Ask a Cultural Anchor: Anna Lisa Escobedo
Anna Lisa Escobedo by Tony Lee. Courtesy of Anna Lisa.
Learning about neighborhood cultural nuances:
Artist note:
inquire with a diverse cross-section of long-time residents (renters, homeowners, those unhoused), shopkeepers, street sweepers, social workers who engage with the area, and local artists— including Mission District and Calle 24 Latino Cultural District cultural anchor Anna Lisa Escobedo.
From age 0-12, I lived with my family in our apartment on Mission street between 23rd and 24th street before moving to the Excelsior during the second tech bubble burst in the 2000s, and attended middle school on Barlett at Horace Mann Middle School (now Horace Mann Buena Vista K-8). During these years I developed a curiosity about the nuanced cultural differences between Mission and Valencia streets— two parallel streets that sandwich my middle school’s block. During my commission for My Ancestors Followed Me Here, I revisited this curiosity, this time, directly engaging with cultural workers who are more abreast of what’s happening in the district since I moved out.
Photo of Anna Lisa Escobedo reading a newspaper copy of My Ancestors Followed Me Here by Hellene Piñero.
Interview with Anna Lisa Escobedo conducted by Erina Alejo on November 3, 2020. Part of My Ancestors Followed Me Here, created for Bay Area Walls, a commission series initiated by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2020. This interview is also published in the newspaper format of this project, designed by Jerlyn Jareunpoon Phillips. Photos by Alejo and Hellene Piñero.
Ask a Cultural Anchor: Anna Lisa Escobedo
By Anna Lisa Escobedo and Erina Alejo
November 3, 2020
3250 24th St. Mission, Mission District
Mission Street Versus Valencia Street?
3 November 2020
Dear Anna Lisa,
During my trek in the Mission district, I also explored Valencia street, parallel to Mission street, connected by the beloved Clarion Alley. Do you observe any differences in cultural and artistic expression among the two streets?
Sincerely,
A Third-Gen Renter Displaced from the Mission
Photos of hat street vendor, Rafael, and storefronts along Mission street, September 9 and 17, 2020. By Erina Alejo.
Dear Third-Gen Renter,
This has been something on my mind for forever!
Business type shapes each street: Mission street has more commercial, essential businesses with larger square footage, like Metro PCS, Walgreens, and public and private transportation. These businesses have windows for people to look through, run in, and buy, for a go, go, go, energy. Along Valencia, people are able to take their time going through businesses are more boutique, and restaurants that have ample seating. With almost no public transportation passing through, Valencia is a “leisure” type of street.
Building and business design shapes art along each street: murals on Mission street are on the top or side of storefronts (i.e. Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts’s mural is on the upper half of their multi-story building). Constantly bustling, Mission street offers more of that graffiti art-quick to put up, versus a mural gradually painted with a brush. For me, Mission art also calls for more messaging than purely an art piece. Mission also attracts more vandalism-- such that Juana Alicia’s mural, "Alto Al Fuego", that was on 21st street was graffitied to the point that it was sadly destroyed. In comparison, more space and time on Valencia allow for more storefront murals.
Photos of storefronts along Valencia street, September 17, 2020. By Erina Alejo.
A final thought that we don't want to talk about: financial mobility. The type of businesses burgeoning along Valencia can afford to pay artists. Newer businesses want to "fit in" with the district vibe and use art as a marketing investment. In contrast, many businesses on Mission street are long-standing and may not see the value of paying for a mural. Regardless, many artists paint on these business’ walls because it is their passion (or trade), and have long-term relationships with the owners.
These are my quick thoughts. It will actually be interesting to get interviews, surveys of people's responses, and reasoning from the artist/muralist experience. And, I'm afraid there just some realities within the community that are a priority.
In unity,
Anna Lisa Escobedo
