The Historic Filipinotown Eastern Gateway has been installed in Los Angeles to honor the contributions of the Filipino community ahead of the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
The new gateway, named “Talang Gabay – Our Guiding Star,” rises 30 feet high and spans 82 feet across the width of Beverly Boulevard, at the eastern entrance into Historic Filipinotown.
Designed by Filipino artists Eliseo Art Silva and Celestino Geronimo Jr., the highly-anticipated landmark features Filipino cultural symbols including the festive Parol lantern, the Gumamela flower, and the Sarimanok.
“The Historic Filipinotown Eastern Gateway has been installed!” Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who represents Historic Filipinotown on the Los Angeles City Council, wrote in a Facebook post on April 5, 2022.
“This brings to fruition a 20-year community vision, and I’m proud to have helped lead the way in making this happen. The gateway pays tribute to the incredible contributions of the Filipino community in Los Angeles and beyond,” O’Farrell adds.
The installation of the landmark at the entrance of the neighborhood has been in the works for nearly two decades and began with a community study of Historic Filipinotown improvements commissioned in March 2003.
“The key to building and enhancing the beautiful neighborhood we all know as Historic Filipinotown has always been community. The community has long advocated for more visibility and was committed to bringing the Eastern Gateway to life,” Commissioner Jessica Caloza, the first person of Filipino descent to sit on the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, earlier said in a news release in February.
The Historic Filipinotown Eastern Gateway was installed on April 1, 2022, and will be officially unveiled during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
O’Farrell will join local leaders and community members in a community unveiling of the new landmark on May 7, 2022. Those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at bit.ly/HiFiGateway.
Historic Filipinotown, nicknamed HiFi by locals, is a district of the city of Los Angeles in California that makes up the southwest portion of Echo Park.
HiFi was named among the Top 5 in the 50 Coolest Neighbourhoods list by London-based Time Out Media Group in 2019.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the community leaders and organizations behind the installation of the Historic Filipinotown Eastern Gateway in Los Angeles which honors the contributions of the Filipino community ahead of the celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.
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