Inaugural “Baryo HiFi” celebrates LA’s Historic Filipinotown

Community “for the culture” — Filipino Americans were among hundreds kicking off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with an inaugural celebration of Historic Filipinotown.

The neighborhood — nestled around downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park and Koreatown — has been regarded as the birthplace of LA’s vibrant Filipino American community.

On Saturday, May 4, the Historic Filipinotown Coalition hosted the first-ever Baryo HiFi festival, along Beverly Blvd. in L.A. The event spotlighted Filipino food vendors, selling sweet desserts and popular local restaurant specialties. Live performers included hip-hop artist P-Lo, SoSuperSam, ESTA and more.

Baryo HiFi also featured a diverse art exhibition and marketplace, interactive games and family-friendly workshops — such as parol-making, mahjong and a lumpia-eating contest.

Promoting the growth and cultural diversity of Historic Filipinotown — and highlighting the Filipino American community as a whole — is one of the coalition’s main goals.

“California has the largest concentration of Filipinos in America, most of (whom) live in LA, and there is currently a lot of attention directed towards Filipino Americans and our contributions to pop culture,” said event organizer Miles Canares before the event. “From food to clothing designers and music, we felt this was the right time to launch in a big way, while bringing attention to this neighborhood. We’re happy people agree this is the right time to celebrate the neighborhood, and the incredible Filipino talent here in L.A.”