Violeta Marasigan

Violeta Marasigan (1939-21 April 2000), better known by her nickname "Bullet X", or more plainly "Bullet", was a Filipino-American social worker and activist She also did advocacy work focused on education for Filipino immigrant children, equal military benefits for Filipino American World War II veterans, and ending racial slurs against Filipino women on American television.

Early Activism and the I-Hotel demolition

Soon after graduation, she was hired as a social worker for the Multi-Service Center of the United Filipino Association (UFA), where her job specifically involved serving a number of retirees whom she fondly called s (an ilocano term of endearment for elder men) at the I-Hotel in the old Manilatown community of San Francisco, California.

Soon, plans to demolish the International Hotel were revealed, and Marasigan played a key role in the protests.

Activism in the Philippines (1971-1988)

When Marasigan and her and husband Pete came back to the Philippines in 1971, the country was in turmoil after Ferdinand Marcos' unprecedented spending to assure his win in the 1969 presidential elections triggered an economic collapse and massive social unrest. A year later, Marcos would declare Martial Law. Pete and Bullet Marasigan quickly got involved in activism against the Marcos regime. and Bullet was jailed for almost a year in Camp Crame under charges of subversion.

Legacy In recognition of her years of service to the Bay Area community, she was given the Unsung Heroes Award by KQED Public Broadcasting Co. in 1995. In November 2019 hers will be among the eleven names which will be added to the Wall of Remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng Mga Bayani, which recognizes the heroes and martyrs that fought the Marcos dictatorship. The avenue was eventually renamed "Frida Kahlo Way" in 2018.