Four centuries ago, Filipinos first set foot on North American soil. Today, Filipino Americans are striving to keep their cultural heritage alive and thriving.
October marks Filipino American History Month, a time when many Filipinos are pushing for their cities to recognize “Filipino Towns.” This cultural district designation, akin to Chinatowns, Japantowns, and Koreatowns, serves to underline the vital contributions of Filipino expatriates and immigrants to the cultural tapestry of major urban centers.
Such recognition can manifest through landmarks, support for events, or even permanent signage. In Los Angeles, a gateway arch was erected three years ago in Historic Filipinotown, originally designated in 2002. Meanwhile, Little Manila in New York City’s Queens borough celebrated the unveiling of an official street sign. Now, Las Vegas has joined these cities in celebrating Filipino culture.
Last week, Las Vegas proudly revealed an official “Filipino Town Cultural District” street sign, following a unanimous resolution by Clark County commissioners six months prior that affirmed this cultural distinction.
Rozita Lee, the inaugural president of the Filipino Town Las Vegas board, reminisced about the county’s endorsement, stating, “It was a wonderful day because we felt acknowledged as a significant community in Nevada. We were all elated.”
Making the case for Filipino Towns
At 90, Lee has been a Las Vegas resident for nearly half a century, witnessing the growth of a vibrant 1.2-mile (1.6-kilometer) corridor east of the Strip. This area has flourished with Filipino small businesses, a radio station, and popular chains like Seafood City supermarket and Jollibee. To strengthen their proposal last year, the Filipino Town board collected data highlighting that Filipinos represent the largest Asian group in metro Las Vegas, numbering over 200,000.
They also spread the word among business owners.
“We visited the people that were in the area because we had to knock on doors and let them know of the possibility of this area being named Filipino Town, and would they support,” Lee said. “Everybody said yes.”
Now resigned from the board, Lee is currently planning a Filipino American Museum.
Current board president Bernie Benito is looking forward to making Filipino Town a site that tourists will consider.
“What we’re going to try to do is just to promote it culturally. We’re going to entice developers, investors to come into the area in order to set up their businesses,” Benito said.
Filipino Towns were few compared to other ethnic ‘towns’
Filipino scouts on a Spanish galleon — a heavy, square-rigged sailing ship — landed on Oct. 18, 1587, in Morro Bay, California, likely making them the first known Asian people to reach the U.S. It would be nearly 200 years until Filipinos settled here starting in Louisiana and the West Coast.
Pre-World War II, there were some Filipino enclaves made up mostly of single men. They were not as prevalent as Chinatowns and Japantowns. A lot of them either were demolished or floundered as some men moved away, said Joseph Bernardo, an adjunct professor in Asian Pacific American Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
U.S. colonial rule over the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 led to Filipinos studying English and assimilating to 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 as nurses and accountants and lawyers and doctors, et cetera, with greater ease than other Asian immigrants.”
The U.S. Census estimates 4.5 million Filipino people live in the U.S. and less than half are immigrants. Registered nurse is the most common occupation, according to AAPI Data, a research and policy organization.
“More Filipino Americans care about cultural pride and want a community space to reflect that,” said Bernardo.
Today, there are several Filipino Towns, some more active than others. Stockton, California’s once vibrant Little Manila was torn down by a crosstown freeway in the 1970s. But there are historic walking tours hosted by advocacy group Little Manila Rising. In San Francisco, an artist-driven Filipino Cultural Heritage District known as SOMA Pilipinas includes a community center and public art works. Toronto, Canada, also has an active Little Manila.
Why cultural markers and landmarks matter
Over two dozen residents excitedly posed for pictures in May in front of a brand new Seattle Streetcar outfitted in a “Filipinotown”-branded wrap. For them, it was a concrete symbol of their Filipinotown, which the Seattle City Council formally recognized in 2017. Devin Cabanilla, executive director of Filipinotown Seattle, is also a contract worker for King County Metro Transit. He applied to get the special streetcar.
“I think having that streetcar has really jump-started us because I mean to some extent the general public doesn’t care. So what if you have some law that says you’re Filipinotown? What are the visible markers of it?” Cabanilla said. “People do want something tangible.”
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. Besides restaurants and shops, Cabanilla hopes visitors stop to appreciate landmarks like the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge, named after the writer who advocated for Filipino independence. Or Uncle Bob’s Place, an affordable apartment building named for local Filipino American civil rights activist Bob Santos.
Future goals for Filipinotown include an official sign, events like poetry sessions and a summer block party.
“Our primary vision is to bring back the solidarity that we had when the International District was in its heyday and it was a multicultural place,” Cabanilla said. “I need white people to understand it is not just Chinese, Japanese, East Asian stuff. It has always included Filipinos supporting and living in the district.”
