FRONTERAS 1976 Executive Committee Records, 1970 - 1978 (MSS 490)

Extent: 1.2 Linear feet (3 archives boxes)

Records of the FRONTERAS 1976 Executive Committee (Hamilton Marston, chairman), the San Diego-based bicentennial celebration project sponsored by the City of San Diego; the University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University; the University of San Diego; the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association; and the Chicano Foundation of San Diego County. FRONTERAS 1976 was created to promote discussion and awareness of the environmental, cultural, social, political, and economic aspects and challenges of frontier regions with a focus on the San Diego-Tijuana region. Materials include the chairman's correspondence, minutes of executive committee meetings, miscellaneous administrative materials, press releases and promotional brochures, newspaper clippings, conference materials, and grant applications. Also included are materials related to the development and organization of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies (CILAS) at UCSD. The records are arranged in two series: 1) CILAS MATERIALS and 2) EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FILES.

At a meeting of the San Diego Regional Bicentennial Committee on July 4, 1973, Walter S. J. Swanson, Director of Special Projects for Copley Newspapers, suggested a bicentennial project that would "create a special year of interchange of knowledge and culture" across the border between San Diego county and Mexico. Later that year, Dr. Roy Harvey Pearce, dean of Graduate Studies at UCSD, and Dr. Cesar Grana, director of the Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies (CILAS) at UCSD, endorsed the idea realizing the relevance of the project to CILAS and the university community at large. Inspired by Swanson's idea and Pearce and Grana's support, the FRONTERAS 1976 bicentennial project further developed through exploratory discussions between the members of CILAS and members of the San Diego community including Walter S. J. Swanson, Copley Newspapers; Richard Pourade, editor emeritus of the SAN DIEGO UNION; Hamilton Marston, a local businesman; Kimball Moore, San Diego city manager; and Clifford Grobstein, vice chancellor for University Relations at the University of California, San Diego.

As FRONTERAS 1976 became a reality, an administrative structure, the Executive Committee, was created to oversee further development and coordination of the events. Hamilton Marston served as chairman of the Executive Committee, while Pete Wilson, mayor of San Diego, and William McElroy, chancellor of UCSD, offered their support by acting as co-chairmen. In addition, the FRONTERAS 1976 committees included over 250 other individuals from the San Diego community while the City of San Diego, UCSD, the County of San Diego, San Diego State University, the University of San Diego, the San Diego and Imperial County Community College Association, and the Chicano Foundation of San Diego County sponsored the project.

FRONTERAS 1976 eventually became a year-long event featuring three conferences boasting an international roster of participants. Each of the three conferences examined a different aspect of border regions as reflected in their titles: "Our Shared Concern: Earth, Sea, Air," "Cultural Frontiers in Border Societies," and "Regions Transcending Borders." Also included were cultural events at the Museum of Man, the San Diego Fine Arts Gallery, the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Mandeville Center at UCSD. These programs sought to promote discussion and awareness of various environmental, culture, social, economic, and political aspects of frontier regions with attention to the San Diego-Tijuana region. In addition, the conferences and events also focused on the future of the various interactions between San Diego and Tijuana. Ultimately, FRONTERAS 1976 was so successful that the project was extended for an additional six months.

Container List

CILAS MATERIALS

Box 1 Folder 1
1970, December - 1971, December
Box 1 Folder 2
1972, January - May
Box 1 Folder 3
1972, June - 1973, October

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FILES

Box 1 Folder 4
1973, February - December
Box 1 Folder 5
1974, January - March
Box 1 Folder 6
1974, April - June
Box 1 Folder 7
1974, July
Box 1 Folder 8
1974, August
Box 1 Folder 9
1974, September
Box 1 Folder 10
1974, October
Box 1 Folder 11
1974, November - December
Box 2 Folder 1
1975, January
Box 2 Folder 2
1975, February
Box 2 Folder 3
1975, March - April
Box 2 Folder 4
1975, May
Box 2 Folder 5
1975, June - July
Box 2 Folder 6
1975, August - September
Box 2 Folder 7
1975, October
Box 2 Folder 8
1975, November
Box 2 Folder 9
1975, December
Box 3 Folder 1
1976, January - February
Box 3 Folder 2
1976, March - April
Box 3 Folder 3
1976, May
Box 3 Folder 4
1976, June - August
Box 3 Folder 5
1976, September - December
Box 3 Folder 6
1977, January - October
Box 3 Folder 7
1978, June - July