Arts & Culture

At a time when Americans are increasingly preoccupied the upcoming elections, some of San Francisco’s expatriates recently had a chance to hear from a political fighter of their own. Burmese opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi visited San Francisco at the end of last week, and thousands of members of the city’s Burmese community – which is one of the largest in the US – turned out to hear her speak.

Our Hear Here team has been interviewing people in libraries throughout San Francisco and Oakland about their lives and memories. Now they want to know about the places that make those memories what they are. They’re asking a simple question: what’s a place in your neighborhood that matters to you, and why?

The accordion has been recognized as the San Francisco’s official instrument. Back in the early part of the 20th century, San Francisco’s North Beach was a Mecca of accordion building (and playing) in the United States.

Vince Cirelli was an Italian American accordion repairman in his 90s, and Skyler Fell, a woman in her early 30s, was his apprentice. Tattooed, pierced, and part of the “steam punk,” DIY, Burning Man scenes, Fell now owns her own accordion repair shop in San Francisco, where she says an “Accordion Revolution” is happening among people of all ages.