FIELD NOTES

Writing entries on my art, community interviews, photographs, archives, and more. Thanks for visiting.

Featured

Photos from the birthday celebration and collaborative writing honoring the Chioco-Peña and extended family’s matriarch, Marina Chioco Peña.

A Hxstory of Renting’s Momentum

The life of a book after its physical existence

Murphy: A Family and Community Car (1994-2020)

Murphy, our 26-year old family car, and recently stolen for the first time, had served our family and community across three generations and various immigration periods throughout California— all within 89,000 miles on the car’s odometer.

Scatter Piece — Responding to Future Displacement in a Small, Quiet Way

Reflections on a site-specific performance work, “Scatter Piece”, which responds to the trajectory of anti-displacement collective action in my neighborhood, the E.

It Begins with Lola Marina (A Hxstory of Renting)

As part of anti-displacement narratives in A Hxstory of Renting, I trace my family’s immigration story. It begins with my Lola Marina, who turned 98 years old.

A Hxstory of Renting (1959—)

In its core, the city still remembers who it is, who it was and who it will be through voices like mine that persevere to recollect, contextualize, remember.

Featured

Mural of Ronnie Goodman at 1885 Mission: Conversation with Max Marttila

Muralist Max Martilla speaks about his mural honoring his friend and beloved San Francisco artist, the late Ronnie Goodman (1960-2020), and the community life cycle of murals.

Mural of Breonna Taylor and Eyad al-Hallaq at 537 Valencia: Conversation with Chris Gazaleh

Chris Gazaleh discusses his mural, Local 2 Global Resist Police Terror along Mission’s Valencia street, and his experience as a Palestinian-American muralist making visual connections across the globe.

Ben Davis Sign at 2650 Mission: Conversation with George Harry Crampton Glassanos

George Harry Crampton-Glassanos is part of the lineage of local artists who take initiative to restore a beloved neighborhood sign. He talks about growing up in San Francisco, and love for his community.

Instagrammable Visuals and Visual Supremacy

Erina’s reflection on their photography on the day of the orange skies point them to artist Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik’s analysis of visual supremacy.

Ask a Cultural Anchor: Anna Lisa Escobedo

In an advice column style format, a third-generation renter asks cultural anchor Anna Lisa Escobedo about the life of murals along the Mission District’s Mission and Valencia Streets.

Discount City: An Account by Lourdes Figueroa

Collaborator Lourdes Figueroa notes a participatory observational bilingual account of her time with Prudencia Ayala (pseudonym), an essential worker at Discount City in the Mission District, San Francisco.

Yan Yan Beauty Salon: Conversation with Anh Huynh

Collaborator Vida Kuang interviews Anh Huynh, owner of Yan Yan Beauty Salon in the Excelsior District, San Francisco. Anh shares about life during WWII in Ho Chi Minh City, and moving to San Francisco to form her own business.

JT Restaurant: Conversation with Tita Tess Diaz

Tess Diaz of JT Restaurant in SOMA Pilipinas discusses her first day in the U.S., surviving the COVID-19 pandemic through community support, and cultural memories as an anchor and elder in the Filipino Cultural Heritage District in South of Market, San Francisco.

Featured

Community Photos: SOMA Pilipinas's Tanaw IV Honoring Bernadette Sy and Luisa Antonio

Community photographs from event honoring Bernadette Sy and Luisa Antonio, two pillars of the Filipino community. Photos by Erina Alejo for SOMA Pilipinas.

Cough Drops: An Artifact by Jason Magabo Perez

“Cough Drops: An Artifact” by poet, friend, and collaborator Jason Magabo Perez from This is for the Mostless (2017).

Timely Archives: Black Lives Matter at UCSD

Six years later, a revisit to a timely archive— a snippet of history of student activism at UC San Diego taking place in light of the 2014 Ferguson Uprisings as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

An Invocation for Essential Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This poem is dedicated to the workers at our local laundromats, past, present and future--among many essential workers who sustain our well being during this pandemic.

Inaugural Grantee, Balay Kreative March 2020

It is so humbling to continue supporting and witnessing Balay Kreative’s trajectory as one of several emerging champions for the arts in San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Heritage Cultural District, my home community of over 20 years.