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The Hill Street Country Club Presents Gentryfries: Savor Local Stories & Support Civic Engagement
October 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Gartner Court
Free
Gentryfries is a community archiving culinary project that celebrates the rich history and vibrant cultures of Oceanside and North San Diego County supported by FSBN City of San Diego Art and Culture and Prebys Foundation. It is created by The Hill Street Country Club in collaboration with local archives and guest artist Alejandro Arreguin Villegas.
Gentryfries transforms family stories, photographs, and documents into artistic archival records beautifully wrapped around every serving of crispy fries.
Each fry container serves as a vessel of history, offering a delicious and meaningful way for the community to connect with their heritage while engaging in civic action. By highlighting the impact of public policy on housing and displacement, Gentryfries aims to increase awareness and foster a deeper understanding of local history.
Through this project, we create human connections between past and present neighbors, encouraging compassionate support for policies that prioritize keeping people housed and strengthening the fabric of our community. Whether you’re savoring the taste of history or sharing your own story, Gentryfries invites you to be part of a movement that nourishes both body and soul, inspiring us all to build a more connected and just community—one fry at a time.
Join us in celebrating the flavors and stories that shape our neighborhoods and advocate for a future where everyone has a place to call home. For this program, The Romero Family will be featured for the project.
Photo & Audio Recording Station
Bring an old photo and share your favorite memory or historical experience to add to the Gentryfries archival project. Your contributions will become part of a living history collection, celebrating the diverse narratives of our community that we can all enjoy—and savor! Every fry comes with a story, inviting both locals and visitors to explore the legacies that have shaped our neighborhoods. By linking these stories to the policies and histories impacting our community, Gentryfries offers an entry point to understand our past and mobilize for a better future. Let’s come together over a snack, build stronger connections, and advocate for safe, affordable housing for all.
Anita Romero’s Pozole Recipe (Historical Context)
At the heart of Gentryfries is the history of the Romero family, one of Oceanside’s pioneering families. Anita Cruz Romero’s famous pozole recipe, passed down through generations, symbolizes her resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. As one of the first women to own property in Oceanside’s Eastside neighborhood, Anita supported her family through hard work and determination. Her pozole, made from scratch and sold to supplement her income, embodies the strength and creativity of Oceanside’s early residents. Her story is featured in Gentryfries, connecting the flavors of the past with today’s community.
Join Hill Street Country Club in Building a Living History
Gentryfries is more than just a culinary experience—it’s an invitation to engage with our community’s past, present, and future. By sharing stories and enjoying a simple snack, we can build stronger connections and advocate for a thriving, inclusive community.
Meet the Gentryfries Art Team
Alejandro Arreguin – Lead Photographer
Alejandro is an artist and photographer whose work captures the essence of the community through his unique photo transfer collage process. He explores the parallel universes of service labor, home, family portraiture, and landscapes, blending layers of history and personal experience into each piece. In Gentryfries, Alejandro documents the stories and faces of Oceanside, creating a visual archive that accompanies each fry container, bringing these powerful stories to life.
Margaret Hernandez – Co-Founder, Hill Street Country Club and Photographer
As the great-granddaughter of Anita Cruz Romero, Margaret brings a deeply personal connection to the Gentryfries project. Her role is to share the rich stories of her family’s generational experiences and her great-grandmother Anita’s pioneering spirit, which continue to shape the community of Oceanside. Over the past year, she has captured her family’s moments and collaborated with Astrid to weave together a visual and oral history that honors her ancestors.
Astrid Gonzalez – Film/Video Artist and Editor
Astrid brings her extensive background in ethnic studies and documentary filmmaking to the Gentryfries project. As a film and video artist, she uses her skills to illuminate the layered histories of Oceanside’s diverse communities. Her audio-visual storytelling bridges the gap between past and present, allowing the community’s stories to resonate with a wider audience.
Akiko Surai – Archivist and Editor
Akiko is the meticulous and visionary archivist behind Gentryfries, dedicated to capturing and curating BIPOC histories in a way that honors their complexity and depth. She provides historical context, policy histories, and pop culture influences, ensuring that the Gentryfries archive presents a holistic story of Oceanside’s diverse communities.
Dinah Poellnitz and Geoff Cunningham – Project Creators and Designers
Dinah and Geoff are more than just the creative forces behind Gentryfries; they’re longtime friends whose shared vision has evolved through countless conversations and collaborations. Their friendship, rooted in a mutual love for art and community, is the heart and soul of this project. Together, they have woven their parallel experiences as Gen Xers from different racial backgrounds into the fabric of Gentryfries, creating a dynamic, interactive project that combines art, history, and community engagement.
Top: Santos Luis by Alejandro Arreguin.