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The Day After the Election Was Just Another Day in Barrio Logan

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Desde la Logan: The Day After …

By Brent E. Beltrán

Sometimes we get caught up in it all, including myself. I voted for Barack Obama again. The only times I voted Democrat for president was for this man. In previous elections I voted third party, either Green or Peace and Freedom. I think the re-election of President Obama was a good thing. Not a great thing (I have a buttload of issues with his presidency, far too many to go into here). The alternative though, electing corporate stooge Mitt Romney, would have been terrible for nonwhites, the poor and working class, women, and gays and lesbians. Unfortunately, the status quo remains. Fortunately, it didn’t get worse. In Barrio Logan, the song remains the same.

In my neighborhood, the day after the election was the same as the day before the election. And the day before that and the day before that. And tomorrow it will be the same. Nothing changed. Most of my neighbors went back to work at low paying service jobs. Back to watching other people’s children or back to cleaning other people’s homes. Some didn’t even go back to work because there is no work to go back to. The youth went back to inferior schools. Adults took the trolley or the bus to wherever they needed to go because they can not afford a car. Or they can’t get a license because of their immigration status.
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Día de los Muertos Is a Reunion of our Past, Present, and Future Relations

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This is a Response to Brent E. Beltrán’s article, “Desde la Logan: Día de los Muertos, We Commemorate Our Dead”

By Remigia Bermúdez

With El Día de los Muertos just around the corner from the celebration of life for Aztleca, one can could surmise that indeed it was a well-deserved farewell as much as it was a “thank you to” and a “welcome for” Aztleca. Diligently, he danzó over 40 years every Día de los Muertos at Chicano Park, honoring those who passed on. And on October 27 of this year, it was others who dansarón (danced) for him for the first time since the 1970’s when the first Toltecas en Aztlán started las danzas indígenas de nuestros antepasados precolombinos (the indigenous dances of our pre-colombian forefathers).   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Zombie Attack in San Diego Underway

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Halloween is more than a trick or treating event for hundreds of Marines, Navy special ops types, soldiers, police and firefighters in San Diego today as they confront a nightmarish invasion of the living dead.

The 44 acre Paradise Point Resort on Mission Bay will be the site of a Hollywood-style production of a zombie attack as part of an emergency response training program. It’s just one part of five-day counterterrorism summit run by the Halo Corporation as an approved training event by the Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Areas Security Initiative. Participants (or in most cases, government agencies) are coughing up a $1,000 registration fee. The session runs through Friday.

In keeping with the holiday aura surrounding this program, the keynote speaker at the conference is a retired top spook — former CIA Director Michael Hayden.   [Read more…]

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…]

AZTLECA, PRESENTE! Spiritual Farewell or Welcome with El Día de Los Muertos Just Around the Corner?

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by Remigia (Remy) Bermúdez

A solemn, indigenous Toltec commemoration of life will be celebrated at 5am at Chicano Park on Saturday, October 27, 2012, for Léon Magallán, widely known as “AZTLECA.” Historic Chicano Park is located in the Barrio Logan community, south of downtown San Diego, under the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, honored with so many colorful murals and surrounded by spiritual light and enchantment. (http://chicano-park.com)

AZTLECA passed away on September 19, 2012. A man of humble means who no matter what was going on in his life or how hard a hand destiny handed him, he was an active staple honoring the Spring Equinox and El Día de Los Muertos at Chicano Park for over 40 years. . Tommie Camarillo of the Chicano Park Steering Committee shared that AZTLECA deserves credit and honor. “He was very humble and yet in all the years, he ceremoniously honored and celebrated the Spring Equinox and El Día de los Muertos at Chicano Park. I highly respect him for that!” stated Camarillo.   [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…]

The Starting Line – Walmart Walkout Widens to 12 States, Black Friday Walkout Threatened

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Walkouts at the worlds’ larger retailer spread to at least twenty eight stores in twelve states yesterday, with unprecedented protests against company treatment of employees and working conditions expected to continue today at the annual Walmart investor meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Dan Schlademan, director of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Making Change At Walmart campaign, said job actions took place in Dallas, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay area, Miami, the Washington, D.C., area, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Chicago and Orlando.  There were also reports of walkouts in Kentucky, Missouri and Minnesota.

