Los Angeles’ Filipino-American community hails U.S. nod to Historic Filipinotown

Federal council designates the district as a Preserve America Community

 

Milford Wayne Donaldson, right, chairman of the Federal Advisory Council on
Historic Preservation, presents a certificate designating Historic Filipinotown as a
Preserve America Community to Ben Marte, co-chairman of the Pilipino American
Network and Advocacy, on Saturday (Jan. 28, 2012) at Unidad Park in Los Angeles.

The truth is there are many Filipino “centers” in America. Just about every street corner where there is an LBC or Goldilocks quickly becomes a veritable community gathering place for Filipinos and Filipino businesses. Whether it’s in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, there is always a “Filipinotown” where a Pinoy can go to satisfy a hankering for lechon, polvoron, bibingka or any of the Filipinos’ other sumptuous delicacies.

But there is only once such place that has been recognized by the U.S. federal government: Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles.

The district, comprising the southwest portion of Los Angeles’ Echo Park neighborhood, was designated in October 2011 by the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (FACHP) as a “Preserve America Community.”

Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon of the Philippine
Consulate in Los Angeles speaks during the celebration,
which drew about 125 people to Unidad Park.

On Saturday (Jan. 28, 2012), a virtual fiesta was held at Unidad Park on Beverly Boulevard to celebrate the occasion.

Hosted by the Pilipino American Network and Advocacy (PANA), Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), and My HIFI, the celebration featured a presentation by Milford Wayne Donaldson, chairman of the FACHP, of a certificate to the organizations that have been advocating for Historic Filipinotown.

Leaders of Los Angeles’ Filipino-American community who spoke on Saturday—including Consul General Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon of the Philippine Consulate, Joel Jacinto, executive director of SIPA, and Michelle Magalong, chairwoman of My HIFI—hailed the designation of Historic Filipinotown as a Preserve America Community.

Magalong said it will help protect the history and heritage of the nation’s Filipino-American community and enhance the awareness of Philippine culture in an ever-changing United States.

Organizers also used the Saturday event to recognize the designation of the intersection of Temple and Alvarado streets in Historic Filipinotown as the Remedios “Remy” Geaga Square. Geaga was a staunch community organizer and activist in Historic Filipinotown. She died in 1997.

The choice of Unidad Park as the venue for the event was a master stoke. The park’s colorful and well-known mural highlighting landmarks in Philippine and Filipino-American history provided a colorful and fitting backdrop for the speakers, all of whom paid homage to the richness and importance of Philippine culture.

For more information on Historic Filipinotown, go to www.myhistoricfilipinotown.org.

Organizers and guests of the celebration on Saturday pose for a photo under
Unidad Park’s “Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana” (Golden History,
Golden Heritage) mural.