The city of Los Angeles formally recognized the contributions of Filipino Americans in the community with the installation of the Historic Filipinotown Gateway Friday.
The arch arrived at dawn and the installation is expected to go until the evening with final touches to be completed on Saturday, reports Fox11.
Called “Talang Gabay – Our Guiding Star,” it runs 82 feet across and 30 feet high on Beverly Boulevard northwest of Downtown Los Angeles.
CBS2 reported that police blocked the street for the $587,000 project. The City of Angels is home to 500,000 Filipino Americans.
“This project has been a labor of love by so many people in Historic Filipinotown. This beautiful, historic landmark will be a source of pride for the Filipino community and will rightfully celebrate this vibrant neighborhood and the incredible contributions Filipino Americans make to the city of Los Angeles,” Councilperson Mitch O’Farrell said in February to Fox11 when he announced that the gateway would be installed before May.
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Filipino American artists Eliseo Art Silva and Celestino Geronimo Jr. designed the project. It includes a Filipino parol or ornamental lantern, a Gumamela flower to honor frontline workers and a legendary bird from Mindano Island called the Sarimanok, according to NBC4.
“It’s a fitting tribute to the many courageous men and women on the frontlines, brave warriors such as our numerous Filipino healthcare workers,” Silva said in June 2020, when the gateway’s design was unveiled. “The gateway not only signals that Filipino Americans have finally arrived, it also symbolizes the valor of the frontliners in our city.”
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