Queerness, Activism, & The Mission—Past to Present
Hosted by Gray Area
Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 | 3–6PM
Primary Resources:
The GLBT Historical Society, El Tecolote, 48 Hills,

Mission Local
Artists Flavia Elisa Mora & Hernán Martinez

I led a walking tour & augmented reality workshop on Queerness, Activism, & the Mission—Past to Present for Gray Area’s 2021 Fall Festival. The workshop featured oral history interviews with two queer Latinx artists: Precita Eyes Muralist, activist, and poet Flavia Elisa Mora, and Mission-based artist and seamstress Hernán Martinez.

The workshop addressed the festival theme of ‘Worlding Protocol’ through a lens of queerness, Mission-based activism, and the intersections between the two. The walking tour highlighted lost queer spaces, murals, sites of current and former activism, and other features of the Calle 24 Cultural District.

Audio Excerpts

I used Adobe Aero to activate history by overlaying historic images on top of the current streetscape of the Mission. I connected past to present by showing the layers of history that have been absorbed by the ever-changing face of San Francisco. From (L) to (R): 1009 Valencia Street of the 1980s overlain on today’s facade; the vandalized ‘Por Vida’ mural at 24th & Bryant overlain on a Calle24 billboard of today; the mural, ‘Las Lechugueras,’ by Juana Alicia (1983) overlain on ‘La Llorona’s Sacred Waters,’ also by Alicia (2004).

AR Scenes—View with Adobe Aero (iPhone, Android)

Link to pre-recorded AR scenes

Images

The original Foxy Lady sign lingers at 2664 Mission Street. Photo by Nick Ross.

Artemis Society Café's original doors. From SFSU: https://bit.ly/2Zi6OBh.

Staffers cavort in front of Old Wives Tales, c. early 1980s. via Facebook.

Interior of Old Wives Tales bookstore, 1980s. From FoundSF.

Dan Fontes' design for the Bethany Senior Housing mural. By the artist.

Biographies of the seniors depicted on the Bethany building. From the artist.

Las Lechugueras mural, 1983. Photo by Chris Carlsson.

Women farmworkers. Photo from Juana Alicia.

The original Por Vida mural by Maricón Collective/ Manuel Paul. From 48Hills.

A 2015 Precita Eyes mural which read, "Our culture can't be bought," was painted over by the new business owner without permission in 2017. From 48Hills.

Left to right: Graciela Carrillo, Consuelo Mendez, Patricia Rodriguez, and Irene Perez; Photo: courtesy Linda Wilson

Artist Hernán Martinez with his parklet mural, "La Fruiteria," at Adobe Books & Arts Cooperative.

A detail of "Fruiteria," which uses pre-Columbian motifs.

Tour Map & Stops:

[Gray Area] The Foxy Lady, 2664 Mission Street; Rest in Power Mural

[CCSF Parklet] Lesbian Valencia Street: Artemis Café, Good Vibrations

[21st & Valencia] The Catacombs I, 3343 21st Street

[1009 Valencia] Old Wives Tales (AR Overlay #1)

[21st & San Carlos] The Lexington Club; Paint the Void; Lyon Martin Health Services

[21st & Capp] Bethany Senior Housing, Ruth’s Table

[825 Shotwell] César Chavez Elementary School

[23rd & Folsom] Red Poppy Art House

[23rd & Harrison] El Arroyo Laundry/ Lavando Agusto Mural

[24th & York] La Llorona’s Sacred Waters Mural (AR Overlay #3)

[24th & York mini-park] Calle24 Latino Cultural District

[24th & Bryant] Por Vida Mural (AR Overlay #2)

[24th & Florida] 500 Years of Resistance Mural

[24th & Lucky] La Cultura Cura Mural

[2981 24th Street] Precita Eyes Muralists

[3001 24th Street] Casa de la Misión

[Balmy Alley] Balmy Alley & Mujeres Muralistas

[3130 24th Street] Adobe Books & Arts Cooperative

[24th & Capp] Alto al Fuego en la Misión Mural

Additional Resources

1) Adobe Books & Arts Cooperative, Website

2) Calle24 Latino Cultural District, SF Heritage

3) Leticia Hernández Interview with Juana Alicia

4) The Mission District—A History of Resistence | for the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition, 2006

^{A project of the San Francisco Arts Sommission’s Art on Market Street kiosk poster series,

funded by the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

www.sfartscommission.org.}