Cruisin’ in La Mission

Last week, I had the pleasure to “cruise” The Mission (La Mission) with my dear friend Nancy O. I so enjoyed re-experiencing the cultural richness of this once (and still in many instances) mainly Latino and culturally diverse community.

First, I began capturing the fading theater marquees on Mission Street. These will appear again with others in a later post.

Second, I just had to capture the uniqueness and richness of the clothing styles found in several storefronts. There are a lot of stores on Mission Street that focus on wedding attire. I was able to capture shots of the “mannequin couple” and my “fantasy wedding dress,” along with potential shoes and “reception” dresses.

I also was able to capture sidewalk stencils of prominent revolutionaries – Malcom X, Emiliano Zapata, Emma Goldman on the west side sidewalk of the Revolutionary Cafe.. I also shot the current state of the cafe’s controversial west side mural where someone sprayed “Stop The Culture Vulture” over the work of Simon Norris who painted over a long-standing mural by local artist SPIE. To read about the controversy go here: http://missionlocal.org/2010/06/mission-community-market-mural-vandalized.

Finally, I spied some beautiful Haitian figures at Casa Bonampak, a fair trade community store that carries traditional pieces from Mexico, specializing in the work of indigenous artists from the Central Mexico and the state of Chiapas. Great store!

That’s it for now. Looking forward to sharing more of my “trip” through this great neighborhood.