Cornelia is assistant director of compliance for MAAC Project and lives in Chula Vista.
The cultural diversity throughout the county makes me proud to be a native San Diegan. Growing up, I enjoyed the trips I had with one of my grandmothers to the local Filipino bakery, always hoping I could sneak in a fresh pandesal — a delicious, slightly sweet bread roll. To now see many neighborhoods thrive with endless eateries, shops, art and other businesses representative of San Diego’s various ethnic identities and traditions gives us all many reasons to come together and try something new. One would be hard-pressed, though, to find a neighborhood without some reference or connection to one of the many Asian communities that call San Diego home.
There’s the newly minted Convoy Asian Cultural District for starters. It seems there are (thankfully) milk tea boba shops on almost every corner to rival Starbucks locations. There’s Tita’s Kitchenette in National City with its barbecue, K Sandwiches for “bánh mí” in Linda Vista, two locations for Golden Chopsticks and its popular salt and pepper chicken wings in National City and Mira Mesa, and many fresh options for Hawaiian poke bowls. That barely touches the surface for restaurants and does not at all consider the multitudes of other industries and professions the local Asian and Pacific Islander community represents. The 2022 U.S. Census reports 13.6 percent of San Diego County residents identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. I am one of them.
With May being Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, it is necessary to challenge how we leverage resources, define privilege, and meet the needs various Asian and Pacific Islander groups face. While there is shared community and similarities that bring connection and allyship across Asian and Pacific Islander subgroups — including an affinity to gather around food, maybe most likely — Asian and Pacific Islander communities aren’t…
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