Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024 | 2 a.m.
When Rozita Lee arrived in Las Vegas from Hawaii in 1979, there weren’t many areas for the Filipino community to congregate outside of a small shopping center with Filipino-owned businesses near downtown.
Lee and others in her community would have meals and socialize at the California Hotel, bringing a sense of home with authentic food and plenty of friendly smiles.
The small group of local Filipinos isn’t so small anymore.
They are the largest Asian community in Las Vegas with a population of about 200,000 people, according to the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce. Soon, the community may have its own cultural corridor.
The Clark County Commission in November discussed the possibility of establishing a “Filipino Town” cultural neighborhood in the area between Flamingo Road and Desert Inn Road along South Maryland Parkway. A decision could come in the spring.
“This is a spot where people will come, no matter where they live in Las Vegas,” Lee said. “We have more than 4 million people from the Philippines living in the United States, so that’s a big group of people. We know that they’ll be coming from other states — many of them already do, but they don’t have a particular place to go to call their own. This will be what they can say, ‘Oh, I’m going home to Filipino Town.’ That’s what we want them to know and to understand about the culture that we have, which is a beautiful one.”
Lee, 90, is one of the unofficial leaders in the community. She has served in the Llocano American Association, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, Clark County Asian American Commission and President Barack Obama’s White House advisory commission on American and Pacific Islander communities.
She wants to strengthen her community for future generations, saying, “This project is God’s project and he’s using me to make it happen.”
Clark County Commissioners Tick Segerblom, Justin Jones and William McCurdy II have expressed support for the designation, Lee said. They also have the backing of local businesses like Tiabi Waffle and Coffee Bar, pop-up restaurant Istorya and the Boulevard Mall — where 15% of tenant businesses are Filipino-owned.
A future Filipino Town would be anchored by the Seafood City Supermarket, an Asian grocery store carrying staple products for Filipino cuisine. Some locations, like the one off Maryland Parkway, also contain Filipino businesses like fast food chain Jollibee and Red Ribbon bakery.
Even though many Filipinos no longer live near Maryland Parkway, they travel in from areas like Henderson and Summerlin to get groceries from Seafood City, Lee stressed. She said the store had even helped unify the Filipino population, which can sometimes be divided over issues based on the province they may have roots in.
It’s one of the reasons the supermarket became a site for civic engagement efforts during past presidential elections, including previously serving a polling place.
A local Philippine Independence Day celebration is also held at Seafood City each year in June, drawing together Filipinos to partake in traditional foods and activities, said Gloria Caoile, labor activist and founding leader of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.
Joel Enriquez, president of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Nevada, said they’re the largest and fastest-growing AAPI group in the state.
When Filipinos began immigrating to the area, they sought jobs in the hospitality industry, working among casinos downtown, Lee said. In the 1990s, Nevada began recruiting Filipino immigrants to be doctors and nurses amid a shortage of health care professionals.
Clark County School District in 2017 began hiring teachers from the Philippines through the J-1 Cultural Exchange Program, especially in high-need areas like special education, elementary education, mathematics and science.
Many Filipinos have made a name for themselves in Nevada as well.
Early design drafts for signs at the Luxor, Circus Circus and Rio were hand-rendered by Filipino Rodolfo “Rudy” Crisostomo, who died in 2017; Judge Cedric Kerns became the first and youngest Filipino-American elected to the Las Vegas Municipal Court; and Democratic Assemblywoman Erica Mosca is the first Filipina legislator in Nevada.
“The Filipino history and heritage here has been so rich,” said Walbert Castillo, owner of Istorya. “Filipino Town would be a sanctuary for these narratives that make up the Filipino experience. Here, the stories of triumph, resilience, joy and even hardship come to life; and so, just imagining a place where each corner, each mural, each gathering space is infused with the spirit of our elders, the energy of our youth and the richness of our history, this town becomes a space where our stories can be preserved and passed down.”
Castillo added that the neighborhood could connect “across generations in a way that feels intentional and real,” creating “a sense of home for everyone regardless of how far they may feel from their Filipino identity.”
Cultural districts
The commission in 2019 developed the Clark County Cultural District Designation Policy giving guidance on creating cultural districts to strengthen areas representing unique cultural heritages.
Only one cultural district has been recognized, with commissioners in June 2023 designating Little Ethiopia, which includes areas along West Twain Avenue, University Avenue and parts of South Decatur Boulevard. Earning the designation was a four-year effort by Ethiopian business owners and community members.
Should Filipino Town receive its designation next year, it would join a handful of other government-recognized Filipino neighborhoods, such as the SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Heritage District in San Francisco and Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles.
Clark County’s Filipino Town should be business-led, stressed Enriquez, who moved from the Philippines to Las Vegas with his family about 15 years ago. The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Southern Nevada alone had grown from a small group in 2020 to over 100 members, and is “throwing (its) full support to the Filipino Town.”
Filipinos have become an important bloc, both as voters and consumers, so Enriquez believes an official Filipino Town designation will not only draw more businesses to the area, but customers as well. More businesses in the area would also lead to more jobs, which Lee and Enriquez believe will help sustain the district.
The team behind Filipino Town already has a plethora of ideas for the 1.2-mile corridor if it gets approved. In addition to bringing in more businesses of all types and cultural backgrounds, Lee is hoping to possibly develop cultural institutions like a museum of Filipino history, library of Filipino works and a Filipino language school.
Enriquez noted that many of the Filipinos they’ve spoken to even wanted to create a large, cultural arch over what would be the entrances to Filipino Town, like the large sign welcoming those in Los Angeles to Historic Filipinotown.
But first, the county will be reaching out to business owners with properties in the area for their input, said Dan Giraldo, assistant director for administrative services at Clark County.
Lee and the Filipino Town team also will have to gain approval from the Paradise Town Advisory Board before it goes back to the commission for a final vote.
Come May 2025, Las Vegas could have its own Filipino Town.
“We need to have everybody know about our history, how we are part of the quilt that makes up America,” Lee said. “It’s amazing how things are happening and it’s the timing that’s so important. So, this is the season for it.”