On June 12th, 2020 Filipino organizations, Filipino businesses, artists, local elected officials, and community leaders unveiled a new mural on the south east corner of 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue known as “Little Manila.” The ceremony was also a means to extend appreciation to Filipino businesses and healthcare workers risking their lives on the front lines of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The ceremony began with community health worker and leader, Sockie Laya Smith honoring people we have lost due to complications onset by COVID-19. Laya Smith recalls, “Mabuhay to their spirits that inspired us to be the best of ourselves and to contribute our gifts to serve the community and humanity. For the transnational people of Philippines ancestry who make up [a] huge sector of the global health system. Our gathering will keep reminding the world of the skills, dedication, and the self-sacrifice demanded of healthcare workers so humanity may be healed—specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is to remember them as human beings—not simply as a labor percentage, a deceased statistic, or an immigration number. We thank you, say thy name. Mabuhay!" She proceeded to start naming Filipino healthcare workers around the world who died from COVID-19, from a list compiled by the Kanlungan Memorial Project.
“Little Manila” is considered one of the largest concentrations of Filipino businesses located in NYC and historically has been a common crossroads for immigrants to the area. About 2 dozen people witnessed the unveiling in person, as well as viewing virtually online. While being aware of social distancing, people gathered at the mural wall shared by the restaurant Amazing Grace which faces the Q47 Bus Stop and underneath the 7 train 69th Street Subway station.
The mural resides at the busy intersection, functioning as both a welcome sign and art to beautify the neighborhood. Colors combinations of sunshine yellow with glistening traces of gold, hues of green growth and the sampaguita (or jasmine) flower flourishing from background of blue, with the prominently-displayed “Mabuhay,” a Philippine expression that has many meanings: cheers, welcome, may you live. For more than ten years, there had been attempts to have a Philippine mural in the Little Manila neighborhood. This was an effort to finally achieve that goal, and to also enact creative placekeeping to represent the values of the Filipino community. Painted by Princes ‘Diane’ De Leon, Ezra Undag, Hannah Cera, Jaclyn Reyes, and Xenia Diente, the visual vocabulary is rooted in the history and landscape of the Philippines. The typography is based on lettering found on the iconic jeepneys; the illustration style of the plants is based on Malay batik design from Mindanao, Indonesia, and Malaysia; the gold in the linework is an homage to goldsmith artistry of precolonial Philippines.
In front of the mic stand, stood a handmade street sign in green with white lettering, “Little Manila.” Two youth leaders, Princes ‘Diane’ De Leon and Hannah Cera, emceed the unveiling ceremony together as they gave their personal testimonies. De Leon is the daughter of Mary Jane and Efren De Leon, the owners of Amazing Grace Restaurant and Bakery; Cera is the daughter of Brenda and Raul Cera, who also work at the restaurant. Amazing Grace was one of three Filipino restaurants open at the height of the crisis in Little Manila when most businesses were closed. As a business that opened only in November 2019, the De Leon and Cera families worked to keep the restaurant running, while also working as healthcare workers in Manhattan and in Queens, including Elmhurst Hospital—at one point, the epicenter of the NYC pandemic—and Flushing Hospital. Diane, a graduating high school senior, and Hannah, a high school junior, worked alongside their parents and the reduced staff to stay open for the community.
Several community members shared their personal involvement in the neighborhood and the significance of the location. For Joe Castillo, growing up nearby, he’s seen first hand the area go through many changes. His parents opened up Phil-Am Food Mart in 1976, and during that time there were only two Filipino stores. Castillo reflected saying, "It's very rare that you see this many Filipinos all in one place... I've been to other Filipinos communities all over the country — California, Jersey City—but the Woodside community is very special. We all come together. We all support each other. All these businesses would not be thriving if it weren't for one another, so there's no competition. Everybody shops at all these different places... And it's true: all ships rise with the tide of everyone's support. To see something beautiful like this [the mural] in the neighborhood, it's been special for me personally and I'm actually very much honored to be a part of this today."
June 12 is Philippine Independence Day, and the timing of the mural unveiling also signifies the completion of the Meal To Heal Initiative, a project, led by Little Manila Queens Bayanihan Arts in partnership with the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns Northeast (NAFCON-NE), and collectively fundraised with the help of Filipino American National Historical Society Metro NY (FANHSMNY) that sought to mutually aid Filipinos at predominantly Queens-based, immigrant-owned businesses and healthcare facilities throughout NYC. Every delivery was organized to deepen ties and enact social cohesion between Philippine businesses, healthcare workers, residents, activists, and volunteers. Through their efforts, 300+ meals were delivered from April through June.
The ceremony opened up remarks about what the community had endured. Michael Vaz, Executive Director of Woodside on the Move, who affirmed “the work [the Filipino community has] done during the pandemic,” acknowledging collective loss and the importance of unity: “Together, we are Queens...Together, we are Woodside.” New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), not present at the event, extended their support in this historic moment in time, saying, “This mural gives us hope—it’s a reminder that we are seen, we are united, we are essential, and we are alive to care for each other one more day.”
Council Member of District 26 Jimmy Van Bramer offered gratitude to the efforts behind the mural stating, “Woodside is more beautiful today than it was yesterday.” Standing in front of the handmade “Little Manila” street sign, he asked the crowd “shouldn’t we have a street name ‘Little Manila?’”—pointing to years of on-the-ground discussion and efforts by community leaders and activists to officially mark the Philippine enclave. He ended by stating, "I'm telling you today as your Council Member, we will rename the street 'Little Manila' and make this happen once and for all."
The sunny celebratory afternoon ended with Potri Ranka Manis of Kinding Sindaw leading a "bagsak.” It means, “one down”, a unity clap symbolizing solidarity and collective effort. Ranka Manis, a registered nurse herself, applauded the joint efforts of the community, “It may be just a corner of a street, but MABUHAY brings our Pilipino life story to this corner of the world, for all to see and share!” She wore a yellow and maroon, landap, a malong, or traditional handwoven cloth, from the ancestral Meranao Moro people of Mindanao, Philippines. The group convened for a photo opportunity and certificates of appreciation signed by community leaders were given out to the participating neighborhood restaurants namely: Amazing Grace Restaurant and Bakery, Ihawan, Baby’s Grill & Restaurant, Tito Rad’s Grill, Phil-Am Food Mart, Kabayan Grill, Kabayan Turo-Turo, Ihawan, Woldy Kusina, Rosario’s Ihawan, Renee’s Kitchenette, and Papa’s Kitchen.
