The jeepney that’s puttering its way through downtown San Francisco is basically a covered, elongated military jeep — except this one is purple and blue and adorned with geometric designs. The chrome bumper sparkles; so does the very large hood ornament that's in the shape of a horse. Mario DeMira, who's driving it, says the vehicle attracts a lot of attention.
"You're gonna get a lot of honking and smiling," he said. Jeepneys have been a popular and affordable way of getting around the Philippines since the end of World War II. American soldiers abandoned thousands of military jeeps, and locals used them to create public transportation.
“Each vehicle was customized to reflect the personal identity of the driver and handed down from generation to generation," said the San Francisco Bay Area-based pop musician Toro y Moi in a music video he made to accompany his 2022 album Mahal . The Philippine government is planning to phase them out . Yet these vehicles are still a beloved symbol of home for people in the Philippines and those in the diaspora.
After Toro y Moi acquired a jeepney for his album — despite its sprightly looks, its pushing 80 years old — he donated it to San Francisco's Filipino Cultural District, SOMA Pilipinas. That's the jeep that's tooling around the district as part of a pilot tour for Filipino American History Month. A flourishing community, despite challenges San Francisco is home to one of the largest Filipino communities in the country.
People.
