Chema Hernández Gil, A San Franciscan

The Ohlone design on the ceiling of the Old San Francisco Mission today On this day 250 years ago, the first wave of colonists settled in what is now San Francisco.

The sol side of the 1829 tlaco, with the liberty Phrygian cap Helping my mom trace our family tree has taught me that this process is as much about the lives of individual people as it is about getting glimpses into their times.

I’ve previously written about my family’s San Francisco, in Guanajuato state.

This Christmas reminded me of being a kid, with a little tree and a few very nice gifts under it.

“The internet is dead,” many are saying.

Published in The San Franciscan, 1884.

Being raised as an ethical vegetarian in the West meant being in the minority.

The Story SF Chronicle editor-in-chief accuses the racist labor mayoral candidate of adultery and his dad of sundry immoralities.

A new site logo has dropped: it’s a sea lion, sittin’ on a rock in the Bay, channeling Mr.

Baldemar Velásquez, president and founder of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), spoke to a small group of San Francisco labor activists about the challenges of organizing migrant farmworkers in the Midwest and South.

Content & Copyright Unless otherwise noted, all original writing, photographs, illustrations, graphics, and code on this site are by Chema Hernández Gil and are protected under copyright law.

I mentioned earlier this week that growing up, I was lucky to have access to the Internet before the web.

What happens when kids grow up with powerful technology they’re not allowed to understand?

On the Fragility of Automation, Big Data, and AI The insurance industry markets automation as a force for efficiency.

Last night’s meeting of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) was a procedural train wreck—a proverbial circus that would be amusing if it didn’t undermine trust in how San Francisco’s Democratic Party operates.

I don’t upgrade phones for better cameras, brighter screens, or to get access to the newest cell networks.

In Una lucha más / Another Struggle, I wrote about the weight of carrying history: how every day is part of a struggle that started long before us.

Birthright citizenship is under threat in the United States, and Europe’s restrictive laws offer a clear warning of what’s at stake.

In this political moment, I’ve been finding great comfort in the fact that Mexican civil society found ways to survive and even thrive while existing under an authoritarian one-party regime for the better part of a century.

Cette lettre a été rédigée en mi-janvier 2025 en réponse à la récente polémique suscitée par le PDG de Proton, Andy Yen.

My voter ID card and ink-stained thumb after voting here in San Francisco.

Poisoned at the Source by Art Young, The Masses, 1912 or 1913. † To great controversy, the ultra-rich and powerful owners of The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times directed staff at these two dailies not to endorse any candidate in the upcoming, hi…

Remains of an automobile that collided with a streetcar in front of City Hall, 1929.

It is just a couple of weeks until Election Day.

An edited generated pixel image of an old-school computer with the words CTRVX of the green screen After much procrastination, I finally deployed a snac fediverse instance today.

Rarely seen together: The Golden Gate Bridge and the northern lights.

Emperor Norton in carriage of State 1869.

El nopal y el puente.

Evening walk in SF.

A Generated Image of a Kenyan Content Moderator Anyone who was around the early days of social media remembers the horrible content that circulated.

Green Check Mark on a White Table It goes without saying that knowing that the person you’re talking to is actually the person you think you’re talking to is important.

A Generated Image of A Walled Garden in Ruins I’ve been online long enough to remember how the internet was before the Eternal September.

Sweet Thangs

Red moonrise

In between highrises, we have this wooden chair, sitting underneath an olive tree.

San Francisco street dimensions often don’t make sense, at least in feet.

Below is the public comment I gave at today’s hearing on municipal bikeshare held by the Government Audit and Oversight Committee meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

After four years of no updates, I figured it was time to post a short something.

A challenging year ended with a beautiful, sunny day in San Francisco.

Wild Earth Pet Food: this is Tiny Luna.

After last September’s earthquake, I had Mexico City (CDMX) on my mind quite a bit.

The Disturbance of San Francisco del Rincón is considered an important precedent of the Mexican War of Independence that freed Mexico (and California) from Spanish rule.

Looking up at a blue January sky from San Francisco’s glass and metal canyons.

Last evening walk of the year.

A bit of aged pu’er, an excellent way to spend December 31, 2017

Harvested about 4-5kg of jerusalem artichoke yesterday afternoon from Seed the Commons’ community garden plot in San Francisco’s South of Market.

Working hard and getting ready for the Seed the Commons 2017 People’s Harvest Forum forum.

Yes, food is medicine.

Ending Friday by handfeeding some rescue goats, courtesy of the East Cut.

The Untokening brought out passion in SF folks, mostly about mobility equity and transportation justice.