DIA DE LOS MUERTOS GOES DIGITAL!
Ombligo de los Barrios Chicano Park Wireless Networklaunched with a FREE Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Celebration on Sunday October 30th, 2005, 12pm

See event photos!>>
Read the Voice of San Diego news article>>
Hear the KPBS-FM news story>>
Below is a description of the celebration...

Chicano Park, San Diego, California

El Ombligo de los Barrios (the Chicano Park WiFi network) launches with a free family-oriented celebration of Dia de los Muertos from 12pm to 4pm. This fun-filled, family-oriented day honors the Day of the Dead holiday traditions , celebrates the distinctive Barrio Logan culture, and provides an opportunity for all to explore the benefits that wireless technology can bring to a community. The event is free and open to all.

For years, Barrio Logan was known as “el ombligo de los Barrios,” “the belly button of the Barrios.” As the oldest Barrio in San Diego, it was the first stop for people who had just cross the border. It was the place to come to connect with family, with jobs, and even legal services from Spanish speaking lawyers. As other communities have grown, Barrio Logan has lost some of that central status. This landmark installation of a wireless network in Chicano Park, where thousands come to view world-famous murals each year, will bring some of that centrality back to the Barrio. On Sunday, October 30th, Barrio Logan will once again be “el Ombligo,” only now it will be a belly button of the Digital Age.

Family-oriented, free activities:
• Altars created by a community group under the leadership of Chicano Park muralist Victor Ochoa
• Self-guided interactive tours of the park’s world-famous murals, with interactive content and videos furnished by Heads On Fire, a community-based technology education organization
• Streaming video of “digital altars” produced through Heads on Fire public workshops
• Stations for making free Internet phone calls to anywhere in the world
• A station for sending digital postcards
• “Speaking With Fire” communal cell phone demonstration,
• Los Alacranes performance. Los Alacranes are local heroes and Smithsonian Folkways recording artists,
• Delicious food and prizes.

Wireless laptops will be provided for those who do not have their own devices to access the network.
Produced by the Chicano Park Steering Committee (http://www.chicano-park.org) and Heads on Fire (http://www.headsonfire.org), in partnership with the MAAC project (http://www.maacproject.org) and the San Diego Futures Foundation (http://www.chicano-park.org).

The Ombligo de los Barrios celebration coincides with a convening of community wireless supporters from around the state for a California Wireless Summit (http://www.ca-wireless.org) which is sponsored by Community Technology Foundation of California (http://www.zerodivide.org), Media Alliance (http://www.media-alliance.org) and Civitium (http://www.civitium.com). The Chicano Park network, installed by SoCalFreeNet.Org (http://www.socalfreenet.org), will be a rich and important community resource and represents an historically notable event in the deployment of technology for community benefit. SoCalFreeNet.Org has installed wireless networks worldwide. The Ombligo in Chicano Park is poised to be their most culturally significant site to date.

Media

Steph's Memories

For additional event information contact Heads On Fire at 619.232.9573, info@headsonfire.org.