December 30, 1999

"Faces of San Diego" Presents the Largest Family Photo Album

A first-of-its-kind initiative called Faces of San Diego 2000 is collecting old family photographs from San Diego County County residents to create a virtual historic photo album. The Faces of San Diego 2000 photographs will be displayed on various websites and unique public venues throughout the millenial year.

Honorable Mention. Catarino Pyan (second from right) paying a visit to childhood friend Luz C. Villa, Pancho Villa’s widow, at her home in Chihuahua, Mexico, circa. 1958. Great-great-uncle of Angelina N. Talamantes, student at Mesa Jr. College, is part of “Family History” exhibition.

San Diegans are invited to upload their old family photographs from remote on-line sites to www.facesofsandiego2000.com. Using the latest technology, the photographs will be posted on the website and project on to the walls of the Superior Court building of South County, the baggage claim area at Lindbergh Field and other public locations. The most unusual site is the Star of India, where the Faces of San Diego 2000 photographs will be displayed on the historic ship's sails at a kick-off celebration on December 31st, 1999. This year long project, originated by San Diego Mesa College history faculty, will culminate in a "Best Of" Faces of San Diego 2000 exhibition at the San Diego Historical Society in November of 2000.

Timed to begin with the new millennium, Faces of San Diego 2000 is using technology to illuminate San Diego family histories and allow residents to share with friends and relatives around the globe their photographs and stories of how they came to San Diego.

"We are launching our ancestors and relatives into cyberspace," quipped Colleen O'Connor, the creator and Director of Faces of San Diego 2000. "The Internet has made it possible to retrieve, salvage and project these historic faces in a manner never before possible. It is a great way to say good-bye to the old millennium and hello to the new."

Honorable Mention. Eleven-year-old Antonio Unzon-Cota flanked by his Mexican mother, his Chinese father, and his Mexican-Chinese siblings in Baja California Sur, Mexico, 1924. Grandfather of Jerry Calderon Unzon III, Mesa College student, part of the “Family History” exhibition.

Faces of San Diego 2000 is a partnership between San Diego Mesa College and several civic and cultural institutions, including the San Diego Historical Society, the University of California, San Diego's Civic Collaborative, UCSD-TV, the Superior Court, South County Division, TierraNet, the San Diego Maritime Museum, and the Port District of San Diego.

The Superior Court, South County Division, will announce a South Bay Faces of San Diego 2000 Family History Photographic Contest and Exhibition, January 5^th, 2000; with photographic entries permitted from January 10^th-20^th. The opening reception/exhibition will be in the Superior Court building, beginning March 10, 2000.

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