Culture of San Diego

Last updated

The culture of San Diego, California is influenced heavily by American and Mexican cultures due to its position as a border town, its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.

Contents

2007 Corso degli Artisti Street Painting Festival in San Diego's Little Italy. Little Italy SD Street Art.jpg
2007 Corso degli Artisti Street Painting Festival in San Diego's Little Italy.

Tourism

Tourism has affected the city's culture, as San Diego houses many tourist attractions, such as SeaWorld, Aquatica San Diego, the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Belmont Park, Balboa Park, and nearby Legoland. San Diego's Spanish influence can be seen in the many historic sites across the city, such as the Mission San Diego de Alcala, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, and Balboa Park. Cuisine in San Diego is diverse, but there is an abundance of wood fired California-style pizzas, and Mexican and East Asian cuisine. Annual events in San Diego include Comic-Con, the San Diego/Del Mar Fair, San Diego Pride, and Street Scene Music Festival.

Military

San Diego has been a military town for more than 100 years. Present-day reflections of that tradition include tributes to military history such as the USS Midway Museum and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, as well as numerous smaller memorials throughout the city. Annual events celebrating the military include Fleet Week and the Miramar Air Show.

Cuisine

Food

Fish Taco Fish taco-1.jpg
Fish Taco

Because of its ethnic and cultural mix, San Diego has a wide range of cuisines. One can find Mexican, Italian, French, Spanish, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Greek, Latin, German, Indian, Central and East Asian, Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander food throughout the city. [1] In addition, there are numerous seafood restaurants and steakhouses. The city's long history and close proximity to Mexico has endowed the area with an extensive variety of authentic Mexican restaurants. Regional homemade specialties, border fare and haute cuisine are all readily available.

San Diego's warm, dry climate and access to the ocean have also made it a center for fishing and for growing fruits and vegetables. Long a center of the tuna industry, San Diego benefits from an abundant supply of seafood.

Many of the most popular restaurants can be found in the Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy, La Jolla, Hillcrest and Old Town.

Local specialties include:

Several chain restaurants made their start in San Diego. These include Jack in the Box (1951), Pat & Oscar's (1991), Souplantation (March 1978), Rubio's (1983), Roberto's Taco Shop (1964), Alberto's (1975), and Anthony's Fish Grotto (1946).

Beer

San Diego County has a vibrant craft brewing community featuring more than 100 active local brewpubs and/or microbreweries. [4] The city and county of San Diego are sometimes referred to as "America's craft beer capital". [5] [6] San Diego was listed first in the "Top Five Beer Towns in the U.S." by Men's Journal, [7] and the Full Pint said that San Diego is "one of the country's premier craft beer destinations" with a "thriving brewing culture". [8] San Diego brewers have pioneered several specialty beer styles, most notably the American Double India Pale Ale (Double IPA). Three San Diego County breweries are consistently rated in the Top 10 breweries in the world: AleSmith Brewing Company, Pizza Port/Port Brewing Company/Lost Abbey, and Stone Brewing Co.

None of San Diego's original 20th century breweries (such as Aztec Brewing Company which was closed in 1953) survived the spread of big national brewing companies, although the eponymous beer brewed in the neighboring Mexican city of Tecate dates from this era and is still widely available. The first of the new wave of local breweries and brewpubs was the Karl Strauss Brewing Company which opened in 1989. A second wave of microbrew companies was led by Port, Stone (now the largest local brewer) and Alesmith. [9] Annual events celebrating San Diego's beer culture include San Diego Beer Week in November [10] and numerous local craft beer festivals.

Arts

Visual art

Several art museums, such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the Timken Gallery, the Mingei International Museum featuring folk art, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the Museum of the Living Artist are located in Balboa Park. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is located in an ocean front building in La Jolla and has a branch located downtown at the Santa Fe Depot.

