Only Here Podcast: A Seamstress Weaves Her Way Into Barrio Logan

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

By Kinsee Morlan

Photo by Vito Di Stefano

Above: Seamstress Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski works with a customer in her Barrio Logan studio in this photo taken January, 19, 2019.

On this episode of “Only Here,” a story about a seamstress who’s trying to build community connections while building her business in Barrio Logan, a neighborhood that’s fighting to keep its Chicano culture alive.

Aired: May 29, 2019 | Transcript

Barrio Logan is a place in San Diego where the city's proximity to the border is palpable.

The celebration of Mexican-American culture is everywhere in the downtown neighborhood — in murals, parks, businesses, food and the low-rider car cruises and other community events that happen here.

As Barrio Logan grows and changes, some folks who live in the community are worried that the neighborhood will gentrify and eventually its Chicano culture will be lost.

Seamstress Claudia Rodriguez-Biezunski is very familiar with the process of gentrification. She’s been priced out of two studios in San Diego. And now, she’s trying to find her way in Barrio Logan, where an artistic renaissance and gentrification are playing out side by side.