936 to 1957 and then became a secretary for the Pentagon for over 30 more years (4). Vangie's sister, Dolores Lillian Abellera married Nolasco Icarangal in 1949 and was escorted to the wedding by the Philippine Ambassador, J. M. Elizalde (5).

This subseries consists of photos of the Paredes family, as well as members of the Abellera family with dignitaries, at family events and at work for the American and Philipines governments. A large portion of the photographs depict President Manuel Quezon of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, staff of the Filipino government in exile, and Evangeline "Vangie" Paredes working at the Resident Commissioner's office. Also included is a sample of the art of Joey P. Manlapaz, a relative of Vangie and Juanito Paredes.