Mimi Gonzalez Martinez (to the right) poses by her new mural in City Heights with her artistic mentor Brise Birdsong.
Today I met San Diego’s newest muralist!
Mimi Gonzalez Martinez has painted a colorful mural for #theavenuemuralproject on University Avenue in City Heights. Please check out her new Instagram page!
Guided by Carlos Quezada of Love City Heights, I was able to meet Mimi and enjoy her artwork during a tour of several new street murals along University Avenue. Love City Heights is a group of community leaders working to enliven this culturally diverse San Diego neighborhood.
Mimi’s first mural was created with a little help from her mentor Brise Birdsong, a prolific local artist and muralist whose often humorous street art I stumble upon from time to time during my walks around San Diego.
Mimi told me a little about the mural, and the symbolism that it contains. Her family is very important to her, and being of Mayan descent, she incorporated the Mayan logogram that represents a companion spirit. You can see it in the following photograph at the center of the lower tea cup. The next cup up contains elements representing Korea, a place that is special to her. The third cup up contains colors from both the Mexican and American flags.
Other designs in the mural like the flowers and butterfly? Painted just for fun!
A very cool new work of art brightens City Heights!
The colorful mural contains diverse symbols that hold special meaning for the artist.Mimi Gonzalez Martinez poses by her new City Heights mural with her family!
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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!
San Diego’s own world-famous Murrugun the Mystic exhales a huge fireball during Seaport Village’s 2019 Busker Fest!
This is my fifth year blogging about Seaport Village’s annual busker festival. It’s so much fun, I try not to miss it!
This afternoon I randomly walked about Seaport Village, checking out the acts of great street performers from all around the United States and the world. I protected my camera from the wind and showers and took a whole bunch of photographs. Unfortunately, today’s attendance seemed reduced by the weather.
Tomorrow the sun is supposed to come out. Hopefully more people will then head to Seaport Village for this free weekend event!
The highlight for me was the two-act performance of San Diego’s own world-famous danger act and carnival sideshow performer Murrugun the Mystic! As I watched, I could plainly see he was enjoying himself!
Since I last blogged about Murrugun, he has appeared on even more TV shows. He has now been featured on AMC’s Freakshow, Cougar Town, CSI: New York, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! He also holds multiple Guinness World Records for sword swallowing!
I spoke to him briefly after his show, and I learned he’s devising a hollow tube contraption that he will insert into his throat. From that tube he will explosively shoot flaming arrows! Wow! I can’t wait to see that!
Here come fun photos! Enjoy!
Even with the drizzly, breezy winter weather, people came out to Seaport Village on Saturday to watch some of the best street performers in the world.Daniel Israel juggles while high atop a unicycle!Cate Flaherty is a professional circus acrobat with a big smile. Her juggling and balancing performance was great!George Gilbert entertains people by the water. For a grand finale, he magically made a pineapple appear under his hat!Nolan Webster included a lot of humor in his parlor magic show. That ball was actually attached to his nose! Cheater!The audiences at the Busker Fest were all smiles.Kids seemed to have the best time while the buskers performed. Many adults were very shy.Murrugun the Mystic calls an audience together near Seaport Village’s central fountain before beginning his amazing two-part act!Murrugun’s first act is a series of fantastic fire breathing and eating tricks, including shooting flames out of his mouth! He performed to one side, out of the wind.The second act was sword swallowing. Murrugun the Mystic is one of very few true sword swallowers in the world.That’s a genuine, long and very sharp sword poised on Murrugun’s tongue.Here we go!When all the way in, the sword has penetrated between his heart and lungs and ends at the bottom of his stomach, just below the belly button!Next comes a sword sandwich–six swords carefully aligned together. Over the decades, a scary number of performers have died doing this dangerous sword swallowing trick. Murrugun himself was once seriously injured.That’s a lot of sharp steel to swallow!In go six genuine swords!One of the most amazing human spectacles you’re likely to ever witness!Back near the water, Jonathan Strange was doing some mystifying ring linking magic with an assistant chosen from the audience.Molly Keczan includes lasso rope tricks in her fun The Farmer’s Daughter Show.The Farmer’s Daughter keeps balance as she walks along the top of glass milk bottles–with one good eye! A wildly successful show, in spite of her contact lens difficulty!While walking around I spotted Martika Daniels setting up for her act with a big smile.Martika’s amazing show included being stood upon while lying on a bed of nails!Ouch! Martika explained that stunts like this make some of life’s difficulties seem small by comparison. Her show was super positive and inspirational!Another awesome sword swallowing act!Buskers and audience members all seemed to have a great time, even if the San Diego weather didn’t cooperate today!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Lots of cool sights await visitors to the free San Diego Air and Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex!
