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Desde la Logan: Día de los Muertos, We Commemorate Our Dead

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By Brent E. Beltrán

 Every year on November 1st and 2nd we remember our dead. Give them food and things they appreciated while they were alive. We build altars in our homes. We share stories. Remember loved ones, family and friends, heroes and historical figures. We go to gravesites and clean tombstones and markers. Leave cempasúchils (marigolds) and sugar skulls. Maybe a little tequila if they liked a drink in their day. For the children we leave toys and candy.

November 1 is Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) when deceased children are honored and November 2 is known as Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where we pay tribute to adults who have passed away. These dates correspond with the Christian holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day. Though las días de los muertos were coopted by Christianity they are not Christian holidays or celebrations. Their history can be traced back thousands of years to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl.   [Read more…]

Desde la Logan – The Grand Orchid of Our Barrio: Chicano Park

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By Brent E. Beltrán

On Thursday, October 11 the architecturally aware people of San Diego got together to celebrate the annual Orchids & Onions awards at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla. This annual event of architecture snobs serves as a fundraiser for the San Diego Architectural Foundation.

Local TV personality Sam the Cooking Guy MC’d the ceremony that hands out Orchids to new architecture projects that the foundation likes and Onions to those they think, well, suck. This year’s program received 149 nominations. Of which 134 were for Orchids and 15 for Onions. Nineteen awards total were given out.

What makes this year’s event worthy of writing about in a column about Chicanos and Barrio Logan is that the foundation’s Grand Orchid, the top prize of the ceremony, was given to Chicano Park and the Mural Restoration Project. Normally they recognize buildings but this year they stepped outside their narrow box and gave the award to a public space. A Chicano one at that!   [Read more…]

“I’m Not Really a Writer But…” From Chicano Activist to Publisher and now Desde la Logan

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by Brent E. Beltrán
“Would you be interested in talking to us about becoming a contributor for the San Diego Free Press?” This came completely out of the blue. The thought of pursuing journalistic writing hadn’t crept into my mind in a long time. Immediately I was intrigued because I was ready for a new challenge at this point in my so-called “professional” life (I put professional in quotes because I rarely got paid for any of the work that I did).
I’ve decided to take up the challenge of contributing to San Diego Free Press and give voice, through my perspective, to the community that I live in. I do not pretend to speak for the entire community of Barrio Logan. I am just one voice among thousands.
There’s a renaissance happening within blocks of my residence. I plan on writing about a community that has always stood it’s ground and defended it’s interests from any and all outsiders and their devious plans. I was born and raised here in San Diego. My father was born and raised here. This is my home. Barrio Logan is my neighborhood. And this is my life. I’m not really a writer but I’ll give it a shot.   [Read more…]

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