A Filipino Pop Icon, A Mural And A Deadnaming Controversy

Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles is home to a celebrated mural about the Filipino American experience, one of the largest and oldest of its kind in the country. But the depiction of one figure is bringing the artwork fresh attention and leading to accusations of transphobia.

Featured on the colorful mural, along with labor leader Larry Itliong and musician APL.DE.AP of the Black Eyed Peas, is the Filipino pop singer Jake Zyrus before he came out as transgender.

A growing chorus of voices, including Zyrus himself, say the portrait should be changed.

The singer

Zyrus had been added to the mural during an 2011 update, fresh off of becoming the first solo Asian artist to have an album reach Billboard’s top 10. Acclaimed appearances on Glee and The Oprah Winfrey Show made him one of the most famous Filipinos in the U.S.

Then in 2017, Zyrus came out as a trans man to a mixed response from fans. In the seven years since, as he's worked to reintroduce himself as a singer to audiences, his name and image on the HiFi mural have not been updated to the alarm of some community leaders.

“I feel that it's very important to address deadnaming, to address transphobia,” said Eddy Gana, co-founder of the Filipino American arts organization Sunday Jump.

Earlier this month, Sunday Jump made a post about the mural on Instagram tied to Pride Month, sparking impassioned discussion. Gana, who is trans and non-binary, belongs to the camp that wants the mural updated as soon as possible by removing the singer's portrait and mention of his former name and creating a new painting “to reflect Jake Zyrus today.”

With transgender rights under increasing attack across the country, Gana says there’s urgency to put a stop to deadnaming.

“It leads for us as trans folks to contemplate our very own existence, leads to depression and anxiety to be in a world where we feel like that we don't belong — and we do belong,” Gana said.

What does Zyrus want? His management company has not responded to requests for comment.

But in a letter written by the singer and shared by Sunday Jump, Zyrus urged the mural’s designer and local leaders to replace the current portrait of him with one representing his "true self."

The artist

Eliseo Art Silva, the prolific and well-known artist behind the mural, said it’s important to know what Zyrus' wishes are.

But he added: "It's not up to me, you know, it's not really up to me."

Silva said he can’t retool the mural he started in 1995 until there are multiple community meetings, funding is secured and a design plan decided. He added he is also booked up with work, which includes restoring the right half of the 150-foot-long mural (Zyrus' image is on the other half) and painting a fresco at a neighborhood Catholic church.

The mural is located on an exterior wall of the Rideback Ranch, an entertainment complex in Filipinotown.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

While asserting his openness to change, Silva also revealed he had his parameters. Pre-colonial Philippine folklore inspired him to locate Zyrus next to Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao on the mural so they could represent the first man and woman. Repainting Zyrus throws off that concept, he said.

"I cannot just disrupt the narrative,” Silva said. “It's going to compromise the integrity of the entire mural.”

Silva said he is open to replacing Zyrus with a notable Filipina and painting a new likeness of him elsewhere on the mural.

Another idea, Silva said, would be to keep the current image of Zyrus while adding a new portrait of him. But critics of this proposal say it's transphobic for Silva to treat Zyrus as two different people and to still use his former name.

Silva said he was frustrated and saddened by the controversy, noting he's shown support for the LGBTQ+ community with the inclusion of gay Filipino Americans such as the artist Alfonso Ossorio, as well as a babaylan, a shaman from the pre-colonial era who was typically a woman or trans.

Visitors to Historic Filipinotown are greeted by arches on Beverly Boulevard, also designed by Eliseo Art Silva.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

Silva said the mural is being unfairly attacked when there are so few like it that honor Filipino American culture and history.

"They should campaign for more murals, instead of trying to bring down this one mural we have in L.A., you know what I mean?” Silva said.

The community

Joe Virata is a retired college administrator who helped guide the creation of the mural nearly 30 years ago and, more recently, made a short film about the historic significance of the artwork.

He expects a community discussion over what to do with the Zyrus portrait will take months and inflame passions.

“I think that we're going to run into some challenging conversations that include artists’ rights, community rights, historical context,” Virata said.

He wants a broader swath of the Filipino American community to weigh in on the controversy. From his perspective, the current portrait of Zyrus should be preserved as a "snapshot of a particular moment."

The mural's name is Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana, meaning "A Glorious History, A Golden Legacy."

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

“I would hate to see a process that's initiated where the conversation is stacked, where it's Eliseo versus a whole bunch of people who are shaking their fists and demanding we need change right now,” Virata said.

But addressing the deadnaming is not a new ask, according to community leaders who say they’ve been working on the issue for years with little traction until Sunday Jump’s social media post this month.

Now the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, the mural’s steward, and the office of Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, say they want to plan next steps with community organizations.

“It does take community to push this issue, to really light a fire under it and make it right,” said Kimmy Maniquis, executive director of the community group Search To Involve Pilipino Americans.

Maniquis said she cherishes the mural, which friends and family helped to paint in the '90s as part of a community effort, because of the care that went into capturing "the cultural richness and resistance that comes with our history." But when the deadnaming of Zyrus was brought to her attention about two years ago, she said it was imperative to find a fix.

The local Filipino American community now has a clear opportunity to show support for trans people, Maniquis said.

"When it's convenient, we embrace LGBTQ identity and trans identity," Maniquis said. "Then when it becomes really complicated politically, I don't think we necessarily ally very well."

How the community chooses to act could become a case study of sorts.

“We won’t be the last community dealing with deadnaming as part of murals, right?” Maniquis said. “What we do in this moment is actually really important."