One of the coolest free attractions in San Diego is located in East County at Gillespie Field. That’s where you’ll find the annex of Balboa Park’s famous Air and Space Museum!
Yesterday morning I ventured east to El Cajon to visit the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex for the very first time. I’d read that they have a collection of old aircraft, but I really didn’t know what to expect.
I was absolutely blown away!
The annex is a treasure trove of restored and unrestored aircraft, plus old exhibits once housed by the museum in Balboa Park. Volunteers at the Gillespie Field Annex are happy to show families around. Excited kids can sit inside commercial airline cockpits, and adults can marvel at the development of aviation technology over the years.
There are so many amazing displays in the hangar and outside, it’s hard to describe. So I offer you these photos with informative captions!
If you happen to be in San Diego, go check it out for yourself! While admission to the annex is free, they’d appreciate a few bucks in their donation box!
An imposing Atlas missile stands in one corner of the annex’s parking lot!Cockpit exhibits and aircraft in various stages of restoration stand outside the museum annex hangar.Inside the hangar there’s a ton of cool stuff, including many old exhibits from the main San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park.Replica of the Smithsonian’s original Vin Fiz Flyer dangles from the ceiling. This one-of-a-kind Wright Brothers airplane was the first aircraft to fly coast-to-coast. The journey took almost three months!Ryan X-13 experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet created by the Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego. This particular aircraft was test flown in 1955 at Edwards Air Force Base.Looking past the Ryan X-13 Vertijet at other exhibits in the annex hangar, including a yellow Ryan Recruit military trainer.This particular Ryan X-13 was the result of a contract with the U.S. Air Force, as you can see by the markings.Ryan ST-3KR (PT-22) Recruit, an aircraft used to train thousands of pilots during World War II.In a glass display case nearby is a small model of a Ryan B-5 Brougham. (You might recall that Charles Lindbergh’s famous Spirit of St. Louis, first plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo nonstop, was built in San Diego by Ryan.)Numerous aircraft engines on display at the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex.Wright R-3350-B Duplex-Cyclone 1939 aircraft power plant, at the time the most powerful radial engine in the world at 2000 HP.Pratt and Whitney 1830-17 Twin Wasp, used in several World War II aircraft.Wright J65 turbojet engine, 1954. This engine powered many military aircraft in the mid 20th century, including the very successful A-4 Skyhawk.Marquardt RJ43-MA-9 ramjet engine used on Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc interceptor missiles during the 1960s. The ramjet produced speeds up to Mach 2.7, or about 1780 miles per hour.Rolls Royce Pegasus F402-RR-401 vectoring turbofan that powers the AV-8A Harrier short take-off and vertical landing aircraft.A long mural in the annex’s hangar shows a variety of modern aircraft.Bleriot XI dangles from the ceiling. The revolutionary 1908 aircraft had a new Anzani engine that could run for one whole hour, allowing it to fly across the English Channel.Sopwith Pup Craftsmen of the San Diego Aerospace Museum, a volunteer aircraft building project back in 2000-2003.Rearwin Cloudster 8135, once displayed on the museum floor in Balboa Park.One more look inside the hangar before I head outside to see lots more cool stuff.The aircraft in the foreground is a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. Mounted beyond it is a Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug jet-powered reconnaissance drone.Outside the hangar doors is the nose of an old Northwest Stratocruiser that once flew to Honolulu.Hundreds of switches, dials and gauges inside the amazing cockpit of a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. One can sit in the pilot’s seat and pretend to fly across the Pacific Ocean!Someone created this silly flying car named the Spirit of San Diego! I kind of doubt they ever got this contraption off the ground.Looking beyond a General Dynamics F-16N at a line of military aircraft displayed outside.North American F-86F Sabre from the Korean War period.Convair F-102A Delta Dagger built in San Diego 1956-1957.An old Neptune Aviation Services P2V-7 aerial firefighting plane–Tanker 43.I learned there are several restoration projects now underway at the museum annex at Gillespie Field. I believe this is an old Piasecki H-21 helicopter. Looks like it needs some work.Next to the San Diego Air and Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex parking lot stands a tall Atlas Missile 2-E! This missile was used for a static firing at Sycamore Canyon Test Facility east of MCAS Miramar. It used to stand at the entrance to Missile Park, beside the old General Dynamics complex in Kearny Mesa.National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark Atlas Space Booster Family – San Diego, California – 1957. Developed by General Dynamics Convair and the U.S. Air Force.Visit the free San Diego Air and Space Museum’s Gillespie Field Annex and you’ll learn a whole lot about aviation history!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
I just learned a cool kids entrepreneur fair will be held on Saturday, January 19 in Kearny Mesa! Enterprising youth who’d like to participate, and families and community members who’d like to support them are all invited!
