Stories of HiFi: Media Townhall Shares Solutions For Displacement

Youth Create Projects Centered Around Gentrification in HiFi 

On March 7th, 2026, SIPA’s Leadership Development interns held the inaugural Stories of HiFi: Media Townhall, attended by 80 community members, in collaboration with Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI). The two organizations created the Community Media Lab (CML) to allow young creatives to produce projects centered around gentrification and displacement in Historic Filipinotown (HiFi). This event was held to raise awareness of gentrification and displacement by highlighting the impact of rising housing costs on longtime residents, and encouraging community dialogue on preserving Filipino heritage and supporting local businesses. In addition, the event provided an outlet for community members, activists, and local organizations to connect, share experiences, and discuss possible solutions for displacement.

SIPA had the honor of hosting longtime HiFi community member and urban planner Gerald Gubatan as the keynote speaker, who is also a co-editor of the anthology, ”Filipinotown: Voices from Los Angeles”. He shared his experiences growing up in Historic Filipinotown and seeing the changes that gentrification caused in his hometown.

The following CML projects were showcased at the town hall to prompt discussions about how to address these issues:

Justine Acosta is a 1st generation Pinay that migrated to Ramaytush/Ohlone, or Daly City in 2013. Currently, she is a student at the unceded Tongva/Gabielino land at UCLA under the Asian American Studies and Public Health Department. She used a visual and qualitative methodology called “photovoice” to illustrate the harmful presence of gentrification and displacement in HiFi.

Alyssa Abiera is a high school senior at Orange County School of the Arts in the Acting Conservatory and serves as the Community & Wellness Fellow on SIPA’s Youth Advisory Board’s executive board. Combining her interests in storytelling and social impact, she is delighted to share with you a podcast-episodic style research project exploring gentrification in HiFi.

Ellie Bartolome is a 2D digital artist that enjoys exploring the mythologies and folklore of various cultures, especially pre-colonial Filipino culture, through her art. Her project is a digital illustration that centers around the murals of HiFi and how art both captures cultural history and helps foster a community.

Ceeb Ancheta is a homeschool-high school senior and the Executive Board Lead fellow at SIPA. She created a digital map of Historic Filipinotown, a synthesis of two very different things: community voice and frontend web development. This map aims to preserve and make accessible the history of HiFi as it’s been shaped by displacement from the early 1900s to date.

Rebekah Grace de Guzman is a 17-year-old Emmy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based filmmaker and SIPA’s Media Lead fellow who is motivated to use her creativity to benefit her community and ignite social change. She created Tanaga, a collection of poems written in the tanaga style: a form of indigenous Filipino poetry. It is created from the stories of artists with deep connections in Historic Filipinotown, including Rebekah herself.

Alexa Ramos is a first-year biology major at UCLA and has been working at SIPA for almost two years. She wrote a research essay that views gentrification in HiFi through the lens of food businesses, focusing on their role as a source of empowerment, identity, and strong vessel in a community that has undergone constant change and challenges.

Camelia Heins is a recent graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor’s in Political Science and English, plus a minor in Asian American Studies. She is a community-based storyteller looking to pursue a career in journalism. Camelia's podcast focuses on the issue of gentrification in Historic Filipinotown through the lens of street art, understanding how art can pave the way for community involvement and historical remembrance.

Katrina Ramos is a fourth-year Cal State LA psychology major and Asian American Studies minor. Her project is a short film that illustrates how displacement and gentrification affects the Catholic churches in Historic Filipinotown.

Bella Gomez is a 17-year-old photographer born and raised in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Her work centers on empowering her community and advocating against ongoing gentrification through photo storytelling. Her zine project highlights the voices of community members in the Hi-Fi and Echo Park areas by documenting their businesses and the history of these neighborhoods.

Raymond Rigoroso is a high school senior and a youth leader at SIPA. He created a small podcast segment about the comprehensive history of Historic Filipinotown. Carrying a strong appreciation for history and evolution in communities, such as Chinatown, it’s very important to him that we understand not just where we are now as a community in HiFi, but also where the roots the people here planted are all about.

Dylan Jade Robles is a first-year college student passionate about advocacy and research. She currently serves as the Advocacy and Engagement Lead Fellow at SIPA. Combining both passions, her project takes the form of the event you are in right now, which she has planned and executed as chair of the Town Hall Committee. Following the event, she will produce a comprehensive report analyzing data collected from the town hall, with the goal of informing SIPA's future youth programming initiatives.

Thank you to the CML interns for creating these amazing projects over the last seven months, and to the Youth Advisory Board interns, SIPA, and KDI staff for holding this event. Another thank you to Gerald Gubatan, the community members who shared their stories to inspire these projects, and our sponsor, The Park’s Finest BBQ, for feeding our community.