by the El Reportero staff
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency brought Latino culture aboard one of the city’s most recognizable symbols this week, holding a community cable car ride as part of San Francisco’s annual Latino Heritage Month celebration.
The event began Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Hyde and Beach cable car terminal, where community members, city representatives and transportation officials gathered before a ride through San Francisco to the Powell and Market streets turntable.
The celebration included a dance performance by El Corazón de la Misión Baila (The Mission Heart Dances), a community dance and cultural initiative that uses workshops and performances to celebrate Latino cultural heritage, community resilience and traditions of the Latino diaspora. The group has also participated in other official San Francisco Latino Heritage Month activities this year. Granicus
SFMTA organized the event to recognize the contributions of San Francisco’s Latino community while connecting that heritage with another important part of the city’s identity — its historic cable car system.
The ride was part of a broader tradition at the transportation agency. In recent years, SFMTA has operated specially decorated cable cars honoring different cultural communities and heritage months. The initiative began in 2022 and expanded after its initial cultural heritage cars proved popular with employees and the public. SFMTA
This year’s celebration also coincided with San Francisco’s official recognition of Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Latino Heritage Month. The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution recognizing the contributions of the city’s Latino community, sponsored by Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Jackie Fielder along with several other supervisors. San Francisco Legistar
Latino culture has deep roots in San Francisco, particularly in the Mission District. The Calle 24 Latino Cultural District describes the neighborhood surrounding 24th Street as El Corazón de la Misión — the Heart of the Mission — an area known for its murals, Latino businesses, restaurants, music and cultural celebrations. Calle 24
SFMTA has said its cultural cable car program is intended to recognize the diversity both of its workforce and the communities served by the city’s public transportation system.
Wednesday’s program combined those two San Francisco traditions — public transit and Latino culture — before participants boarded the cable car at approximately 2:45 p.m. for the trip from Hyde and Beach to Powell and Market.
Sources: SFMTA, San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Calle 24 Latino Cultural District.
