City of Los Angeles dedicates Historic Filipinotown By Elson Trinidad

Guro Arnold, Guro Bud and Guro Dino, along with  members of the adult and youth class of the Kali Klub, performed a demonstration of the Warrior Arts of the Philippines at LA City Hall for this unprecendented and historic event.

Monday, August 5th, 2002
City of Los Angeles dedicates Historic Filipinotown
By Elson Trinidad

The cathedral-like chambers of the Los Angeles City Council erupted in a chorus of “Mabuhay!”s on the morning of Friday, August 2nd as the city formally recognized the heart of its Filipino-American community, known as “Historic Filipinotown.”

Over 100 community leaders, city workers, war veterans, students and residents of Filipino descent – many dressed in bright, traditional barongs – gathered at City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles to witness the dedication of a designated Filipino community in the ever-diverse City of Angels, bordered by Hoover Street, the 101 Freeway, Glendale Boulevard and Beverly Boulevard, located just west of Downtown.

Los Angeles city councilman Eric Garcetti, whose district includes Historic Filipinotown, briefly ran down the history of Filipinos in Southern California from the 1587 landing of Manilamen in Morro Bay to earlier incarnations of Filipino districts in L.A. since the turn of the 20th century.

“We celebrate today the fact that Filipinos have a historic home, a heart for their community, a place where all Filipinos are welcome, and will continue to prosper and flourish,” said Garcetti.

Flanked by several members of the Filipino community, Garcetti unveiled an eight-foot long blue sign that bore the name of the newly-dedicated district, which prompted fellow councilman Tom LaBonge to quip, “This is the longest sign in the history of the city of Los Angeles!”

The first sign will be installed on Thursday, August 8 at the intersection of Temple Street and Union Avenue during a 9 a.m. dedication ceremony. Garcettiís predecessor Jackie Goldberg, now a California state assemblywoman, vowed that she would use her influence to have signs placed on the 101 Freeway directing motorists to Historic Filipinotown.

Garcettiís staff organized the year-long project to create a Filipinotown, which involved the cooperation of non-profit agencies such as Filipino-American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and local residents and businesses, both Filipino and non-Filipino. According to George Villanueva, a Filipino-American who works under Garcetti as a community organizer, one of the reasons for the formation of Historic Filipinotown was to help stimulate the development and vitality of Filipino-American businesses in the area.

The dedication ceremony was not only a chance for civic officials to applaud the contributions of Filipinos to Los Angeles and America as a whole, but for the leaders of the cityís Filipino community to express pride for their newly-recognized district in front of L.A.ís top politicos.

“A Filipina-Australian tourist visiting town once asked me where Temple Street was,” said community leader Jocelyn Geaga-Rosenthal, “She said, ëYou know, where all the Filipinos are.í” Geaga-Rosenthal, a one-time candidate for the California state assembly, also noted that the occasion would have also been a proud moment for her late mother, Remedios Geaga, who herself was a community leader in L.A.ís Filipinotown.

“I hope to one day see Filipino-Americans sit within those chairs,” said Joe Abella, another community leader, who also co-founded SIPA, pointing to the dignified, horseshoe-shaped table where the members of the city council are seated.

One such Filipino-American elected official in Southern California, Tony Cartagena, mayor of Walnut, said, “This is a very significant occasion, itís a special day for each and every Filipino and Filipino-American…we feel like we are part of [the city] now.

A brief ceremony hosted by Ed Ramolete and Jing S.J. Vida soon followed in the city hall rotunda where Garcetti and Los Angeles mayor James Hahn addressed the crowd.

“Filipinos are one of the strongest ethnic communities in Southern California,” said the mayor, decked in a white barong Tagalog, “this is long overdue.”

The mayor also commended the valor and efforts of Filipino-American World War II veterans, which filled the dimly-lit tile halls with applause and cheers. After he spoke, several attendees used Hahnís presence as an opportunity to have their photo taken with the mayor.

Garcetti added that disunity in the Filipino community was the primary reason why the road to a recognized Filipinotown district was long and hard. “This is the first step in creating unity. We have not arrived, we have only begun,” said the councilman.

An unprecedented display of unity was demonstrated at a town fiesta-like lunch reception outside in the city hall courtyard where nearly every local Filipino restaurant collectively donated food for the event. As members of the community munched on lechon, pancit, pandesal and ube cake, they were entertained under the sweltering noontime sun by the sounds of the Rondalla Club of Los Angeles, a martial arts demonstration by Kali Club sa SIPA and a traditional dance number by Filipino Senior Citizens of L.A.

For the Filipino community, the general sentiment of the day was that of joy, pride and the fact that the Historic Filipinotown designation was a long time coming.

“Theyíve had a Koreatown, a Chinatown, everything but a Filipino town,” said Elizabeth P. David, 51, an L.A. Department of Water and Power employee, “Weíre the biggest Asian immigrant group, next to the Chinese. Weíve been waiting so long.”

David, a resident of West Covina, pointed out that a “Manila Street” already exists in her city.

“In 1987 they dedicated a ëFilipino Towní [in Los Angeles] but it fizzled,” said Faustino “Peping” Baclig, 80, a Filipino-American World War II Veteran, community leader and part-time actor. “But now Iím happy, it has always been my dream to have a Filipino Town.”

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