The Institute of Contemporary Arts, San Diego (ICA), focuses on experimental and contemporary art. Its headquarters is located at 1439 El Prado, known as ICA Central, and there is a branch in Encinitas, known as ICA North. [11] [12]

Balboa Park hosts dozens of museums and gardens, including the Museum of Man, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum (formerly the Aerospace Museum). The San Diego Children's Museum is located downtown. The Columbia district on San Diego Bay is home to the Star of India and seven other floating museum ships and boats belonging to the San Diego Maritime Museum, as well as the unrelated San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum featuring the aircraft carrier USS Midway.

"Kettner Nights" at the Art and Design District in Little Italy has art and design exhibitions throughout many retail design stores and galleries on selected Friday nights. "Ray at Night" at North Park host a variety of small-scale art galleries on the second Saturday evening of each month. La Jolla and nearby Solana Beach also have a variety of art galleries.

Media

Many novels, films and television shows take place in San Diego. [13] Almost Famous , Bring It On , Citizen Kane , Some Like It Hot , Top Gun and its sequel were set in and filmed there. [14] Hotel del Coronado, Balboa Park and Downtown San Diego have been the filming location for multiple films and television shows. [15]

Music

The San Diego Symphony performs on a regular basis at Symphony Towers and other venues. The San Diego Opera at Civic Center Plaza, directed by Ian Campbell, was ranked by Opera America as one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States. The San Diego Master Chorale performs both alone and with the San Diego Symphony. Other musical organizations include the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, La Jolla Music Society, the Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra, the San Diego Concert Band, and the music departments of San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego, University of San Diego, and Point Loma Nazarene College. Free concerts of organ music are presented regularly at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, the world's largest outdoor pipe organ, in Balboa Park.

San Diego boasts one of the most eclectic local music scenes in California. Once dubbed the "Next Seattle" during the independent rock craze of the early to mid-1990s, San Diego's clubs and cafes have produced such pioneering rock acts as Blink-182, Stone Temple Pilots, Pierce the Veil, P.O.D., Switchfoot, As I Lay Dying, Three Mile Pilot, Rocket From the Crypt, Pinback, Thingy, Drive Like Jehu, Unbroken, Swing Kids, Creedle, Battalion of Saints, Manual Scan, Beat Farmers, The Paladins, The Bigfellas, Morlocks, Crash Worship, Greyboy Allstars, Boilermaker, The Black Heart Procession, The Luke Walton Band, The Album Leaf, Tristeza, and Pitchfork, among countless others. Singer-songwriter Erika Davies is a notable lounge music local act.

Artists from other genres have emerged and found success. Frank Zappa briefly operated in San Diego with progressive band The Mothers of Invention. Renowned singer-songwriter Tom Waits also spent a long period of his life in Southern California at the start of his career, including San Diego. [16]

Hip-Hop has also had a scene in San Diego, drawing influences from styles across the country, with artists like Rob Stone citing both west coast gangster rap and Atlanta styles as influences. [17] Figures in the culture like DJ Artistic have held influence within the San Diego region, whereas rappers like Nick Cannon went on to experience wider success as mainstream entertainers. [18]

Theater

The Old Globe Theatre at Balboa Park has been in operation for more than 70 years and produces about 15 plays and musicals annually. The La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD produces both original and touring works and is directed by Christopher Ashley. Both the Old Globe Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse have produced the world premieres of plays and musicals that have gone on to win Tony Awards on Broadway. More than three dozen local productions have gone on to Broadway; four have won one or more Tonys. [19] In 1984 the Old Globe Theatre received the Tony Award for best regional theater, [20] and the La Jolla Playhouse received the same award in 1993. The Joan B. Kroc Theatre at Kroc Center's Performing Arts Center is a 600-seat state-of-the-art theatre that hosts music, dance and theatre performances. The San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatres in Horton Plaza produces a variety of plays and musicals. Serving the northeastern part of San Diego is the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, a 400-seat performing arts theater. Other professional theatrical production companies include the Lyric Opera San Diego, specializing in comic operas, operettas, and musical comedies, and the Starlight Musical Theatre, presenting musical comedies in the outdoor Starlight Bowl. Both the Lyric Opera and Starlight sought bankruptcy protection in 2011 and are currently inactive. Starlight is now under new management and being rebuilt to operate as an event space. www.savestarlight.org There are also numerous semiprofessional and amateur theatrical productions throughout the year by such groups as the Cygnet Theatre, Christian Community Theater, Vanguard Theater, Lamb's Players Theater, Diversionary Theatre, and San Diego Junior Theatre.

