This is one of the few places where you can ride a Philippine jeepney.

The jeepney that plies downtown San Francisco is essentially a covered, extended military jeep, except it’s painted purple and blue and decorated with geometric patterns. The chrome bumper sparkles; as well as a very large horse-shaped hood ornament.

Mario DeMira, who drives it, says the car gets a lot of attention.

“You’ll be honking and smiling a lot,” he said.

Jeepneys have been a popular and affordable way to get around the Philippines since the end of World War II. American soldiers abandoned thousands of military jeeps, and local residents used them to create public transport.

“Each car was customized to suit the driver’s personality and was passed down from generation to generation,” San Francisco pop musician Toro & Moy said in an interview. music video he made an accompaniment to his 2022 album Mahal.

The Philippine government is I plan to gradually give them up.

However, these cars are still a beloved symbol of home for Filipinos and members of the diaspora.

After Toro y Moi purchased a jeepney for his album (despite its sprightly 80-year-old appearance), he donated it to the San Francisco Philippine Cultural District. SOMA Philippines.

This is a Jeep that is cruising the area as part of a pilot tour for Philippine American History Month.

Thriving community despite challenges

San Francisco is home to one of the largest Filipino communities in the country. Humans originally came to the area and provided cheap agricultural labor over 100 years ago. Many of them lived in a vibrant area near the city’s waterfront called “Manilatown”, which has since been redeveloped and gentrified, displacing many of the community’s residents.

“My grandfather was one of the first Filipinos to own a pool hall and restaurant in Manilatown on Kearny Street,” said tour participant Nicole Salaver, a third-generation Filipino artist and program manager at Balay Creativeworkshop in San Francisco. “Before they were all gentrified.”

Today’s Filipino community, including its cultural district, is concentrated in the south of the Market District. This is where jeepney tours take place.

Jeepney guide Raquel Redondies is the director of the San Francisco Philippine Cultural District. She grew up in the Philippines.

“Much of this history has been buried and untold,” said Raquel Redondiez, director of the San Francisco Philippine Cultural District and today’s tour guide. “And so a lot of the cultural district’s work is about uncovering those stories.”

Among the many attractions, the jeepney passes the 19th-century St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, which originally served the local Irish community and is now an important spiritual center for residents and visitors of the Philippines. Mass is held here monthly in Tagalog.

The tour also takes in the area surrounding the convention center, where many working-class Filipinos lived after the collapse of Manilatown. Redondiez said most were pushed out again during the site’s redevelopment in the 1960s.

“Part of our work is really about restoring the space and the neighborhood,” Redondiez said.

Bringing back heritage through art

One of the ways Filipinos are regenerating their neighborhoods is through art, Redondiez said.

Along the way, the jeepney tour encounters many murals. One of the most notable is “Ang Lipi ni Lapi Lapu,” a tall, recently restored mural depicting the waves of Filipino immigration to the United States. It depicts figures important to Filipino Americans, from an indigenous chief to the co-founder of United Farm. Workers.

A huge, recently restored mural by Joanna Poethig, 1984. "Ang Lipi ni Lapy Lapu" tells the story of Filipino immigration to the United States. — Joanna Poethig’s enormous, newly restored 1984 mural “Ang Lipi ni Lapy Lapu” tells the story of Filipino immigration to the United States.

“Joanna Poethig painted this mural 40 years ago,” Redondiez said, stopping the jeepney to take a closer look at the work. “And she helped lead the restoration along with young Filipino artists.”

Even the area’s communal drawers have been artistically transformed. Decorated with simple images on them – mother; two people hugging – they make the boxes look like huge flashcards for learning a language. “They teach the Philippine alphabet and words,” Redondiez said.

Even the trash drawers are decorated with artwork highlighting the area's Filipino culture and heritage. — Even the trash drawers are decorated with artwork highlighting the area’s Filipino culture and heritage.

Redondiez said her organization hopes to offer regular jeepney tours soon. (The historic Philippine city of Los Angeles also has jeepneys and sometimes conducts tours.)

In the Philippines, despite widespread resistanceThe government intends to replace these rickety, mostly diesel vehicles with less polluting, modern.

“So it may not be long before San Francisco becomes one of the few places left on earth where you can still ride a traditional jeepney,” she said.

Jennifer Vanasco edited the audio and digital versions of this story. Chloe Weiner mixed up the audio story.