Filipinotown Food, Fashion, Arts and Activism
Located in the heart of East Los Angeles, with streets lined by murals, Historic Filipinotown boasts a variety of cultural representation. Notable restaurants, such as Dollar Hits and HiFi Kitchen, featured in “Street Food: USA,” have been bringing Filipino cuisine to Los Angeles for almost a decade.
Both immigrant-owned restaurants attract Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams), immigrants and other Angelenos with dishes like “inihaw na baboy” (barbeque pork skewer) from across the region, while providing jobs to immigrants such as Ate Mali, who came to Los Angeles from Rizal, Philippines.
“Parang nasa Pinas, lang,” said Ate Mali, which translates to “It feels like I’m in the Philippines.”
Food isn’t the only thing served in this neighborhood. During the third Annual Baryo HiFi block party, hosted by Baryo Entertainment and HiFi Kitchen, festival attendees served looks in vintage Los Angeles Dodgers Filipino Heritage jerseys and other apparel that paid homage to their Los Angeles and Pinoy roots.
Los Angeles-based, Fil-Am-owned lifestyle and clothing brand “Art Community” held a pop-up announcing its new collaboration with Mojave, another Fil-Am-owned brand.
Notable attendees such as Grammy-winning Filipino American H.E.R. danced alongside the crowd to performances by MYX Philippines and Manila Sound. Activists from Gabriela Los Angeles, a feminist and Filipino nationalist group, spread awareness about ongoing issues regarding extrajudicial killings in the motherland.
The cultural exchange between the Philippines and Los Angeles can be traced as far back as World War II in the 1940s, with even earlier connections through trade routes established during Spanish colonial rule.
Historic Filipinotown now hosts a myriad of ethnic communities.
Between the colorful murals lining Temple, Beverly and Union, the Filipino spirit remains visible through mo-and-pop shops and homegrown, local artists.