Cultural Enclaves in San Diego

Little Italy, San Diego Little Italy, San Diego, CA 92101, USA - panoramio (15).jpg
Little Italy, San Diego
Cultural Enclaves of the San Diego Metro Area and County
Enclave NameNeighborhoodCommunity RepresentedOfficial Recognition or Dedicated District
Thematic Enclaves
Asian Pacific Thematic Historic District Marina, San Diego & Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego Historical Chinese-Mission Revival FusionYes, 1987
Egyptian QuarterBetween Hillcrest & North Park, San Diego Egyptian Revival Architecture Abandoned
European Ethnic Enclaves
Little Italy Little Italy, San Diego Italian Americans Yes, 1996
Little Portugal CBDAvenida de Portugal, Roseville-Fleetridge, San Diego Portuguese Americans No
Olivenhain Olivenhain, Encinitas German Americans Yes, 1890s
Asian Ethnic Enclaves
Little Saigon City Heights, San Diego Vietnamese Americans Yes, June 4, 2013
Cambodian Americans No
Convoy District (Convoy Pan Asian Cultural & Business Innovation District) Kearny Mesa, San Diego Asian Americans
  • Taiwanese (Northwest)
  • Chinese and Korean (Central)
  • Japanese (East)
  • Southeast Asian (South)
Yes, October 20, 2020
National City, California & Paradise Hills, San Diego Filipino Americans No
Manila Mesa Mira Mesa, San Diego No
Little India (Center)Black Mountain Road, Miramar, San Diego Indian Americans No
Linda Vista, San Diego Southeast Asian American No
Golden Hill, San Diego No
East Clairemont Mesa Thai Americans No
Chollas View, San Diego Laotian Americans No
Pacific Islander Ethnic Enclaves
Little Samoa Oceanside, California Samoan Americans No
Oceanside & Vista Pacific Islander Americans No
Mission Beach, San Diego No
Spring Valley, San Diego County, California No
Middle Eastern Ethnic Enclaves
Little Baghdad El Cajon, La Mesa, & Spring Valley, CA Iraqi Americans, Assyrian Americans, and Chaldean Americans No
La Jolla Eruv La Jolla Jewish Americans Documented
University City Eruv University City, San Diego Documented
College Area Eruv College Area, San Diego Documented
San Carlos Eruv San Carlos, San Diego Pending
African and African American Ethnic Enclaves
Little Moghadishu / Little Somalia City Heights, San Diego Somali Americans No
Sudanese Americans & South Sudanese Americans No
Southeast San Diego African Americans No
Latin American/Caribbean Ethnic Enclaves
Barrio Logan, San Diego Mexican Americans & Chicano Yes, 2017
San Ysidro, San Diego No
Logan Heights & Shelltown,No
City Heights, San Diego Salvadoran Americans No
Escondido, California Mexican Americans & Central Americans No
El Cajon, California Puerto Ricans No
Native American Ethnic Enclaves
Hatam's Village (Hata'am) Balboa Park (San Diego) Native Californians & Native Baja Californians Dismantled 1900s
Kumeyaay Reservations Various places in East County San Diego Kumeyaay & other Yuman-speaking groups Various
Cupeño & Luiseno Reservations Various places in North County San Diego Payomkawichum (Luiseño) & Kuupangaxwichem (Cupeño) Various
LGBTQ Enclaves
Hillcrest Gayborhood Hillcrest, San Diego LGBT Americans No
Alpine, California Lesbian Americans No

Sites of interest

SeaWorld Dolphin jumping.JPG
SeaWorld

(* An asterisk designates National Historic Landmarks)

