Discover Florida's Hidden Gems: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Asian American Landmarks!
By Valerie Boey
Orlando, FL- As Asian Americans celebrate the Lunar New Year, historic Asian
American landmarks in South Florida and around the state, are being featured in
an activity book for children. The art was created by famous illustrators, who
donated their time to the cause. This occurs as Asian American Pacific Islander
leaders look to educate students and cut down on AAPI hate crimes.
Mimi Chan, state director of a non-profit organization called Make Us Visible
Florida says, the activity book features Florida’s Asian American Pacific Islander
pioneers and locations. “One of the reasons that I started Make Us Visible
Florida here, was because of the anti-Asian American hate that was happening in
our local community. And when I researched what was the number one solution
to be preventative to that hate, it was education.”
Chan was influential in lobbying the AAPI history education bill, which was signed
by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year. According to Make Us Visible, it is
the first Republican-led state that passed the mandate. Connecticut, New Jersey,
and Rhode Island also passed the law requiring AAPI history to be taught in
schools K-12. The process of deciding what will be taught is currently taking
place. Chan says there is a group of educators, parents, and other members of
the public, which meet to go over standards and make recommendations. “We’re
waiting to see what the next step is.” She says the Department of Education will
review the recommendations and determine what is taught in schools.
Chan says, she was able to enlist the help of well-known illustrators like Jim Lee,
Cliff Chiang, Jen Wang and GB Tran to work on the activity book, “The illustrators
of the book are award winning Asian American artists, comic creators, children’s
book illustrators.” Some of South Florida’s famous Asian American landmarks,
like the Yamato Colony are featured in the book. According to the Morikami
Museum website, the Yamato Colony was once a small community of Japanese
farmers in present-day northern Boca Raton. Chan says, “We learn about the
founders of that Colony and what their contributions were in terms of farming and
crops and just kind of establishing, as one of the earlier Asian Americans in the
area.” The South Florida Hindu Temple near Ft Lauderdale is one of the temples
also featured in the book. “You’ll see some really, lovely coloring pages. And a
little bit of information about the founding of these temples and a little bit of
history to kind of see that different facet of Asian American history.”
Chinese American horticulturist Lue Gim Gong from Central Florida is also
mentioned in the book. Chan says he was known as the “Citrus Wizard” during
the Great Freeze of 1894 to 1895. “He developed a solution to save the groves
with his crop pollinating techniques. And his oranges were determined to be cold
resistant, and he ended up developing this special orange strand, which is now
known as the Gim Gong orange but also the Valencia orange.”
Chan, who was the inspiration behind the appearance of Disney’s Mulan, says
she is also excited about being featured in the book. “I’m really proud of the fact
that the team asked for myself to be included in the book. Of course, with my
work on Disney’s Mulan, as well as the work that I’ve been doing in advocacy.”
According to research by the group Stop AAPI Hate, there have been around
11,500 hate acts reported nationwide to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center
during the pandemic. The report states 67 percent of the incidents involve
harassment, such as verbal or written hate speech or inappropriate gestures.
14-year-old Jade Leaf says, “I know a lot of people who have had racist
comments towards them, specifically because they are Asian.” Leaf says she has
never been harassed but knows other students who have been. She thinks
education will be effective, “I’m really glad that AAPI history is finally getting some
light shined on it because I know me personally, as an Asian American, I want to
learn about my history.” Chan says she never had that opportunity as a child,
“Thinking back on my childhood I realized, I didn’t get to learn about any Asian
American pioneers growing up. I didn’t really see myself reflected in history as an
Asian American, as someone who’s born in the United States. And I know that if I
had gotten to see myself reflected, my narrative would definitely have changed.”
She thinks it can help people from all backgrounds, “I think for children of all
ages, for Asians and non-Asians to see that Asian Americans are American.”
Chan is releasing the third rendition of the activity book during Lunar New Year
celebrations, as well as the Make Us Visible Florida Facebook page and website.
While the books are free to students, they are asking for a $25 donation. She
hopes the books will eventually be used in schools, “I’m hoping that teachers will
see the value in some of the lessons in the book and hoping we’ll be able to
share that with kids of all ages really. We really want just many people to be able
to benefit from learning about these different Asian American pioneers, especially
since they’re all very Florida specific.”
Leaf hopes to get a copy of the activity book. The 8 th grader looks forward to
taking AAPI History, “I think it will make a big difference because a lot of people
like joke sometimes racist stuff. I think that will make them understand more
about me, my history and stuff like that.” And that is what Chan is counting on,
“We need more empathy and understanding and just general appreciation of the
fact that Asian Americans are also Americans and not the perpetual foreigner
that we sometimes unfortunately fall into.” For a copy of the book send an email
to HELLO@MAKEUSVISIBLE.ORG
Little Manila: Stories from the 17th Street Filipino District in Fort Lauderdale
The influence of Asian culture in south Florida is strong yet silent. If you blink you might miss it. Yet once you open your eyes, the influence envelopes you. Like the air we breathe, clear to the eye, yet still all at once, quite real. A paradoxical delight. Stores, eateries, the Japanese Fern replanted in southern soil that you’re catching shade under. Asian culture is American culture too, in all of its variety, in all of its subsets.