The Kids Entrepreneur Fair is hosted by Girl Scout Troop 4207 and will take place from 10 am to 2 pm in the Go-Staff parking lot at 8798 Complex Drive.
To learn more about the event, and how you can participate click here!
Optimistic kids who dream and move forward with a positive outlook shape our world’s future!
Best wishes to those who have bright shining dreams!
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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!
Back in the 1980’s, when I was a young and Seaport Village was new, my family would occasionally head downtown to enjoy the place. We’d stroll around the meandering pathways, poke our noses inside the specialty shops, browse the shelves of the cool bookstore, and enjoy lunch at one of several restaurants.
I was always intrigued by the big selection of magic tricks in the magic shop. At the candy store I’d shovel dozens of different sweets into a small bag, then eat them during the rest of our walk. We’d watch kites soaring in the blue San Diego sky at the nearby grassy park, and sailboats out on the bay. We always tried to catch Kazoo, the Seaport Village mime, performing.
On Sunday I walked through Seaport Village and was saddened to see many of the old shops are now vacant. The east half of Seaport Village almost resembles a ghost town.
Yes, there are plans to redevelop this valuable part of downtown’s bayfront, to make it more attractive and dynamic. Seaport San Diego will feature an observation tower, hotels, even an aquarium. But I’ve been told that future is somewhat uncertain and is still years away.
I’ve also been told that with this uncertain future and a recent change to the Seaport Village management, many shop owners have chosen not to renew their leases.
And yet today I saw hundreds of families happily walking about Seaport Village, visiting those shops and eateries that remain open. Such is the place’s reputation.
Over the decades Seaport Village has been the source of pleasure for millions of people.
But time and progress march on…
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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 cat waits in a window near the uniform of a service member.
Four stories are being told on the south wall of the The Salvation Army Boutique Family Store in East Village. These Window Stories concern the lives of ordinary, everyday people.
Come walk with me down the sidewalk and let’s sneak a peek through the windows. Maybe we’ll see a little bit of ourselves…
Window Stories is public art designed by POP/ARCH and created by Urban Interventions.Standing beside the south wall of The Salvation Army Boutique Family Store at the corner of Park Boulevard and E Street.A bright red bird visits a lone person sitting at one window.A child in the arms of a loving adult in another window.A couple enjoys a romantic dinner in another window.
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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!
The 2nd Annual Day of the Dead North Park Festival had a couple blocks of Ray Street overflowing with color and life!
Today I checked out the Day of the Dead festival in North Park!
The annual festival, which is only in its second year, was held on two blocks of Ray Street just south of University Avenue. I couldn’t believe the size of the crowd enjoying this relatively modest event celebrating Día de los Muertos!
All of the cherished Day of the Dead traditions could be found, including a large, beautiful altar and lots of face painting, and, of course, some elegantly dressed Catrinas strolling about. There was also abundant Mexican music, themed artwork and yummy food!
This is definitely a festival that should grow in popularity!
Many costumes celebrating Día de los Muertos (and also Halloween) could be seen about the fun North Park festival.Boy poses for photo as a Day of the Dead skeleton with top hat.A traditional Día de los Muertos altar remembers loved ones who’ve passed from this life.Kids and adults could color a calavera, or decorative skull.Lots of Day of the Dead merchandise could be found at various vendor tables about the festival.Some Día de los Muertos items for sale included Catrina dolls, orange marigolds and colorful calaveras.Many faces at the festival had been painted to resemble sugar skulls.Characters from the popular culture have been transformed into these Day of the Dead refrigerator magnets!I see a hanging shirt printed with the image of a Mexican lucha libre mask. Seems appropriate in this photo!Another small altar (or ofrenda) includes photos of deceased loved ones, papel picado, and pan de muerto.Mariachis performed joyful music for the crowd at one end of the city block.Día de los Muertos is celebrated in North Park. It’s a new local tradition that promises to grow even more popular!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, returns this coming Wednesday, October 31. Many in San Diego will observe the Mexican holiday, a festive span of three days that coincides with All Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Day of the Dead is woven with long-lived traditions respecting human love and loss. Families build small altars, create powerful images. It is a time when loved ones who have passed on are prayed for, remembered and blessed.
