An actor portrays Cabrillo each year at re-enactment of his landing at San Diego bay, September 28, 1542 Photo: Barbara Martin |
San Diego's Annual Cabrillo Festival
Created in 1964 to share the story of Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo and his 1542 voyage of exploration along
what is now the West Coast of the United States, San Diego's
Annual Cabrillo Festival is one of the oldest festivals of its
kind in San Diego and Southern California, now in its 36th
year. The mission of the Festival is to perpetuate and
commemorate the contribution of Cabrillo in the exploration of
New Spain and the settlement of the Californias, and to
celebrate the rich cultures of Native America, Mexico,
Portugal, and Spain that are part of San Diego's diverse
heritage.
Official representatives of the governments of
Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States regularly attend the
Cabrillo Festival. Cabrillo Festival week encompasses September 28,
the date in history in which Cabrillo arrived in San Diego. The
main event of the Festival is the Open House at Cabrillo National
Monument on Point Loma, which overlooks Cabrillo's probable landing
site on Ballast Point in San Diego Bay. 1999 Open House activities
included a re-enactment of Cabrillo's landing on Ballast Point;
16th-century-soliders living history encampment and arquebus firing
demonstrations; performances by Native American, Aztec and Mexican
folklorico dancers; basket-weaving and acorn-grinding
demonstrations; visits by "Cabrillo," the priest and his soldiers,
and by Miss Cabrillo Festival; children's activities on Cabrillo
and the Age of Exploration.
Project documentation includes three pages of text
and brochures from the 1993 through 1999 Festivals.
Originally submitted by: Brian P. Bilbray, Representative (49th District).
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