The Caballeros de Dimas-Alang (CDA) was established in San Francisco on December 14, 1920 by Pedro Loreto.[1] Its founding in the Philippines in 1906 honored the Philippine national hero Jose M. Rizal, who wrote under the pen name Dimas-Alang—pseudonym meaning “cannot be touched.”[2] They drew their rituals and procedures from its founders’ experience with masonry, which had been banned under Spanish rule, but flourished under American rule. Membership of this organization in the U.S. quickly grew to almost 70 lodges and 2,000 members in the 1930s, serving as a vehicle for camaraderie and mutual assistance for many Filipinos. They, like the Legionarios del Trabajo, embraced the idea of the supreme power of God, sanctity of human brotherhood, and the obligation to care for one another as well as politically favored the promotion of friendly relations between the Philippines and the U.S.[1] They were an organization that sought to project a collective voice of Filipinos and present a unified image of the group to the outside world. In addition to this, CDA members also fought the deportation of Filipino workers during the depression, raised money to build two Mustang fighter aircrafts during WWII, and built a house in San Francisco for low income Filipino families.[2]
“It was a civic organization, mainly fostering the idea of the dreams of the “Katipuneros”… our forefathers who fought for our independence …It was a patriotic organization… Our rituals were in Tagalog…It was a secret organization, an organization for the help of the Filipinos. We wanted to carry on the deeds of our revolutionaries .”—Teodulo Ranjo[3]