Border Dwellers/Los de la Frontera

FAIN: PY-263669-19

San Diego History Center (San Diego, CA 92101-1664)
Mari Tina Zarpour (Project Director: May 2018 to present)

Digitization events to collect local history materials in two communities in the South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, Old Town National City and San Ysidro.  A majority of residents are of Spanish-speaking descent, many with family roots in the area dating before the 1848 border demarcation.  Photo archivists at the San Diego Historical Society would lead the events in collaboration with two social services agencies, Casa de Salud/Old Town National City Committee in National City and Casa Familiar/The Front Art Gallery in San Ysidro.  The events would feature workshops on preserving family memorabilia and be followed by presentations based on the digitized images by a local historian and author, Barbara Zagora.  With donor permission, the materials would be made available on the website of the San Diego Historical Society, the Online Archive of California/Calisphere, and the Digital Public Library of America.

Border Dwellers/Los de la Frontera will examine the border community of the South Bay, San Diego County’s. The San Diego-Tijuana international border is unique historically, culturally, and sociologically than other border locales, and yet the history of this region has yet to be explored. This project, the first of its kind in the South Bay, represents a critical first step in the recognition of the cultural heritage of its border residents. The San Diego History Center plans to focus on the cultural heritage of two South Bay communities: San Ysidro and Old Town National City. The digitization event and surrounding programs will collect family photographs, portraits, and documents like letters, military papers, and ephemera. A follow-up event will consist of a slideshow and history lecture presented by a historian based on the items digitized from the participants, and a discussion session for attendees to share memories. SDHC staff will be present to record these memories.