Let’s zoom into one south Florida neighborhood in particular. We’ll call it ‘Little Manila’. It is an area rich with stories first established in the early 1990s. This neighborhood is a corridor of Filipino culture wrapped up in an unassuming two-block radius. The heart of the location spans the length of a commercial shopping plaza, a beach-town-style parking lot in the middle, with strips of stores and places to eat facing out on both sides. Each doorway, a portal onto itself of rich stories.
The presence of the Philippines here floats under the surface, taking shape in everything from the local convenience stores (in Tagalog known as ‘Tindahans’, our down south version of a ‘Bodega’) to the delectable smell of crispy Pata fresh out of the fryer. If you listen carefully you’ll hear the tonal melody of Tagalog drift in and out of doorways, the mother tongue of the Philippines creating a soundscape unique to the Far East. And if you close your eyes for a just moment, you might forget you’re in South Florida.
Little Manila has been a part of my family history for over twenty years now. I remember our family driving to the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood on Sundays after church. Except for new businesses coming in, the plaza has more or less stayed the same.
I remember walking up to a convenience store counter with my mom and watching as she wired money back home to my grandma in Manila. As we stood in line, I decided which flavor of Nagaraya I wanted. Mom would grab sweet dried mango. Then, we would walk over to Horizon to see if they had any Pansit or Palabok for sale that day.
“We ordered our Balikbayan boxes from here too,” Mom said, wrinkling her brow in remembrance of past days. “It was a one-stop-shop for food and all of the things we needed to stay in touch with home.”
So I began to wonder, what is the story of this neighborhood? How did the Filipino culture come to blossom here? I set out to find out these answers by exploring Little Manila for myself and heard from business owners who have shaped the vibe of the neighborhood for the better part of a decade.
I spoke to a person who helped sculpt the cultural landscape of Little Manila into what it is today. His name is Domingo and he is the owner of the popular restaurant, Fiesta Manila. Domingo’s first line of work was connected to the cruise ship industry. He ran a shuttle service from Port Everglades to his store in Little Manila in the early ‘90s.
“I started driving shuttle services for crew members from cruise ships to my store about 8 years ago. That’s how we started the restaurant.” Domingo said. “I used to have a grocery store, and then I added my restaurant onto it”
The port to which he refers, of course, is Port Everglades. This behemoth (a city unto itself) is responsible for ushering in over 29 billion dollars worth of business activity, according to their latest Economic Impact Report conducted in 2020. In 2019, pre-pandemic, Port Everglades was ranked the third-busiest cruise homeport in the world, accommodating more than 3.89 million passengers annually.
Thanks to Domingo’s shuttle service, many Filipino crew-workers were able to find their way from the port to the Little Manila area, which would have otherwise been a 45-minute walk.
Domingo pivoted from the shuttle business to serving crew members in a new way after Port Everglades tightened the guidelines on owning a shuttle.
“The rule was before you could drive your own shuttle,” he said, “you had to own a business. It’s much different now. As long as you have a permit the city will allow you to drive one.”
So in response to the new restrictions, Domingo pivoted into a brand new business that turned out to be even better.
He remarked happily that Little Manila was starting to have new life again, post-pandemic. Even when cruise ship season is over, Domingo says that he still gets plenty of clients from Google and word of mouth.
“Google nakatulong! It really helps with the business.” He remarked with a smile. “The neighborhood is quite lively because it is becoming a tourist area, especially for people who work on yachts and cruise ships. Local people working at the hospitals. Some people also come over from West Palm Beach”
Variety is what makes his restaurant unique. When asked about popular dishes he answered, “People love to order Crispy Pata, Lechon Kiwali, Chicaron Bulaklak, Barbecues, and grilled squid.”
I also spoke to Maribel Godin, a woman in her early thirties. Maribel is the owner of Horizon, the Filipino convenience store and eatery from my youth.
“We have been in the business for over 12 years now. Have you heard of Manila Cantina in Miami?” She said. “That’s our family restaurant and store too.”
Maribel and her family bought Horizon in Fort Lauderdale back in 2020 from the original owners who, at the onset of the pandemic, decided to sell the company and move back to the Philippines.
Maribel explained more to me about the patrons of Little Manila and her primary customer base.
“90% of our customers are from the boat.” She said, “And about 10% of our customers are from here, or land-based. There are different kinds of cruise lines that all come to the port. Filipinos who live onboard come to the store, most people needing to send money home or buy Filipino groceries or food.”
“We are a one-stop-shop for crew members.” Maribel continued, “We cater to all their needs. Like sending boxes back home. We have all the groceries that they need. Cooked food. We are here to serve those people who work hard on board.”
Maribel put me in touch with a woman named Grace. “You must speak to my Ate Grace,” she said excitedly, “She runs a restaurant right across the street from me, and she has been here much longer. She might have good stories.”
Maribel was right. Grace had amazing stories. Historical, vivid, well-traveled stories.
