Sunday Read: New banners stake out Filipino American district in San Francisco

New banners in San Francisco's SOMA Pilipinas say 'Filipinos live here.

EVEN THOUGH FILIPINOS are the largest Asian ethnic group in California, they are often mistaken for Chinese,  Vietnamese, Burmese, Malaysians, Thai or Latino.

The Giants fans, the employees at Twitter, Amazon, Google and the other tech companies, the millions of tourists and conventioneers, shoppers and museum goers may not know it, but they work and play in a Filipino American neighborhood.

To increase visibility and to pronounce to the world that the South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood is the the Filipino Cultural Heritage District, banners have been placed on street posts earlier this month, Filipino American History Month. 

On the banners are pictures of the Filipino American residents of SOMA Pilipinas, the community activists, artists, the students, the elderly, and the thousands of service workers who work in the city's hotels, restaurants and offices.

“SoMa has kids and families, in spite of what others say, we live and thrive here and the banners represent that.” SoMa resident Mary Ann Magsaca, told the Philippine News. She is featured in the campaign with her two young daughters that attend Bessie Carmichael Elementary.

The design team that created the artwork for the campaign saw it as an opportunity to send a humanizing message.

“The concept to us behind the pole banners is to show the complex vibrancy of our SOMA Pilipinas neighborhood: a beautiful spectrum of layered stories of who the people are that have defined this part of the city. We are happy, fun-loving, fearless, strong. Being visible in this way is our way of saying, if you see us– truly see us, displacement is not an option.” said An Otherwise Co. Co-Founder Irene Faye Duller to the Philippine News.

SOMA Pilipinas was designated as a cultural heritage district in 2016, and last year received a state designation by the California Arts Council.

Sabrina Pacheco of Gold Metropolitan Media, the city light pole banner company that applied the banners said, “The SOMA Pilipinas Community Pride Campaign marks a step towards placemaking for the Cultural Heritage District and offers a powerful new way to enhance the spirit, energy, pride, and vibrancy of the community.”

The apartment building owned by the Filipino fraternal organization Gran Oriente, was bought by Mission Housing Development Corp. to keep it's tenants from being evicted.

Four families who have lived for generations at 657-659 Natoma St., in the heart of SOMA Pilipinas, are facing eviction by Michael Chung, founder and managing principal of Caerus Investment Advisors, LLC. Ironically, Chung and his family live in one of the newer high-rise condominiums located in the district emphasizing the income gap between district residents.

Supervisor Jane Kim has striven to ensure that affordable housing be built into the massive new developments that are in the planning process so that some residents can stay in the neighborhood, but some question if efforts by Kim and housing advocates are enough to assure the continuing character of the Filipino district.

The banners are a small step, but it sends a strong message to all would-be interlopers, "Don't forget we live here. This is our home!"

“When I looked up and saw {the banners} on the way to work, I felt proud yet melancholy because it was a hard struggle to get to this point. Two years for me but 100 years for the community,” said Desi Danganan, executive director of Kultivate Labs, a SoMa based nonprofit.

Olympic gold medal winner Vicki Manolo Draves grew up in the SoMa Pilipinas neighborhood.

_________________________________________________________________________________