LOS ANGELES — Historic Filipinotown (HiFi) celebrates two recently acquired distinctions, its designation as a Preserve America Community by First Lady Michelle Obama, Honorary Chair of the Preserve America Initiative, and the naming of Remedios "Remy" V. Geaga Square, after a pioneering community leader:
Pilipino American Network & Advocacy (PANA), Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), My HiFi, Pilipino Workers' Center and various Historic Filipinotown Leaders, elected officials, community organizations, Businesses, Residents and other stakeholders will be in attendance at the 'Preserving Historic Filipinotown: A Community Celebration' on Saturday, January 28, 2012, 11am to 1pm in Unidad Park, 1644 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles.
Preserve America is a federal initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy the nation's cultural and natural heritage. Preserve America recognizes and designates communities, including municipalities, counties, neighborhoods in large cities, and tribal communities, that protect and celebrate their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs.
Historic Filipinotown leaders will be presented with the Preserve America designation certificate by Milford Wayne Donaldson, FAIA, who was appointed by President Obama in 2010 to chair the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. He is also the current California State Historic Preservation Officer. Several locally-elected officials have also been invited to attend, including members of Congress, the California State Legislature and County and City dignitaries.
Additionally, the community will celebrate the naming of the intersection at Temple and Alvarado Streets Remedios "Remy" V. Geaga Square, after a Southland Filipino Community leader who dedicated her life to community involvement and political empowerment to end discrimination in employment, education, and housing, and for the rights of senior citizens. She was also active in restoring democratic rule in the Philippines and opposed martial law.
Historic Filipinotown's Preserve America application was facilitated by Pilipino American Network and Advocacy (PANA), co-chaired by Dr. Ben Marte and Dr. Leo Pandac. "PANA is grateful to First Lady Michelle Obama for bestowing HiFi with this honor." said Marte, "We are also very proud to have facilitated the involvement of the many partners that made this designation possible, including Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), My HiFi, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), the HiFi Neighborhood Council, Inc., HiFI Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Councilman Eric Garcetti, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and numerous other organizations and individuals."
"Preserve America Communities are committed to preserving their past by using their heritage to build a better future," said Milford Wayne Donaldson, chairman of the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP).
"Historic Filipinotown's designation as a Preserve America community is the result of the hard work of many community leaders who have brought the neighborhood's rich and diverse history into the spotlight. I'm proud to represent Historic Filipinotown on the Los Angeles City Council and even prouder to have been able to work with the community to raise its profile in the rest of the city and in our nation," said Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti.
Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA-31), who represents a significant portion of Historic Filipinotown, expressed his support: "Historic Filipinotown is a cultural hub for the Filipino American community and for many of us not of Filipino descent in Los Angeles. Its diversity in culture, thriving small businesses and engaged citizenry make it a landmark in the 31st congressional district. I congratulate all those who worked to make this designation possible and I applaud the Preserve America Initiative and First Lady Michelle Obama for honoring the Historic Filipinotown community with this great distinction."
The celebration will include music, food trucks and community tables from various Historic Filipinotown organizations and institutions, as well as a fully-restored and operating jeepney (traditional Philippine taxi) courtesy of the Pilipino Workers' Center.
For information about the event, please contact: Michelle Magalong, My HiFi: MyHiFi90026@gmail.com; Dr. Ben Marte, PANA: bmarte80@gmail.com; or Dennis Arguelles, SIPA: darguelles@esipa.org.
This article originally appeared in Asian Journal.
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