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Four centuries ago Saturday, Filipinos first set foot on the North American continent. Now, Filipinos are working to maintain the American cultural footprint.
During October’s celebration of Filipino American History Month, many Filipinos are calling for their cities to be designated “Filipino Towns” – a cultural district designation similar to Chinatown, Japantown, and Koreatown that highlights the contributions of migrant and immigrant populations to the overall identity of a major city.
That identity can be through landmarks, event support or even permanent signage. three years ago, los angeles‘Historic Filipinotown – first designated as a neighborhood in 2002 – featured an entrance arch and the construction of Little Manila new york cityThe borough of Queens introduced an official street sign. Now, vegas Has joined the club.
An official “Filipino Town Cultural District” street sign was unveiled to great fanfare last week – six months later clark county The commissioners unanimously passed a resolution confirming this distinction.
“That was a great day,” Native Filipino Town Las Vegas board president Rosita Lee recalled of the county’s approval. “A great day because we realized that the government has actually recognized us Filipinos in Nevada as a legitimate, solid entity. We were all very happy.”
Making the case for Filipino towns
Lee, 90, has lived in Las Vegas for nearly 50 years. He has seen a 1.2-mile (1.6-kilometer) corridor east of the Strip blossom with Filipino small businesses, a radio station and chains such as Seafood City Supermarket and Jollibee. Last year, the Filipino Town Board’s first step was to gather data to strengthen its proposal. Filipinos are the largest Asian group in Metro Las Vegas, with over 200,000 people.
He also spread the word among business owners.
“We met with people in the area because we had to knock on doors and tell them about the possibility of renaming the area Filipino Town and whether they would support it,” Lee said. “Everyone said yes.”
Lee, who has now resigned from the board, is currently planning a Filipino American museum.
Current board chair Bernie Benito is hoping to make Filipino Town a destination that tourists will consider.
“What we’re going to try to do is just promote it culturally. We’re going to entice developers, investors to come to this area to set up their businesses,” Benito said.
Filipino towns were smaller than other ethnic ‘towns’
Filipino scouts landed on a Spanish galleon – a heavy, square-rigged sailing ship – in Morro Bay, California on October 18, 1587, possibly becoming the first known Asian people to reach the Americas. It would take approximately 200 years for Filipinos to settle here, starting in Louisiana and the West Coast.
Before World War II, there were some Filipino enclaves composed mostly of single men. They were not as popular as Chinatown and Japantown. Many of them were either demolished or destroyed because some people moved away, said Joseph Bernardo, assistant professor of Asian Pacific American studies at Loyola Marymount University.
American colonial rule over the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 required Filipinos to study English and assimilate into Western culture.
“They have a command of English that doesn’t necessarily tie them to an ethnic economy to survive in the United States,” Bernardo said. “They can get jobs like nurses and accountants and lawyers and doctors and so on more easily than other Asian immigrants.”
The US Census estimates that 4.5 million Filipinos live in the US and less than half are immigrants. According to AAPI Data, a research and policy organization, registered nurse is the most common occupation.
“More Filipinos care about American cultural pride and want a community space to reflect that,” Bernardo said.
Today, there are many Filipino cities, some of which are more active than others. The once-vibrant Little Manila of Stockton, California was torn down by a crosstown freeway in the 1970s. But there are also historical walking tours organized by the advocacy group Little Manila Rising. In San Francisco, an artist-run Filipino cultural heritage district known as SOMA Pilipinas includes a community center and public art works. There is also an active Little Manila in Toronto, Canada.
Why do cultural markers and landmarks matter?
More than two dozen residents excitedly posed for photos in front of a brand-new Seattle streetcar adorned in a “Filipinotown” branded wrap in May. For them, it was a tangible symbol of their Filipinotown, which the Seattle City Council formally recognized in 2017. Devin Cabanilla, executive director of Filipinotown Seattle, is also a contract employee for King County Metro Transit. He applied to get a special streetcar.
“I think having that streetcar has really benefited us a lot because I mean, to some extent, the general public doesn’t care about it. So what if you have a law that says you’re Filipinotown? What are the visible markers of that?” Cabanilla said. ,People Want something concrete.”
Cabanilla’s great aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Fred Cordova, are credited with creating Filipino American History Month in 1992 through their organization, the Filipino American National Historical Society.
Filipinotown is part of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. In addition to restaurants and shops, Cabanilla hopes visitors will stop to appreciate landmarks like the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge, named after the writer who advocated Filipino independence. Or Uncle Bob’s Place, an affordable apartment building named after local Filipino American civil rights activist Bob Santos.
Future goals for Filipinotown include an official sign, poetry sessions, and events such as a summer block party.
Cabanilla said, “Our primary vision is to bring back the togetherness that we had when the International District was in its heyday and it was a multicultural place.” “I need white people to understand that it’s not just Chinese, Japanese, East Asian stuff. It’s always included Filipinos who support and live in the district.”