Stockton, CA - The Little Manila Foundation (LMF) along with the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) and director Patricio Ginelsa received the President’s Award for Excellence from the California Preservation Foundation in Hollywood last Friday.

The groups were recognized for their unique collaboration to preserve Filipino American history, a part of American society that is highly under represented in mainstream publications. The Stockton-based Little Manila Foundation partnered with Ginelsa and the Black Eyed Peas in March 2007 to create a historical treatment of their music video for the group’s song, “Bebot.” Black Eyed Peas member Apl de Ap performs the song entirely in the Philippines’ dominant language Pilipino or Tagalog, quite uncommon for a mainstream hip-hop band. Bebot quickly became Filipino Americans’ anthem. (more…)