While we were visiting Shreveport, Louisiana, we discovered lovely, peaceful gardens in an area that most people once avoided. Now, however, a piece of downtown has been transformed into a revered spot where urbanites can get away from the hustle and bustle of life. This place where people come to enjoy a quiet rest in the beauty of nature is the ASEANA (Association of South East Asia and North America) Asian Gardens, established by immigrants from Asia.
Originally from the Philippines, Mary Grace de Joya Vea, a retired cardiovascular pathologist, and her husband, Dr. Romulo Vea, then in interventional radiology at the Louisiana State University Hospital of New Orleans, as well as their daughter, Isabelle, were displaced to Shreveport by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Through a mutual friend, Mary Grace met Lumen Tindell, a Shreveport long-timer who was also originally from the Philippines.
