Ralph Santos, executive director of the Long Beach Filipino Festival, said that a \u201creawakening of Filipino activism\u201d within the past decade is fueling this effort, with a goal of preserving cultural identity in California, such as the Filipino migrants\u2019 relationship with the city\u2019s historic naval presence and canning industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people our age are having children who really need to understand their history, and make sure the history is not lost,\u201d Santos said.<\/p>\n
The Filipino community makes up the largest Asian population in the cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill, with 22,472 people identifying as Filipino only and 2,094 identifying as Filipino in combination with another race, according to the most recent data available.<\/p>\n
Filipinos make up 39% of the city\u2019s Asian population, and the Asian population amounts to 13% of the city\u2019s total population, according to the data.<\/p>\n Advocates for a Filipinotown are eyeing Santa Fe Avenue in the lower Westside due to an active Filipino presence in this unofficial \u201cLittle Manila.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Among the Filipino spaces on Santa Fe Avenue alone, are Edna\u2019s Filipino Cuisine, Cuizina Filipino Restaurant, the Tambuli Supermarket, St. Lucy Catholic Church and Dollar Stix Filipino Exotic Grill<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Long Beach Economic Partnership is working with community members to designate the Santa Fe corridor into a business area between Willow Street and Pacific Coast Highway, which they are currently calling \u201cSanta Fe Village.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos said a Filipinotown is an effort he’s wanted to pursue for several years. Community organizer Harold Dela Cruz, who works with Santos, added that as West Long Beach begins to develop economically, recognition of the Filipino community should be included in those plans. Dela Cruz, who grew up in West Long Beach, believes the Filipino community’s inclusion in economic development could also help strengthen the connection between businesses and organizations \u201cso they\u2019re not gentrified out of the area.\u201d<\/p>\n The cultural group argues that an official recognition similar to how Central Long Beach has Cambodia Town, a business corridor, could become a mechanism to make Filipino businesses in West Long Beach eligible for resources.<\/p>\n Assistant City Manager Linda Tatum said each proposal for a cultural space in Long Beach has been unique.<\/p>\n Cambodia Town, for instance, was named as a business corridor but that type of designation doesn’t offer any direct financial support to the businesses there. Financial benefits are led in part by the town\u2019s Midtown Business Improvement District, which is something completely different. In September, the City Council approved the move forward with a visioning process for a Cambodian American cultural center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tatum said the naming of Cambodia Town is \u201cgold,\u201d in the sense that this official recognition allows a community \u201cto build off that identity and use it in a many number of ways.\u201d Some examples may include tourism or attracting businesses.<\/p>\n The African American Cultural Center of Long Beach is another example of a cultural space with different needs. Tatum said the cultural center has likely gone the farthest in its creation. Collaborative planning between Black community leaders<\/a> began a few years back, and now, the cultural center lives temporarily at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls until it finds a permanent home<\/a>.<\/p>\n A third example, the idea of having a Latino cultural district, \u201cEl Mercado de Long Beach<\/a>,\u201d had also been proposed to give the city\u2019s largest population a culturally sensitive space for commerce and resources for food insecurity, housing and health care access. El Mercado is estimated to cost $30 million<\/a> to create an economic hub with additional health-related resources, <\/b>according to city projections released in October. This cultural district aims to have both a district and a cultural center, which would require much more funding.<\/p>\n Because the City Council embraces ideas for cultural spaces, Tatum said that the city is always willing to listen and explore options.<\/p>\n Plans to economically develop West Long Beach are already in the works by city officials, including conducting a market study this year for the area to draw more neighborhood-serving businesses like banks and pharmacies, according to city officials. In June, an emergency ordinance also blocked the city from issuing new residential building permits<\/a> along two corridors on the Westside in an attempt to save space to attract neighborhood-serving businesses.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s timing seems to be aligning with the group\u2019s campaign, and Dela Cruz said he wants to ensure the Filipino community is included in conversations surrounding the development of West Long Beach.<\/p>\n The next steps the cultural group plans to take is creating a petition to garner support for a Filipinotown and contacting the area\u2019s councilmember, Santos said.<\/p>\n In Los Angeles, home of the largest Filipino population in the United States<\/a>, the Historic Filipinotown was created in 2002. Long Beach\u2019s group doesn\u2019t necessarily want to replicate LA\u2019s Filipinotown, but rather create its own version based on residents’ input.<\/p>\n When fellow organizer Jun Aglipay was first introduced to a Filipino cultural event in San Pedro, \u201cthat pretty much changed my life and really brought me home.\u201d Since then, Aglipay began volunteering for festivals in Southern California and later helped with the creation of the Long Beach Filipino Festival<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n Following a COVID-related hiatus, cultural organizers plan to restart their annual Long Beach Filipino Festival this year. Aglipay believes this event serves as a catalyst for more Filipino culture and mobilization in Long Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can be influential. We can be movers,\u201d Aglipay said.<\/p>\n Little Manila: A second glance at the culture of West Long Beach<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/12094232\/0312-Filipino-1.jpg\")
How can a Filipinotown actually be created?<\/h5>\n
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