Fall of the I-Hotel

We watched the movie "Fall of the I-Hotel" in class. In the early 1900s, The I-Hotel, or International Hotel, was where low-income minority immigrants stayed. The elderly Filipino immiogrants were affectionately called "Manongs." Rent was cheap and friends lived within walking distance, so it was the perfect place to stay. The I-Hotel was located in the heart of Manilatown on Jackson and Kearny Streets. Manilatown expanded all along Kearny Street for about 10 blocks, but was reduced to just one when the rent raised from 700 to 2500 dollars. Tenants played pool at Lucky M, and the barbershop was not only a place to get a haircut, but also a hangout place. Later on, disastrous news hit tenants of the I-Hotel; the I-Hotel was going to be bulldozed and turned into a parking lot, and everyone was going to be evicted without a place to stay. The tenants have lived in the hotel for more than 50 years and moving away from the place they call home to somewhere else where they might be discriminated against was a horrible thought. They did everything they could to try and save it, even if it meant risking their own lives in the process. Their futures seem so grim that dying for something they believe in was better than submitting and just moving. Three days before the signing of the contract, a fire was set in the I-Hotel, killing three tenants. Violence was not a part of the deal, so this upset even the owner of the I-Hotel. Asian Americans from everywhere bound together to fight for the future of the I-Hotel, which was a symbol of acceptance and Asian American culture of the time. The created a human barricade , risking their lives for something they believed in. They were kicked, beated, and thrown in jail. When the strike ended, the Asian Americans lost their culture and the togetherness that was always a big thing for them. They disbanded to different parts of the city, but at least they fought for what was right. Asian Americans who were usually silent are not anymore.

Fast and furious (Drift, Drift, Drift)

So on Saturday the 20th of September, was Hot Import Night's NightShift event in Pleasanton. Basically Hot Import Nights (HIN) is the country's largest touring car event. With displays of numerous customized show cars, this pop culture experience also features live music, dance performances, and of course.. HOT IMPORT MODELS haha. The NightShift that I went to is a "sister event" which includes all the features of HIN, but with the addition of drift demos and bike stunts.

Cars and swooping them up is enjoyed by many, so tell me why it’s mostly associated with Asians? Like, why where there hella Asians there at HIN? How did it get to the point of us taking over the street racing? Every day life; whenever going down the street and you hear a loud ass car, “Ohhh… RICER!” like you can hella distinguish the typical swooped out Hondas with huge exhausts as “Asian”..

So at HIN is it mainly Asians because they were drifting at the event? This question led me to look up the history of drifting. According to Wikipedia, drifting started out as a popular racing technique in Japan races over 30 years ago. Kunimitsu Takahashi, was the creator of drifting techniques in the 1970s. As professional racers in Japan drove this way, so did the street racers. Keiichi Tsuchiya became particularly interested by Takahashi's drift techniques. Tsuchiya began practicing his drifting skills on the mountain roads of Japan, and this quickly became a hit and inspired many of the professional drifting drivers on the circuits today. By 1996 drifting hit California. Today, drifting has evolved into a competitive sport in Japan, Malaysia, Australia, UK, Canada, and New Zealand.

But it wasn’t even Asians who started this street racing. Street racing is reported to have originated prior to the 1930s due to alcohol prohibition in the US, and became very common after the war. I guess basically after drifting was invented by the Japanese, Asians pretty much took over the scene and when it got popular, basically all Asians supported it. HIN I guess is mainly an Asian event because when something originated in a specific race, like in this case, Japanese which automatically selects all asians, that race will PROUDLY SHOW IT OFF because everyone is trying to distinguish themselves and show what they can offer the world.

All this makes me think about Tokyo Drift and how that movie pretty much portrayed HIN with all the Asian import models dressed to add extra sexiness to the cars because what do boys like better than their girls and cars =P

HIN's flyer


swooped up TC


me and my hellokitty :D



Drifting vid

I-Hotel: Analysis of Movie

Today our Asian American Culture class watched a documentary called The Fall of the I-Hotel. This documentary featured the history of the Filipinos and other Asian American minorities, especially the Chinese, in San Francisco and how the International Hotel and other places on Kearny Street played an important role in Asian American culture. The film shows aspects of the events that lead up to the fall of the International Hotel and also brings up issues concerning society and minorities at the time.

Many Filipinos, or manongs, lived in the area called Manilatown on Kearny Street. They immigrated to the United States to seek a better life. They worked as laborers and faced racial discrimination. During social time Filipinos would play pool and talk at the local community center. Many lived in the International Hotel because back then living there was cheap and affordable. However, the expansion of the Financial District caused many big businessmen to take away areas of Manilatown, soon leaving it down to one block. Attempts to evict people from the International Hotel were made and held back due to protests. However, on August 4, 1977, police came to the International Hotel and forced people to stop their protests and lose the fight, putting an end to the International Hotel.

From watching this documentary I felt sincere for what the protesters and Filipinos were fighting for. They believed in justice and wanted to preserve their culture and community. The International Hotel was a symbol that represented many people of Asian American culture living together and enjoying life. They already had other pieces of their culture and life taken away from them, and they were not going to let anyone else ruin more of their lives. The Filipinos went through many rough experiences to get the opportunity to live a better life and now their chances of maintaining that life are going to be diminished due to the greed of others to expand business in San Francisco. Many Filipinos do not have any other place to live in San Francisco besides the International Hotel. The International Hotel provides a safe haven for many Filipinos who do not work or do menial work, such as the elderly. The eviction of tenants would potentially place people in a very difficult situation of what they will do if they cannot find a place to live or make a living. I was amazed at how well the community got together to fight for a common cause. They put themselves forward to spend their time showing what they cared about and got the message about how important the situation was about the International Hotel. The group of protestors consisted of a diverse population. Not only were there Filipinos, there were other minority groups including the Chinese, and there were also numerous Caucasians, whom a majority is racist with Filipinos.

Kicking out an important portion of people in the community just so that the government can use the building for their own needs is a disgrace and another representation of how the government does not serve to the needs of the people. Seeing the looks on the faces of the Filipinos when they lost the fight for keeping the International Hotel made me think about the treatment of Asian Americans in America. Asian Americans are pushed around and ignored because we are a minority in the United States while the Caucasians reign supreme. I am not saying that I have any ill feelings for Caucasians but instead that Asian Americans do not get as much representation and voice in issues that affect everyone. Their fight to keep the hotel represents every fight that every immigrant has to live a better life. This relates to my parents and other folks who came to the United States not knowing what they will face or what will happen to them.


Now whenever I go to Chinatown, I always pass the old Manilatown on the bus. Looking at Kearny Street today, there is a lack of sense of community that was present in this documentary. However, now that the International Hotel is rebuilt in the same location as the old one, there is still hope. The fight is never over though. We have to make sure that history does not repeat itself and also make sure that we have a voice in Asian American culture.