Hello everyone,
I am writing these lines to you from San Diego. I went on a 4-day trip to Art San Diego. For those who do not know, I am an artist. Art San Diego is one of the international fairs I attended. In this article, I will talk about the atmosphere, ambiance, history, and even the economy of San Diego. Are you ready to criticize it a little? Today is the last day of the art fair, I attended and I am tired, but I wanted to write with the freshest emotions, without forgetting.
I came to Art San Diego for the November 3-5 exhibition. The exhibition space held at the Conversation Center is extremely impressive, and most of the works are dominated by pop art… There is much to say other than art news, let us get started.
Normally, I prefer to rent a car when I travel, because I cannot stand to be bored… I guess I am of the mindset that if I get bored somewhere, I will just run away ? but I do not recommend it in San Diego. It is a small place and if you come for a business trip, like me, stay in the city center. You can walk everywhere. However, a car can be rented if you have planned a longer trip.
Because of the fair taking place in the Gaslamp District, I also stayed in that area.
The Gaslamp District is both San Diego’s most famous and the city’s most historically significant neighborhood. It is an area of fifteen square miles in the city center. It is unthinkable to visit San Diego without taking at least a stroll down Fifth Avenue, the main drag of the Gaslamp Quarter. People visiting San Diego for the first time may believe that Old Town, as its name suggests, is the city’s oldest neighborhood. Although it is the most well-known California settlement, the Gaslamp Quarter is the heart of San Diego.
The city is very interesting, if you have watched old Western movies, you feel that atmosphere. The buildings are quite old and have been restored and turned into a restaurant and hotel. Street markets are very interesting; you will find something to buy. I love semi-precious stones and their designs, and I can say that San Diego is very good at it! I guess I am in the heart of the old Wild West and gold prospectors came here in time. I do not know if there is still gold right now, but the semi-precious stones I see in every corner make me think that this is the source. Agate, amethyst, malachite, and many other stones whose names I do not know made me dizzy. Of course, they were taken as souvenirs ?
I cannot help but say; unfortunately, the streets are full of homeless people and it is very sad to see people like this. Seeing the contrast between those who hope for a better world and those who are lost and lost makes one freeze even in hot weather.
Speaking of the weather, the weather is a little colder here than in Florida, and the diversity of people makes you feel like the border is Mexico.
Another issue that caught my attention was that San Diego was quite expensive. The number of countries and states (America and Europe) I have visited so far is not small, and I can easily say that this is the place where food is the most expensive… Especially after the Covid period, the taxi driver I took said that house prices have increased considerably… Another reason for the increase in house prices is; that the construction policy in the city was strict. According to what I heard from a San Diego lover, the reason why the number of Homeless is so high is that the weather is generally hot in summer and winter. Migration is a reality that occurs all over the world and being an immigrant and adapting is a kind of bridge of passage. It is truly a great success to progress balanced without falling…
If we talk a little about San Diego’s location, it is a coastal city in the south of California, on the border of the USA and Mexico, and the ninth largest city in the USA. As a trade and port city, the city is a bridge connecting the state of California to Mexico. San Ysidro Border, which connects San Diego to Mexico, is the busiest border crossing in the world.
While walking around the city, when I looked at the public, I saw that the Mexican population was dominant, and Mexican food was generally dominant in the restaurants. Black beans appeared in every meal.
When we look at the history of San Diego, we see that the Spanish discovered it in 1542. San Diego took its name from the ship “San Diego”, one of the three main exploration ships owned by the Spanish. The period of San Diego after its first establishment attracted my extra attention because I thought there was something in its ambiance that reminded me of the Wild West periods, so I researched its history further ?
Portuguese adventurer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo first claimed the region under the Spanish flag in 1542, and San Diego was subsequently founded in 1769, on the current site of the Old City, as the first Spanish mission in a long time. In any case, the mission eventually moved five miles upstream in Mission Valley. San Diego passed from the Spanish to the Mexicans and Americans in 1850. With American direction, much of the westward expansion was focused on the gold rush in California and San Francisco, and yes, I was not mistaken, I am in the heart of the Wild West and in the land where the gold seekers came ✌ but American influences were delayed in reaching San Diego. By the way, famous lawman Wyatt Earp lived in San Diego!
-Wyatt Earp came to San Diego between 1885 and 1887 and may have remained as late as 1896. His third wife, Josie, whom he met in Tombstone, Arizona, accompanied him. She was an actress and possibly a dancehall girl, and he accompanied her on many of his travels until she died in 1929.
His reputation as a fearless and determined lawman was established by his taming of Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas, thought to be some of the wildest cities in the West. –
The railroad arrived in San Diego in the late nineteenth century, bringing additional development to the city, and laying the groundwork for Downtown, and surrounding areas. In the mid-twentieth century, the United States Navy explored San Diego and established a coaling station at Point Loma in 1907. Ten years later, the Naval Air Station on Coronado Island was built and the Navy subsequently played an integral role in the city’s economy. Today, San Diego is home to the Navy’s Pacific Fleet and is a popular vacation destination for sailors.
San Diego’s vegetation is also quite interesting! I came across beautiful cacti and succulent flowers and plants of a size I had never seen before.
You can often come across a skull figure in Mexico and San Diego. Many souvenirs have been made related to the skull. Some of them were very flashy. So, what is the feature of these skulls? Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) … In other words, these skulls were made in memory of a “death festival” that dates back to the Aztecs. The holiday, celebrated on November 1-2, is an event like Halloween. They also do not hesitate to display these skulls at all times, as they believe that they remind us of death and living in the moment. They paint it in colorful and beautiful patterns. We can call it an object that scares me personally, an example of intercultural difference!
Especially in the evenings, concerts and live music programs are held in restaurants my hotel must have been in the most central location, because it would be a lie if I said that I did not wake up every night from the sound of parties and music and fantasize about pouring a bucket of water. “That’s enough, disperse!” by saying ?
As I was coming to the end of my article, I would like to share with you a cartoon that came to my mind: “Happiness is inside me because I ate it,” says the fat woman in the cartoon… While we are looking for happiness, please let’s not compromise ourselves. What I think about is the smell of weed coming from every corner, making me want to pinch my nose with a clothespin.… Am I like this as I get older, or am I like this every spring? ? I don’t know, it’s nobody’s business why I am like this, but these are my thoughts… Not fake happiness, which feeling should come from within, like the woman in the cartoon.
Would you look at it? Where did San Diego take us? So, what do you think about while traveling? Share us…
Hope to see you in the following article…
Tugba Yazici
Artist
instagram: tugbayaziciofficial
Facebook: Tugba Yazici
Source: San Diego History Center
