Time Travel in Hi Fi - Tour Historic Filipinotown in a Jeepeny

Don’t be ashamed if when you hear the term Hi Fi you still think of a 1980s stereo playing R.E.O. Speedwagon.

But it’s a new millennium and going forward Hi Fi is short for Historic Filipinotown.

In August of 2002, Los Angeles designated the neighborhood south of the 101 Freeway, north of Beverly Blvd., between Glendale Blvd. and Virgil Ave., as Historic Filipinotown. It’s Echo Park adjacent.

This is another one of those special places that make L.A. special – encompassing the changes that take place over time new people arrived, claimed an area and made it their own. Then the place changes. I'm not sure what changed in Hi Fi, but I hear there are not many Filipinos who live there anymore.

How often does this happen? And oh yeah, who lived there before the Filipinos. Does this remind you of anywhere? Little Italy is now Chinatown and Little Armenia is now Thaitown.

In many cases, the immigrants (from another state or another country) have either gained their footing and moved to a better place, been pushed out by gentrification or perhaps pushed out by newer arrivals looking for their opportunities.

This is the first event Leimert Park Beat has been designated an official Media Sponsor.

So what makes Historic Filipinotown Filipino?

Four groups - Pilipino Workers’ Center, Public Matters(Where I am interning for my master's program at USC), UCLA’s Center for Remap and HyperCities - have partnered on PDUB Productions to tell the story.

They created a time-travel like experience that mixes historical maps, personal narratives, GPS and mobile technology to create walking tours. And the youth, many of them first-generation Filipinos, have produced touching movies on what it means to live in the area, what they appreciate about Los Angeles and what they miss about their homeland.

And for good measure, from the Philippines they've imported a Jeepney – a reclaimed World War II era U.S. Army transportation vehicle that is a popular and colorful mode of public transit in the island nation. Council President Eric Garcetti, who was key in getting the Hi Fi designation, will lead a tour on the World War II bus.

Mobile Hi Fi Walking Tours are free, but space is limited and reservations are strongly recommended.

Individual Tickets for the Barrio Fiesta Fundraiser to benefit PWC are $50 (including food + screening + guaranteed spot on Walking Tour); Jeepney Tours are $20. Ticket prices for Celebrity Jeepney Tours vary.