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Crosscurrents

The Other Mission: A tour of the Mission's literary past with poet laureate Alejandro Murguía

Cal Tabuena-Frolli

Producer Martina Castro took a walk around the Mission with San Francisco’s poet Laureate, Alejandro Murguía, to hear about what the neighborhood used to be like when he moved back in the 1970s, and what’s changed. Here’s the first part of their tour.  

MARTINA CASTRO: There's nothing fine about the faded grey and brown building in front of us. But when Alejandro Murguía starts to tell me its story, the faded red cursive sign comes alive against the crumbling grey backdrop. It’s like I see more. And that's why I’m here: to learn the stories behind these non-descript buildings. Murguía sees them in every corner, storefront, and bus stop. They instantly take him back, to when he arrived in la Misión.

 

This story originally aired in February 2015. To hear more stories about literary culture and history in the Bay Area go to thelitographyproject.org.

 

 

Tags
Crosscurrents poetry