The New York Times has posted an article saying that disgruntled Walmart employees, joined by labor unions and community groups, might stage a combined protest and educational campaign the Friday after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – Grand Opening Set for San Diego’s Public Market; Last County Pot Shop Shuttered

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San Diego’s Public Market is now slated to open for business at 1735 National Ave on Wednesday, September 12th ,when the first local farmers open up their stalls at 9am. Work on the property is in full swing, and the permits needed to operate are reportedly moving through the city’s bureaucracy. The farmers’ market will run from9 a.m. until2 p.m. each Sunday and Wednesday thereafter. Other parts of the market will be phased in over the coming months.

Operators Dale Steele and Catt White are ultimately seeking to convert the two acres of industrial space into an open bazaar inspired by such celebrated marketplaces as Barcelona’s La Boqueria, and Pike’s Place in Seattle. Independent vendors selling fresh produce, artisan foods, locally-crafted goods and more are expected to set up shop.
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Reader’s Response: Living Artists, Zombie Redevelopment, Community Pushback

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Editor: This is a Reader’s Response to Jim Bliesner’s article, “Whatever Happened to Downtown Artists? The Experiences of Three Creative Souls Who Survived .

By Remigia Bermúdez

I take my hat off to Jim Bliesner for all that he has done and continues to do for humanity, including but not limited to, the Arts (locally and globally), job creation, non-profits creation, financial institutions’ re-investments into our communities, higher level educational institutions and a host of other avaunt-guard ideas and ideologies that enhance our livelihoods in the San Diego-Baja California transnational region.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – The San Diego Public Market is on Its Way; Overwhelming Public Support Makes It Happen

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San Diego Public Market is on its way to becoming a reality, having surpassed its kickstarter.com crowd-sourced goal of raising $92,000 in half the time (seven days) allotted. As of this morning 1130 backers had pledged $116, 643 towards rehab costs for the two acre plus space, located in Barrio Logan, not far from Petco Park. The additional funds over the original target will be used towards the launch of the Food Hall and the Market Kitchen at the market.

Plans for the market include two days a week with farmers’ stalls, booths with local crafters and artists, music festivals, movie nights and quinceañeras, chef’s tasting events and art exhibits, along with the occasional Chaldean Festival, Chinese New Year’s parade, Filipino fiesta or charity fundraiser. The weekly farmers markets in the space will begin within a few weeks. The idea is to create a City Public Market along the lines of Seattle’s Pike’s Place, San Francisco’s Ferry Building or  Barcelona’s La Boqueria.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego’s Mayoral Contest: It Was a Bad Day for Carl DeMaio

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Echoes for DeMaio*….It was a tough night for City Councilman Carl DeMaio. After weeks of outreach and publicity about reaching out for the Latino vote in San Diego’s Mayoral contest, his expedition into Barrio Logan last night was a bust. Despite DeMaio’s web site’s boast that “The Latino Community is uniting behind Carl DeMaio’s vision for jobs and quality schools!”  the ‘Latinos for DeMaio’ event had exactly three voters show up. There were, however, six people who did appear on site to protest his appearance. *(h/t to John Lamb for coining the term ‘Echos for DeMaio’)

The event was catered for fifty. (Crackers, chips and salsa) Candidate DeMaio muttered a few words about his campaign for ‘reform’ winning one voter at a time and left. The protesters moved in and helped themselves to the candidate’s ‘spread’. This venture into the world of voters south of Interstate 8 comes on the heels of much ballyhooed moves by the DeMaio campaign to appeal to voters in San Diego’s less white-bread neighborhoods.

The City Councilman’s campaign kicked off the month with the announcement that former ‘Democratic’ chair Art Castañares had signed on with the campaign as a consultant. Castañares was quoted as saying “I look forward to helping Carl deliver that message to communities throughout San Diego who may not have heard his message before.”  Although the local mainstream media jumped on the news of a former Democrat joining a GOP campaign, word soon leaked out that his association with local dem party efforts had ended more than a decade earlier.

This move the was followed a few days later by the announcement that ‘Latino advocate’ K.B. Forbes had signed on as Communications Director for the DeMaio campaign. The press release announcing his arrival quoted candidate DeMaio saying: “Besides his work in public policy, K.B. has been a leading consumer advocate helping Latinos fight fraud and abuse. I am pleased to have a seasoned communications strategist and accomplished Latino activist on our team.” Forbes made the news earlier this week for having a meltdown in front of the media during which he accused opponent Bob Filner of being a “bold (sic) faced liar”.
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