Would HiFi Still Be HiFi, Without Filipino Culture?

A beautiful aspect of living in Los Angeles are the areas of the city that have maintained elements of the cultures that initially immigrated and settled there. These areas were initially formed by families that came to California from other countries, and overtime were established as historic districts. Iconic Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and Thai Town are recognizable due to the architecture, language on signage, ethnicity of the residents, and by the surrounding culture in the restaurants and religious establishments. But there is one district in Los Angeles that is catching the eye of tourists around the world and local Angelinos, and that is Historic Filipinotown.

In December 2019, Time Out magazine described Historic Filipinotown, a district in the southwest portion of Echo Park, as "a convergence of cultures" that "reflects L.A. as its best” and named it one of the “Worlds Top 5 Coolest Neighborhoods to Visit.” Though this global attention is inevitably helpful for the economy, residents like Justin Foronda, a 35-year-old owner of the restaurant, HiFi Kitchen, born and raised in Filipintown, is concerned how the rapid change and entrepreneurial growth is already overriding the history of his family and culture that once danced through the streets, “but isn’t visible to someone not knowing what identifying characteristics they are looking for.”

Justin, 35-years-old, invited me to his restaurant to talk about what HiFi means to him.

Walking in, I felt submerged in an environment different than a typical LA cafe. Music played that made you want to dance, strong scents of the crispy lechon kawali (pork belly) and fried rice with pickled vegetables sizzled on the skillet behind the counter, and with a big smile, Justin came out from behind the counter holding a plate of food, radiating with pride. I asked him what sparked his decision to open this restaurant,

“Well, what you first have to understand about this neighborhood is that there are many people who live here. Filipino-Americans, Mexicans, the LA hipsters, and artists, and then there are families like mine,” he laughed, pounded his heart and said, “true Filipinos. Spots that serve Filipino food like this, aren’t as common the new hip vegan spot that popped up around the corner. We need to keep this cuisine alive if we’re going to even keep the name, ‘Filipinotown.’”

Today, the population of HiFi is roughly 25 percent Filipino, it boasts a higher ratio of Filipinos than nearby Koreatown has Koreans (15 percent) and Thai Town has Thais (less than 5 percent. The high percentage is partially due to the commitment to the gangs. Starting in the 1920s, the Temple Street Gang, also known as “TST” was founded by Filipinos and Mexicans in HiFi. Justin shared how consumed life felt by TST growing up and how unsafe the streets were.

“Just the other day, I was heading to work early, before the sun came up and I passed this young woman jogging with her stomach showing. I got so nervous because only a few years ago she would be asking to get mugged or worse raped or murdered. But then I turned onto the next street and I’m reminded that times have changed because there was a line down the block of girls waiting outside the Love & Lemons Sample Sale, and it wasn’t even 6 am.”

HiFi is a district rich in history within a small two-mile radius. The district is centered around Temple Street where Justin still lives in the same house he grew up in, with his parents and grandparents under one roof. At the time, the district was never referred to as the gentrified, “HiFi”, only Filipinotown, P-Town or Little Manilla, the capital of the Philippines.

“My whole life I’ve always wondered, why doesn’t this place look Filipino? I know when I’m in Little Tokyo, I know when I’m in Chinatown. How is someone supposed to know what you are paying tribute to when you’re here?” With this realization, Justin knew that he was taking on greater responsibility, “I know we got to grow with the community around us, but I think its time someone speaks up to tell our story before it’s too late.”

One of the reasons that Time Out has identified HiFi as a Top 5 rising neighborhood for 2019, out of 25,000 cities worldwide, is due to the spirit of the area. Time Out quotes locals saying that HiFi feels, “refreshing and honest in a Los Angeles landscape that is quickly becoming over-funded and monotonous.” Reading the article, Justin sighed and responded, “whoever said that, is totally not Filipino.”