Annual events

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego</span> City in Southern California, United States

San Diego is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast in Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.3 million residents, the city is the eighth-most populous in the United States and the second-most populous in the state of California after Los Angeles. The city is the seat of San Diego County, which has a population of nearly 3.3 million people as of 2021. San Diego is known for its mild year-round Mediterranean climate, extensive beaches and parks, its long association with the United States Navy, and its recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of San Francisco</span>

The culture of San Francisco is major and diverse in terms of arts, music, cuisine, festivals, museums, and architecture but also is influenced heavily by Mexican culture due to its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Francisco's diversity of cultures along with its eccentricities are so great that they have greatly influenced the country and the world at large over the years. In 2012, Bloomberg Businessweek voted San Francisco as America's Best City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centro Cultural de la Raza</span> Non-profit organization

The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Native American and Latino art and culture. It is located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California.The cultural center supports and encourages the creative expression “of the indigenous cultures of the Americas.” It is currently a member of the American Alliance of Museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown San Diego</span> City center of San Diego, California, United States

Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and central business district of San Diego, with more than 4,000 businesses and nine districts. The downtown area is the home of the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Opera as well as multiple theaters and several museums. The San Diego Convention Center and Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, are also located downtown. Downtown San Diego houses the major local headquarters of the city, county, state, and federal governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego–Tijuana</span> Transborder agglomeration of the Californias

San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2020 population of the region was 5,456,577, making it the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico, and the second-largest shared between the US and another country. The conurbation consists of the San Diego metropolitan area, in the United States and the municipalities of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach (126,980), and Tecate (108,440) in Mexico. It is the third most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Art Institute</span> Art museum in San Diego, California

The San Diego Art Institute was a contemporary art museum with a focus on artists from the Southern California and Baja Norte region. It was founded in 1941 as the San Diego Business Men's Art Club. Its name was changed in 1950 to the San Diego Art Institute. In 1953, women were admitted for membership. It officially became a nonprofit in 1963. The San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park and Lux Art Institute in Encinitas merged in September 2021 to become The Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, with each museum continuing to operate at its respective site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Charm</span>

The House of Charm is a historic museum building in Balboa Park, San Diego. It was built for the 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition, and like most buildings from that Exposition it features Mission Revival Style architecture. It acquired its current name, "House of Charm", during the park's second Exposition held in from 1935 to 36. It now houses the San Diego Art Institute and the Mingei International Museum as well as rehearsal space for the Old Globe Theatre. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Salvador Roberto Torres is a Chicano artist and muralist and an early exponent of the Chicano art movement. He was one of the creators of Chicano Park, and led the movement to create its freeway-pillar murals. He was also a founder of the Centro Cultural de la Raza in San Diego, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego County, California</span> County in California, United States

San Diego County, officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fifth-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is San Diego, the second-most populous city in California and the eighth-most populous city in the United States. It is the southwesternmost county in the 48 contiguous United States, and is a border county. It is also home to 18 Native American tribal reservations, the most of any county in the United States.

30th Street is a major north–south road in San Diego, California on the east side of Balboa Park. It connects several of the densest urban communities of Central San Diego and has a high rate of pedestrian activity. In recent years, 30th Street has become known nationally for its prominent craft beer culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balboa Park (San Diego)</span> Historic San Diego park

Balboa Park is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) historic urban cultural park in San Diego, California, United States. In addition to open space areas, natural vegetation zones, green belts, gardens, and walking paths, it contains museums, several theaters, and the San Diego Zoo. There are also many recreational facilities and several gift shops and restaurants within the boundaries of the park. Placed in reserve in 1835, the park's site is one of the oldest in the United States dedicated to public recreational use. Balboa Park is managed and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Diego.