Over the years, I’ve experienced several memorable Day of the Dead events in San Diego.
Here are three Day of the Dead blog posts from past years. Click the links to enjoy a variety of colorful photographs…
The SEAL Family Foundation, taking care of their families while they protect ours.
If you’re inclined to help military families, who face challenges that we civilians will never know, I’ve learned about an organization that is worth your consideration. The SEAL Family Foundation provides assistance to families of U.S. Navy SEALs.
Navy SEALs see frequent deployments, operating in places that are extremely dangerous. That means Naval Special Warfare (NSW) families can face a range of difficulties.
To learn more, and possibly provide a donation, visit the SEAL Family Foundation website here.
Two youthful entrepreneurs in San Diego invite prospective customers to Build Your Own Cookie!
This morning I headed down to check out the first ever San Diego Kidpreneur Expo at Waterfront Park. And look what I discovered!
Kid entrepreneurs were greeting visitors and showing off all sorts of cool, very creative products!
I had spent almost all of my pocket money on a haircut before heading on down, so I’m afraid I didn’t buy anything. But I did take a bunch of inspirational photos!
What an outstanding event! Hopefully it becomes a regular thing. You can learn more about San Diego Kidpreneurs here.
Please check out some of the websites and other info that I’ve included in the captions…
San Diego Kidpreneurs is working to inspire young entrepreneurs to reach for the stars!A young person is filmed by a news crew at the San Diego Kidpreneur Expo. Her enterprise is Valeria’s Pom Poms Palace.Families check out what future business leaders are up to at the San Diego Kidpreneur Expo.Young lady sings during a super cool event on San Diego’s Embarcadero: the first ever Kidpreneur Expo!Online programs and introductory curriculum where students can learn about starting and running a business are available at KidEntrepreneurship.comThese nice ladies welcoming visitors to the San Diego Kidpreneur Expo event at Waterfront Park smiled for a photo!Amy has a website called Little Dragonite. A portion of the sales from littledragonite.com go to help kids in regional hospitals.Amy makes handcrafted jewelry which is full of color. She is inspired by the beauty of nature.Amy of Little Dragonite has enjoyed great success at art fairs and other events. She wants to make a positive difference in this world. I predict even more success!This young entrepreneur created all sorts of very cool Clay Kreations, including magnets and awesome artwork.One young person at the expo hand painted some very colorful smooth stones.These friendly kids have created @catsolutionscomics. Check it out on Instagram!Fun artwork on display created by young aspiring entrepreneurs!These young ladies of Musicl.ly Brave the Sparkle had lots of cool slime and plants for sale at their table!Look at all the slime they have in stock!These young ladies of the Sunday Morning Studio had lots of really great handmade watercolor greeting cards for sale.Another very young entrepreneur made some pretty flower hair clips.This guy made some super cool Minecraft cubes! He painted some spongelike material to look like Minecraft blocks.I think the people at Minecraft should partner with this kid! Awesome idea! His enterprise is called FriezTheHeat.I saw all sort of creative stuff at a large variety of tables at the event. These items were created by the Legacy Creations Kids.This kid at the Brave Dragon table made lots of exciting amusement table games. His dad works as a designer.Here’s a fun Lego ring toss game.Lots of business was transacting at the Pokemon Center.More slime for sale! It seems to be a very popular item!A young artist was showing his great artwork at a booth called Artsy Peak.The smiling young man shows his super colorful artwork!Here’s the Kate B Slime Co. Looks like a great selection of slime is available!Two young people operate Double Lens Photography. Some of their photos were astoundingly good, including one of a sandstone canyon.More cool, super creative stuff at the expo.You can frame a picture or make an airplane with a popsicle stick.A talented and super nice family had created lots of really great art.Pikachu and two young artists at the San Diego Kidpreneur Expo!
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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 San Diego Sights! 