Home Looking for History Through the Streets of San Francisco
 |
Bulletin of the
Office for Diversity
American Library Association
|
JANUARY 2005
SPECIAL MIDWINTER MEETING 2005 ISSUE
GUEST EDITORIAL
Looking for History Through the Streets of San Francisco
Adan Griego
I live a couple of blocks away from one of the main streets of San Francisco’s Mission District, the Latino section of a city known for the local flavor of its many neighborhoods. During my routine walks through the barrio several times a week, I pass by four bookstores, a few coffee shops and three art galleries, not to mention several restaurants. At any given time, it is possible to collect flyers for a film festival, a poetry reading, a couple of free bilingual weeklies, or an anti-something demonstration. Collectively, these ephemeral pieces document the vibrant social activity of the barrio.
Just a mile away, on the other site of the hill, is the Castro, the city’s well know gay neighborhood. Here too, similar fugitive materials can be seen, in this case very particular to the gay community. It is here that several evenings a week, another piece of Latino history shows up on light poles, bulletin boards and bus stops: posters announcing a monthly dance. The names of the gatherings have come and gone over the last five to seven years, Futura, Club Papi, Pan Dulce and more recently Revolucion. But the images remain the same: a very sensual, scantly clothed Latin male. The seductive pose on a poster announces a Cinco de Mayo dance, a release party for a Latin celebrity’s latest album or just a Labor Day or Halloween party, always adorned with green, white and red, colors of the Mexican flag, while at other times the flags of other Latin American countries appear.
Individually these posters and the supplementary 5”x 7” cards with the same image might not tell much. But collectively they bear witness to both Latino and Gay history. A future researcher may pose these questions: How are the demographics of the Castro changing or merging and why? Why are these Latin images showing up here and not in the Latino sector? Is their similarly distributed information about HIV/AIDS prevention or immigration issues? Why are there no similar posters with African American and Asian American images?
I have been collecting these posters and flyers for the last few years as they supplement our already extensive primary source collections on the Mexican American experience in the United States. At first I thought a more methodical way would be to call the sponsoring agencies and ask to be included on their mailing list. They must not have been impressed with my glorious title nor the prestigious name of my institution as there was no response to my phone calls or e-mails. So, I have continued with my transgressive way of collecting: removing a poster from a light pole or a bus stop as it appears, usually in the middle of the week, late in the afternoon. In the process, I have learned from my preservation colleagues to remove any residue of tape, even if it means tearing down a corner here or there. As a result the poster looks less perfect, but more authentic.
As the sun sets and the fog rolls in, I can be found many evenings, looking for history through the streets of San Francisco.
Adan Griego is Curator for Mexican American Collections, Stanford University Libraries.
©The American Library Association, 2005. All material in Versed subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement.
Versed, the official publication of the American Library Association’s Office for Diversity, is published 5 times per year online with paper printings available twice yearly at ALA midwinter meetings and annual conferences.
True to its meaning: practiced, skilled, or knowledgeable; Versed will bring together the most progressive practitioners and the best practices in current library-based diversity work.
Please consider submitting an article or editorial; sharing a successful program or initiative; reviewing and recommending diversity-related books and videos of interest to library service (whole bibliographies and videographies are especially welcome); tackling pressing social or professional issues; and publicizing diversity related events or conferences. Review the Submission Guidelines and Editorial Calendar for more information.
For questions about information appearing on this web page or for more information on any of the Office for Diversity programs, please direct comments to diversity@ala.org!
|
