This is a celebration/commemoration of the settlement of the village of Yerba Buena in 1776, which occurred just a few weeks before the Declaration of Independence was signed. A Spanish expedition that consisted primarily of Juan Bautista de Anza and 30+ families walked for five months from what is now central Mexico in order to create this settlement. Quite a story! The Presidio settlement was located between two creeks and just inland from a long-established Ohlone settlement right on the bay (inland a bit now from the current coastline).
Juana Briones is one of the more fascinating figures from that era. She sounds like a smart and tough woman who lived in what is now San Francisco through the Ohlone, Spanish, Mexican, and then US occupations of the area, which became San Francisco and its peninsula. She would have seen all kinds of international vying for influence from the Ohlone, Spanish, British, Russians, and US.
We had actually
been to this event before, but decided to go again because G doesn't remember it well. Indeed, I think that with an actor there impersonating Juana Briones this time, more performances, and more natural history included, it has even improved! It is an educational festival full of information and activities about local California history, even pre-history (Colma). We saw Costanoan dancers (part of the Ohlone), some living history with actors playing Juana Briones and Father Junipero Serra, dancing by Ballet Folklorico, and an active archeological dig with recent and unexpected discoveries (i.e. an unexplained adobe wall). In addition, G made an adobe brick, both girls decorated Spanish tiles, we saw a demonstration of tortilla making, G ground corn in the traditional style, G made a book in Spanish about Juana Briones, K took a test matching local plants to their seeds, we smelled Yerba Buena, and more. Definitely a worthwhile stop.
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| Same activity, six years ago. |
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| "Juana Briones' on the right |
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| Ballet Folklorico dancers |
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| Making adobe |
The archeological dig is pretty interesting, started three years ago under a lawn where they found the original buildings, many of which had collapsed in the 1906 earthquake. They even found an adobe wall, built outside of the framework of where they thought that the building was, so the discoveries are ongoing (and it is unusual to find adobe that survives, since usually it washes away). We learned how the original buildings were built on Serpentine rock so that the moisture could flow underneath and then adobe that was about a yard thick was stacked on top. We saw where the original creeks had been, and the original Ohlone village. Lots of new information to add to our continuous studies of Ca history.
Actually, Fang seems to have friends - we have a nest of garter snakes that we find occasionally and they are pretty darn comfortable just wandering across the yard. One day recently, G almost stepped right on one of them! They are all 'Fang' or 'Fang Jr,' which isn't exactly scientific, but whatever. They have beautiful colors and it is nice to see wildlife so close to home (plus the black phoebes over the front door, now with a second nest of chicks!)
