Colorized Photographs — Janna Añonuevo Langholz

Pilar Zamora in St. Louis, 1904 (colorized, 2024)

Pilar Zamora was one of the first Filipinos to arrive in St. Louis in 1904. She was a 25-year-old schoolteacher from Manila and was solely in charge of the Model School in the Philippine Village after her co-teacher Antonio Estudillo died. She was educated at Colegio de Santa Rosa in Intramuros and spoke Tagalog, Spanish, and English. She was employed to implement and demonstrate American colonial teaching methods in the Philippines at at the 1904 World’s Fair.

She is the first Filipino woman I know of to come to St. Louis. She returned to the Philippines after the fair. When I was colorizing this photo, I noticed that she is wearing a wedding ring. Death records suggest she died on April 19, 1947 in Manila around 68 years old. If you are a relative of Pilar Zamora, please contact me.