Manila Village

Settlements such as Manila Village in Jefferson Parish and St. Malo in St. Bernard Parish were founded in the mid-nineteenth century and became home to Filipino sailors and laborers. With houses plat-formed on stilts, the fishermen caught and dried their precious commodity, shrimp, for export to Asia, Canada, South and Central America. Weather conditions eventually destroyed St. Malo in 1915 and Manila Village in 1965 (Photo from Marina Espina Collection).

On July 24, 1870, the Spanish-speaking residents of St. Malo founded the first Filipino social club called Sociedad de Beneficencia de los Hispano Filipinos to provide relief and support for the group’s members, including the purchasing of a burial places for their deceased.

Fred Cordova, Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/ Hunt, 1983)