May 21 marked a new era for recognition of Filipino American history and presence in the Chinatown International District (CID). The City and King County Metro unveiled an updated Seattle streetcar wrap design that includes the place name Filipinotown alongside Chinatown, Japantown and Little Saigon.
The effort came from a decisive action by Cynthia Mejia-Giudici, a former trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) and former president of its Seattle chapter, and Devin Israel Cabanilla, a public historian and founder of Filipinotown Seattle. Mejia-Giudici and Cabanilla submitted a formal request to the City of Seattle and King County Metro to update the streetcar to include Filipinotown.
Cabanilla described the process as “one of the easiest government interactions I ever had. There was no haggling at all.”
But the updated streetcar reflects years of advocacy from the Filipino American community and beyond. “It’s been like a low simmer,” Cabanilla said. “Sometimes when you want to cook something good, it takes hours and hours. These things that we have now it’s been decades of cooking and multiple cooks.”
When the original streetcar design debuted in 2015, it mentioned three ethnic heritage enclaves in the CID, but not Filipinotown.
In 2017, the Seattle City Council passed Resolution 31769, recognizing Filipinotown (at the time, “Manila Town”) in the CID. The Council removed the reference after lobbying from some individuals in the CID who aimed to prevent its recognition as a distinct part of the neighborhood, before correcting the error and amending the resolution.
The new design is just the latest effort from multiple generations who have seen underrepresentation of Filipino history in the CID. “All the old people here did the legwork,” Cabanilla said.
Filipinos have lived in Seattle’s Chinatown ever since they arrived in Seattle at the end of the 19th century. City records from the 1950s referenced the “Filipino district” in official documents and maps. Filipino American individuals made enormous contributions to the protection and preservation of the CID. Cabanilla cites the interethnic shared community work of the legendary activist and leader “Uncle” Bob Santos, an early leader of InterIm CDA, as a main source of inspiration for the streetcar project.
“Filipinos do not work in isolation,” Cabanilla said. “Our friends come from all ethnicities and blocks of the International District.”
Efforts to recognize Filipinotown, including with the updated streetcar, were supported by organizations including SCIDpda (Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority), Friends of Little Saigon, Historic South Downtown, CIDBIA (Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area) Wing Luke Museum, Filipinotown Seattle, Interim CDA and others.
At the unveiling and celebration, speakers and attendees said a lack of official signifiers for Filipino American presence in the neighborhood have contributed to erasure.
“I used to work in Chinatown in the ’70s,” said Mejia-Giudici. “I saw Japantown, Chinatown, and Little Saigon. But where’s the Filipinotown?”
For a long time, Dorothy Cordova also felt something was missing when it came to Filipino American recognition in the CID. Cordova, a longtime Seattle Filipino American activist, was honored at the event, and Cabanilla says she is a major inspiration and prominent voice in the project.
“Filipinos, we are here, we are an integral part of the history here, don’t write us off!” Cordova said.
Now age 93, Cordova has been working her whole life to uplift and protect Filipino American heritage in Seattle and nationally. Born in Seattle to Filipino immigrant parents, she co-founded the Filipino Youth Activities in 1957 and later, in 1982, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), which grew into a national organization housing the extensive National Pinoy Archives. Cordova was instrumental in establishing Filipino American History Month and spent decades mentoring young leaders and scholars. She’s become known as Auntie Dorothy, and her legacy lives on through her tireless work to uplift and document the Filipino American experience.
The celebrations at the unveiling on May 21 were an outpouring of love and pride for the community. They included key speeches from Mejia-Giudici and Cabanilla, as well as Chera Amlag, founder of Hood Famous Cafe and Bar.
For Amlag, having a streetcar that recognizes Filipinotown, and that drives a route just a few blocks from her business, is meaningful.
“When I saw the streetcar, it’s as if I was that guest coming into this cafe, feeling seen and heard by the city,” she said in her speech. “In a time where there are so many people [who are] othered, it is important that we be inclusive.”
“I believe I was told by a friend that we may be the only Chinatown that is the Chinatown INTERNATIONAL District,” Amlag continued “And I stand here behind so many people who advocated on behalf of so many other Filipino American experiences. And when my husband and I wanted to open up a cafe, we knew we wanted to do it in Chinatown’s INTERNATIONAL District.”
Mejia-Giudici and Cabanilla both emphasized that true recognition goes beyond a name on a streetcar. “To truly understand the depth of our history, take a walking tour,” Mejia-Giudici said. “Book a tour with the FANHS Seattle Chapter. Explore HistoryLink, the International Examiner archives, or visit the ‘I Am Filipino’ exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum. See the new ‘Filipinos on the Waterfront’ exhibit at Colman Dock. Support Filipino authors. Shop at Filipino businesses.”
“We weren’t the first and we won’t be the last,” said Amlag “There’s a slew of so many amazing Filipino American workers in this district that is pushing Filipinotown forward….Our time here and deep, and diversity here should be recognized.”
After the celebration and speeches ended, the community leaders, elders, and residents gathered at 8th Ave & Dearborn for photos, then took the inaugural ride at 5th Ave & Jackson, ending the celebration at Hood Famous Café.
The ride was full of people expressing wonder, reminiscing and memories, and even some tears.
“I used to take the streetcar all the time,” Cordova said. “I took it to the doctors office, to school, everywhere. I used it more than the light rail or buses. This is history made.”
