A Local's History

LOCATION: Begin on Logan Avenue at La Entrada, and continue to walk northwest to Sigsbee Street.

ABOUT: On site, you might find the noise of the freeway distracting. But it is just part of life for the residents of this neighborhood who constantly find themselves in the way of “progress.” Hector Villegas gives us a brief history of the barrio and about his own life in Logan. A lifelong resident, former gang member, and current activist/artist. Villegas talks about the historical forces that racialized this neighborhood; the claiming and defending of turf; and the new wave of what he calls “gentrification infiltrators.”

Historically, suburbanization and race-restrictive housing covenants created a shift in demographics in San Diego. These and other outside forces geographically separated people of color from whites. Up until the 1970s, people of color were not allowed to purchase land, let alone live outside of areas such as Logan Heights, where the majority of the minority population worked. This exclusionary zoning created the barrio: a community where Chicano and Latino immigrants planted their roots claiming both space and identity.