SEATTLE – A jazz festival will be held Aug. 11 at Dr. Jose Rizal Park to honor the memory of Zenaida Guerzon, a longtime community leader who died in 2005. The event will also serve as a farewell to the park, which will undergo major renovations later this year.
Guerzon, a passionate advocate for Seattle’s Filipino community, was instrumental in establishing the park and bridge named after the Philippines’ national hero in the late 1970s and 1980s. The park, officially named in 1986, is one of only three in the U.S. to bear Rizal’s name, and the bridge is the sole one of its kind.
The Aug. 11 festival also marks the anniversary of Guerzon’s death.
The former executive director of the International Drop-In Center, Guerzon was widely respected for her work with seniors, particularly those in the Filipino community. She also taught Tagalog at Franklin High School.