April 19th 2025 at Chicano Park
Any outsider who is not from San Diego or is unaware of the Civil Rights movement that took place in Southern California, Chicano Park would be brushed off as just another park, but it's far from it. This could be one of the few parks in the country (if not the only one) that is founded by activists combating community dissolvement due to all kinds of unwanted infrastructure like the Interstates or junkyards. It's an incredible story of how this special park came to be, and it continues to built on its legacy through tradition, but I am not writing a history lesson about Chicano Park (I highly recommend visiting their website tho at https://chicano-park.com).
TBH I I am not much of a writer, but for how quiet I be for a yapper, I gotta let it out somehow.
Chicano Park celebrated its 55th anniversary this past Saturday with various musical performances, dance performances from groups as far as Querétaro, Mexico, and with its iconic lowrider car show. It's been 4 years since I left San Diego to live in ATL 4 years ago, and to come back to Chicano Park Day, it felt incredibly personal. I was so excited to document everything, but upon arrival I was overwhelmed with imagery that I appreciated whole-heartedly. For starters my brain wasn't done developing the first time I attended. Secondly, I have been studying immensely, and continue to, every part that makes up my identity, those with adjacent identities, and what traditions are collectively embraced; so having this brief time back in San Diego after moving to Mexico City aligns with what I want my work to revolve around: the exploration of individual niches of Latinidad on both sides of the border.
Being the empath that I am, I was not able to break my gaze to fotograph every little detail while walking through the park and the street (that was closed down for the event). I low-key might've had minor whiplash after the event for how many times I looked left, right, back, and forth. Though Chicano Park is relatively small, even without the the anniversary event, it is essentially designed to force you to acknowledge the land you stand on and acknowledge those who have came before you through its visual art spread throughout.
Often times my eyes speak louder than my words. I like to think the reason I wear glasses is because I strain my eyes so much with my line of work and my intentional gaze. There's something about the art of human expression, the art of non verbal communication that I love practicing more than the art of words. Don't get me wrong I like giving and receiving complements, but the eyes never lie.
These two POV walkthrough videos embedded below are pretty close to what I saw. There is a vertical and horizontal version so there's really no excuse to not watch and enjoy.
This curation is a display of how beautiful and powerful Chicanismo is in the cosmology of Latinidad. Most importantly, it displays a significant narrative in American culture that does not get talked about enough. This is not to take away from other narratives, but to raise awareness in attempt to foster joyful unity in overlapping cultures masked by differences that are merely surface-level. The atmosphere of celebration here reminded me of events in ATL like Juneteenth and the Jazz Festival.
I wish I took more fotos and had more time to build a strong piece about how significant this event is, but I'll be taking it as a sign to come back next year with better direction. And maybe take a smaller dose of mushrooms next time so that I can properly document. Please enjoy my curated selection of artists who did an amazing job documenting Chicano Park Day 2025 and give them a follow.
*All photos/videos not taken by me are credited
