Artistst: Gerardo Perez, Praba Pilar, Jaime Cortez, John Jota Leaños
Exhibition Dates: August 26, – September 21, 2000
San Francisco Re-Examiner
May 5, 2002
The Last Mexican in the Mission District was captured last night in Dolores Park. "Ese," the last of his tribe, lived a feral Mexican lifestyle in Dolores Park, living among the Bushes on roots and berries, foccacia crumbs and leftover bits of antipasti.
After leading authorities on a dramatic chase through the wilds of Dolores Park, the last Mexican in the Mission was apprehended. "Ese" as he calls himself, was not easy to capture. "Jeez, I thought we'd never bring him down," commented Park Ranger Junipero Brown. "Decades of border crossings have given these people inborn evasive instincts beyond those of normal or even naturalized American Citizens. Every time we thought we had him cornered, he'd find some new Mexican trick to escape. We finally brought him down with bear traps baited with chorizo(Mexican sausage) and sour cream."
Considered by most experts to be the last Mexican in the Mission, Ese had lived in Dolores Park for over 15 months. "I didn't know how else to stay in SF," explained Ese in his native tongue (Spanish). Ese formerly shared a small studio with two other young men, but they were all un-housed when their space was reclassified from an apartment to an e-partment, with a corresponding rent increase.
Ese was shocked to learn he was the last Mexican in the Mission. When informed that the dishwashers and laborers he spied from the park were all bussed in from outside of the digital zone, he fell silent.
Ese is currently under observation at the UC Department of Cultural Anthropology, where his simple beliefs, behavior and language challenge and intrigue the best anthropological minds on the west coast. Ese is mystified by common everyday articles such as wireless voice-operated word processing and surgically-embedded Palm Pilots. "To observe Ese's pre-digital behavior is an unparalelled anthropological learning experience," gushed one professor, "when he's frightened or confused, he will actually get down on his knees and pray for answeres and guidance. Extraordinary. Just extraordinary."