Description

Twelve Who Shaped San Diego was an educational series of radio programs broadcast on KPBS in 1978. It explored the legacies of a dozen influential San Diegans over the course of four centuries, charting the evolution of San Diego from a colonial missionary settlement into a modern city. The series was produced by the San Diego History Radio Project and was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (circa 1500-1543) was the first European to set foot on the shores on what is now San Diego. Cabrillo claimed what is now San Diego Bay for the Spanish Empire in 1542 and named the site San Miguel. It is with Cabrillo that San Diego's written history begins. Producer Peter Hamlin and historian Clare Crane discuss with their guests the motives for Spanish exploration and discovery of California; the archeological investigation of the Indian culture that already occupied this area; the controversy about Cabrillo's nationality; the interpretive program at Cabrillo National Monument; and the annual celebrations commemorating Cabrillo's landing in San Diego in September. John Adams discusses the literary origins of the name "California." James Moriarty comments on the Indian cultures and the length of their occupation of this area, discusses current archeological research; and talks about Cabrillo's character and his (Moriarty's) reasons for believing that Cabrillo was Portuguese. Anthony Codina reminisces about his experiences portraying Cabrillo in several previous festivals. Mary Giglitto describes the different activities that take place during the annual Cabrillo festival. Tom Tucker and Terry DiMattio discuss some of the programs that take place regularly at the Cabrillo National Monument. Michael Mathes discusses his reasons for believing that Cabrillo was Spanish, rather than Portuguese. Names mentioned during the program include: Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, Hernán Cortés, Edward Everett Hale, Pedro de Alvarado, Francisco Ulloa, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, Bartolomé Ferrer, and Sebastián Vizcaíno.