Richard Smith Requa was an American architect, largely known for his work in San Diego, California. Requa was the Master Architect for the California Pacific International Exposition held in Balboa Park in 1935–36. He improved and extended many of the already existing buildings from an earlier exposition, as well as creating new facilities including the Old Globe Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Quadrangle</span> United States historic place

The California Quadrangle, California Building, and California Tower are historic structures located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. They were built for the 1915–16 Panama-California Exposition and served as the grand entry to the Expo. The buildings and courtyard were designed by architect Bertram Goodhue. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 17, 1974. They now house the Museum of Us.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in San Diego County, California</span> Beer in San Diego, California

San Diego County, California, has been called "the Craft Beer Capital of America". As of 2018, the county was home to 155 licensed craft breweries – the most of any county in the United States. Based on 2016 sales volume, three San Diego County breweries – Stone, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss – rank among the 50 largest craft brewers in the United States. San Diego County brewers pioneered the specialty beer style known as Double India Pale Ale, sometimes called San Diego Pale Ale. Its beer culture is a draw for tourism, particularly during major festivals such as San Diego Beer Week and the San Diego International Beer Competition. San Diego County breweries including Stone Brewing Co., AleSmith Brewing Company and Ballast Point Brewing Company are consistently rated among the top breweries in the world.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of San Diego, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis John Gill</span> American architect

Louis John Gill was a San Diego-based architect and the nephew and one-time business partner of another famous San Diego architect, Irving Gill. The San Diego Historical Society calls Louis Gill "one of San Diego's greatest architects".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media in San Diego</span> Overview of mass media in San Diego, California, United States

San Diego is one of the major cities in California. The following is a list of media outlets based in the city of San Diego. People in San Diego are also able to receive media from Tijuana, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of San Diego</span>

The economy of San Diego — of the city of San Diego and the Greater San Diego area, located in southwestern San Diego County, Southern California. The gross domestic product of Greater San Diego was $206 billion in 2014, 17th largest among metro areas in the United States and 4th largest among California's metro areas. The economy is also part of the San Diego–Tijuana international metropolitan conurbation.

Hispanic and Latino Americans make up 30.1% of the population of the City of San Diego, California in the US, and 35.0% of the County of San Diego, with the majority of Hispanics and Latinos in San Diego being Mexican American.

References

  1. "The Ultimate Guide to International Cuisine in San Diego".
  2. Ian Pike (3 October 2012). "The California Burrito, Part 1: Potatoes?". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  3. Sri, Navya. "Indian Food in San Diego". GreatDesi. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  4. "SD Brewing Industry Watch". West Coaster. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  5. American Craft Beer Week, May 17-23 Archived 2013-12-07 at the Wayback Machine , San Diego Union Tribune, May 18, 2010
  6. Glassman, Bruce, San Diego's Top Brewers: Inside America's Craft Beer Capital, Chef's Press, San Diego, 2011, ISBN   978-0981622231
  7. The Top Five Beer Towns in the U.S. Archived July 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , Men's Journal, October 5, 2009
  8. San Diego kicks off first-ever Beer Week, The Full Pint, August 17, 2009
  9. San Diego: America's Beer Capital, San Diego Magazine, March 2010
  10. "San Diego Beer Week website". Archived from the original on 2009-06-17. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  11. "About The Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego". ICA. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  12. "Plan Your Visit". ICA. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  13. Todd, Cameron (2019-08-01). "What to Watch and Read Before You Go to San Diego". Fodors . Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  14. Hall, Matthew T. (2013-04-30). "Poll: What's the best movie ever shot or set in San Diego?". San Diego Union-Tribune . Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  15. "Filming San Diego: Coronado". San Diego History Center . Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  16. "Why I love San Diego's rich and diverse music scene, past and present". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  17. Leight, Elias (2016-09-20). "Rob Stone Talks Overlooked San Diego Hip-Hop Scene & His 'Kill Bill' Inspired Hit 'Chill Bill'". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  18. "Summer Music: DJ Artistic Is A Pillar In San Diego Hip-Hop Scene". KPBS Public Media. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  19. San Diego Union Tribune, November 22, 2009
  20. San Diego News Network, April 4, 2010 Archived February 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine