Tag: diversity

America connects in amazing Escondido tile mosaic!

Earlier this year, stunning public art debuted in Escondido. You can find this tile mosaic mural near Maple Street Plaza, on an outdoor wall west of the John Paul the Great Catholic University building.

The amazing “America Connects West Region Mural Mosaic” unites small works of tile art painted by over 1500 participants, ages 7 to 97, representing America’s Western States.

According to the official website, Mural Mosaic’s Global Roots is a unique initiative that aims to bring people from around the world together through the power of art. Each collaborative Mural Mosaic production invites people from communities everywhere to connect and celebrate their unity through their diverse expressions of art. With each tile placed in a mural, Global Roots is reconnecting the world through the joy of art – one tile, one mural mosaic, one country at a time.

Not only is this a very cool concept, but the finished Global Roots murals, which often depict beautiful trees and landscapes, are spectacular!

This particular West Region project was finished in collaboration with Esco Alley Art in Escondido. You can see other Esco Alley Art murals here and here.

I took these photographs yesterday…

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Positive mural painted at Waterfront Park!

Several weeks ago a colorful new mural was painted in Waterfront Park in San Diego. You can find it on the east side of the restrooms, which are located a few steps south of the County Administration Building.

Diversity is a fact. Inclusion is an act! A positive message of human kindness is conveyed by the happy artwork.

The creators of this mural are REVISION (@revision_sandiego) and Hanna Gundrum (@littlehouseink).

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Cool photo memories from July 2018.

Another page of the calendar has turned. It’s July–time to relive fun memories from five years ago!

Back in July 2018 the big event, of course, was San Diego Comic-Con. As usual I posted many blogs with lots of photos. Today I’ll link to a few of my more memorable blog posts from Comic-Con 2018.

Five years ago I also took photos of Coronado’s big Fourth of July Parade, visited the Marine aviation museum at Miramar (that has since closed), saw superhero sand sculptures down by the Imperial Beach Pier, and took a look inside the Centro Cultural de la Raza and the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park.

If you’re a Padres fan, you’ll like reliving happy memories at Petco Park the day Trevor Hoffman entered baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Check out the upcoming links!

Click the following links for lots of photos…

Colors of patriotism at big Fourth of July parade!

A visit to the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum.

Photos of tour inside LAIKA LIVE San Diego!

Superhero sand sculptures in Imperial Beach!

Star Trek: Discovery Mirror Universe exhibit at Comic-Con!

The Syfy fan awards, cosplay, and craziness!

Lovely cultists, Sharkzilla feedings at Comic-Con!

Powerful mural inside Centro Cultural de la Raza.

Afrofuture Art Exhibit at Worldbeat Cultural Center.

Trevor Time returns to Petco Park!

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I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

A visit to the San Diego Police Museum.

There’s a fascinating museum in San Diego that seemingly few know about. Occupying a modest, easily missed building near the intersection of El Cajon Boulevard and College Avenue, the San Diego Police Museum is packed wall-to-wall with displays that lovers of history shouldn’t miss!

I visited the museum for my very first time a while ago and was amazed at the quality and variety of exhibits.

Photographs, documents, equipment and artifacts trace the earliest days of the San Diego Police Department right up to the present.

There’s a mid-20th century police Communication Center. There’s a simulated jail cell, and a real police motorcycle. There are different uniforms from the past.

There are old newspapers with headlines about crime in San Diego. There are memories of past police chiefs. There is standard law enforcement gear dating back to the 1800s, and even a Tommy Gun, like those that were once used by gangsters.

There are displays concerning horse mounted officers, bike teams that were established in the early 1920s, and four-legged K-9 officers. There’s recognition of how diversity has played a more and more important role in the San Diego Police Department through the years.

There are old police badges and hundreds of patches. There are even artifacts from charity football COP’er Bowls and sports trophies won by officer athletes and bodybuilders.

And there are medals won by police heroes. They ran toward danger in the service of others.

And covering one wall: a memorial to fallen officers.

For more details about the museum, including its hours of operation, check out the SDPD Museum website.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Positive student murals at Escondido’s Washington Park.

Several murals with positive, life-affirming messages greet members of the community who recreate at Washington Park in Escondido. I noticed the murals during my recent walk in the area. I also found signs indicating that the two you see in the above photograph were created by local students.

Read the captions.

I’ve been told more murals are coming to Washington Park in the future.

During the same walk I photographed a new mural by renowned artist Mario Torero that was dedicated about a week ago on the other side of Escondido Creek. You can view those photos and read about it here.

Battle Scars, by Katie Daniels, Escondido Union High School Student College and Career Readiness Program. Painted by: Ashley, Ava, Daniel, Daisy, Jeidy, Joey, Johanna, Katie, Sofia, Vada and Zahhak.

Wings of Life, by C. Garcia and Maria Medero, Escondido Union High School Students.

A third beautiful mural. A painted hand reaches for splashes of color.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Mario Torero mural debuts in Escondido!

Several days ago a fantastic new mural debuted in Escondido. Tortilla Tesoro is colorful 32′ x 8′ panel that greets customers on the east side Tortilleria Santacruz, to the left of the store’s front entrance. The mural, which celebrates the cultural heritage and diversity of Escondido’s population, was created by Mario Torero, one of the renowned co-founders of Chicano Park in San Diego.

Additional “Chicano Colorful walls” artwork has been finished on the building’s east and south side, featuring Michoacan inspired imagery. According to the project website: Participation in the creation of the murals included students of the Conway Academy of Expeditionary Learning Elementary School and “A Step Beyond”, an Escondido creative youth development organisation serving youth and their families living at or below the poverty line with free after-school dance classes, academic support, and social services.

Another very colorful mural on the building’s north side was completed earlier this year. It was painted by Charlie Mejia. I posted photos of it in late March here.

First, here’s the new artwork on the tortilleria’s south side…

The following sign provides an explanation of the Tortilla Tesoro (Tortilla Treasure) mural in front of the building.

It was designed by Mario Torero using acrylic on poly-aluminum material. The mural highlights the natural beauty of the Escondido Valley landscape, and includes notable landmarks like the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and Queen Califia’s Magical Circle. Figures in the mural portray students, athletes, musicians, laborers and dancers.

Tortilleria Santacruz was started around 1996 at a nearby location by Juan and Gaudencia Santacruz. It is a family run business. There was a shared dream that one day murals would be painted here.

Here’s Mario Torero’s beautiful Tortilla Tesoro mural…

And more new artwork, by the building’s front entrance…

Learn more about the inspirational project at this website!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration!

Look what’s going on today in Balboa Park!

This year’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration is bringing dance, music, art and lots of cultural fun to the International Cottages! Until about 4 pm, that is. If you read this in time, you might go check it out!

Today’s event includes participants from the Houses of USA, Chamorros, China, India, Korea and Philippines.

Special festivals and lawn programs are held nearly every weekend at Balboa Park’s International Cottages. You’ve never been? You’re missing out! Here’s the webpage that lists all the upcoming events!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Nearly 1000 photos of San Diego street art!

San Diego boasts an amazing quantity and variety of street art. Artists have added color to almost every community. Head down any street and there’s a chance you’ll discover a new mural or unexpected bit of art!

I’ve been posting photographs to Cool San Diego Sights for almost ten years now. During my walks around San Diego, my camera has scored numerous such discoveries. So many, in fact, that I created a Pinterest page that now contains almost 1000 street art images!

Links on my Pinterest page allow you to navigate to the associated blog posts on Cool San Diego Sights, where I usually provide a description of the artwork.

This week the big Our Walls Speak event is being held in and around Barrio Logan. Given the renewed interest in our city’s outdoor murals, I figured now would be a good time to share that Pinterest page.

Check out nearly 1000 photographs of San Diego street art by clicking here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Our Walls Speak during mural event in San Diego!

An exciting event is coming to San Diego next week!

From Wednesday, May 17 to Sunday, May 21, the many colorful murals that reflect Chicano history and culture in several of our city’s communities will be celebrated with a special tour, workshops, lectures, dance, poetry and more!

Our Walls Speak is the name of this free event. Those who participate will have the opportunity to experience not only Chicano Park’s famous murals, but other murals in nearby communities. Participants will come away inspired, understanding the importance and meaning of these empowering works of art, and the need to preserve them.

According to the event website: This year’s 2023 “Our Walls Speak!: Nuestros Muros Hablan!”, event features four days of live and virtual panel/community discussions, artist and elder interviews and storytelling, and mural art exhibitions. Download and attend a neighborhood mural walk/drive/tour through the San Diego neighborhoods of Logan Heights, Sherman Heights and Golden Hills communities. Join us on Sunday May 21st for youth and family mural art workshops, spoken word, music and dance movement performances and local street food vendors serving healthy and delicious recipes.

To see the many free activities that can be enjoyed over the course of five days, and to register for Our Walls Speak, click here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

A taste of the 40th Annual Ethnic Food Fair!

The 40th Annual Ethnic Food Fair is taking place today in San Diego’s Balboa Park!

If you read this in time, the big culinary festival continues at the International Cottages through 7 pm.

I must confess I walked through the event quickly and didn’t partake of any food, but I did pause for a few minutes to take in the atmosphere, and to watch dancers in folk costume from the House of Turkey performing on stage. Look at the huge crowd!

I did smell many different wonderful aromas!

Here’s a photographic taste of what visitors to the Ethnic Food Fair enjoyed today!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!