Grace is from Pampanga, Philippines. In the 1980s she left the Philippines on a voyage to provide the best life for her children by working on cruise ships. She recollected the story to me one afternoon, the memories still fresh in her mind. The time was January 1988. The ship was the legendary MS World Discoverer.
“Me and my crew were the first women Filipino members, so we were, in a sense, pioneers or the first of our kind, working on the cruise ship” Grace recalled. “During that time the ships were not that big. There were 30 crew members and we only carried 75 passengers. It was a very small boat, like 2000 tons!”
When explaining what her duties were on board, Grace laughed. “We did mostly… Everything! I was a cocktail waitress at first and then a cabin stewardess.”
“You have to learn fast Po!” I remarked, with a grin.
“You know how Filipinos are” Grace replied. “We are resourceful. This is why we are loved all over. Because of our resilience and our patience.”
Grace has been to many places. Many places people only dream of visiting. Places where only a small ship could go.
“Big ships can’t go to these places! Like the Amazon River. I’ve been there.” Grace said. “I’ve been to Norway, the Seven Sisters Fjord. The North and South Pole. Spitzbergen, where nobody lives and where you can see the midnight sun. Whale watching in Mexico. Leningrad, Russia. Helsinki, Finland. The Panama Canal. I’ve been all over the place.”
Grace bought the restaurant that she currently runs in Little Manila in 2015.
“The original owners were selling the restaurant and at that time I wasn’t interested because I didn’t have the kind of money to buy it.” Grace explained. “Eventually the owners offered me a deal, so I said okay, we’ll see how it goes! And I started from there.”
When asked about how the area has changed since 2015, Grace remarked that the pandemic affected them uniquely, since many of the patrons of Little Manila are seasonal tourists and crew-members who were then bound by strict safety regulations.
“It used to be a very festive area. Because of the cruise ships, there were so many people from the boats, so many Filipino crewmen. They would walk around the street in front of the restaurant and it felt like the Philippines”
As safety restrictions are beginning to soften, crew members and tourists are just starting to return to the area.
“From October to April when the boats are here, we always do a buffet, and we have a lot of dishes that I serve. People love to come and try different things. They like my cooking and they come back.”
I could tell that Grace holds all of her customers, but especially those with seafaring backgrounds, in the highest of regards. When crew members miss vegetables or dishes from home, she serves up what they miss with love. Some of her best sellers include Dinoguan, and Pinakbet, Moongoo, Pansit, Lumpia, and Sinagang.
“I see myself in them. I know exactly how they feel.” Grace said. “It is not easy because you leave your family behind just to make a living for them. You sacrifice. But in the end, it’s really a good thing. You just do what you have to do.”
By: Dennica Pearl Worrell
Creating a Legacy of Hope
Established in 1994, the mission of NANAY (National Alliance to Nurture the Aged and the Youth) is to assist, support and promote the welfare and wellbeing of elders and youth. NANAY’s specific goals are aimed at improving the personal, health and home environment of the elders and youth; promoting their involvement in arts and culture; increasing their self-confidence; and enabling them to live a healthy and productive life.
In 2000, NANAY officially opened its Community Center in North Miami, and since then it has provided free supportive services to seniors, including counseling, transport, computer classes, recreational activities, health sessions, community workshops and seminars. Its computer facility (called the Magic Johnson Community Empowerment Center) continues to serve as a resource for elders who wish to learn more about computer programs, and for low- to moderate-income individuals who wish to access information through Cyberspace.
Dr. Jocelyn H. Bruce, Founder of NANAY Inc .
Over the last 25 years, NANAY has always been in the forefront of community service. NANAY has established working relationships with government agencies, lender/bank partners, and private/community organizations that have assisted in providing subsidies, information updates and financial support for NANAY’s programs and activities.
The renovation of NANAY Community Center was perhaps the most challenging and yet, most rewarding period for NANAY. Funded by Miami-Dade County Building Better Communities General Obligations Bond (GOB) Program, North Miami CRA, Kresge Foundation and NANAY’s Capital Campaign funds, demolition of the building’s internal structure began in March 2009, and it took almost two years to complete the building renovation. In 2011, NANAY formally opened its newly renovated building to the local community. The informal and culturally diverse collaborative interaction of youth with elders through computer-related, social and educational activities in a safe and wholesome facility served as a powerful tool for improving the interpersonal relationships of elders, addressing the intergenerational intercultural gap, and creating a stronger sense of community and family.
Since the official opening of its Community Center in 2000, NANAY has always been largely dependent on grants for its service operations. Over the last several years, our operational funds were considerably decreased because of cuts in government funding, which presented a formidable challenge to our present and future programs. But we are now rebuilding from grounds up.
Today, NANAY still stands strong. Our elders continue to benefit from our services – with monthly joint birthday celebrations, recreational activities, and health exercises like Zumba and Yoga for Seniors. NANAY has hosted a number of community workshops and Consular Outreach, Dual Citizenship and Philippine Passport Renewals. We have provided transportation to elders during concerts and other community events
While much has been achieved, much more remains to be done. As NANAY seeks to improve its programs, we continues to create a legacy of hope and it envision our elders and youth to be fully empowered and productive members of society. We invite you to be part of that legacy. Come and join us!