Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
San Diego, CA
Opinion: The jury is in — Cabrillo was a Spaniard
Sept. 28 was the 483rd anniversary of the arrival of the Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo aboard the San Salvador at what we now call San Diego Bay. The San Salvador was the first European sailing vessel to reach the California coast.
Cabrillo National Monument was established in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson. The Cabrillo/Spanish connection was prevalent in the original plans for Cabrillo National Monument, which were formulated in 1913.
Twenty years later, a fabricated shift began that asserted Cabrillo was Portuguese. The first reference to Cabrillo being Portuguese, as it relates to the Cabrillo National Monument, occurred in 1934. The first mention of the name João Rodrigues Cabrilho — note the different spelling of the final name — did not appear until 1935 and has never been verified as authentic.
The iconic statue at Cabrillo National Monument was commissioned by the Portuguese Secretariat of National Propaganda in 1939. Two bronze plaques displayed at the monument referring to Cabrillo as a Portuguese navigator were gifted by the Portuguese Navy in 1957 and 1988. The addition of the statue and plaques was not approved by Congress nor the director of the National Park Service, as required by federal statute.
In 2015, renowned Canadian historian and expert on 16th century Central America, Wendy Kramer, Ph.D., while conducting archival research, discovered several thousand pages of manuscripts with legal documents written by official scribes. Numerous documents were signed by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo stating that he was a native of the Spanish village of Palma de Micer Gilio, now known as Palma del Río, Córdoba, Spain. Kramer was researching information about Guatemala in the 1520s and 1530s. Her findings were published in 2016 in The Journal of San Diego History.
Kramer’s paper — “Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, Citizen of Guatemala and Native of Palma del Rio: New Sources from the Sixteenth Century” — was peer reviewed by several historians including Carla Rahn Phillips, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota, and Harry Kelsey, the former chief curator of history at the National History Museum of Los Angeles County and research scholar at the Huntington Library.
Robert Munson, former Cabrillo National Monument historian, verified and agreed with the historians’ peer review. Local historians Iris Engstrand and Molly McLain, then co-editors of “The Journal of San Diego History,” agreed with Kramer’s conclusion.
An April 25, 2018, letter from Cabrillo National Monument Superintendent Andrea Compton to the House of Spain acknowledged and accepted Kramer’s finding that Cabrillo was born in current-day Palma del Río, Córdoba, Spain.
Despite overwhelming evidence and scholarly acceptance, the Cabrillo National Monument refuses to affirm that Cabrillo was of Spanish birth. In fact, after Kramer’s findings, the Cabrillo National Monument inexplicably changed the birthplace of Cabrillo on its website from Spain to “the Iberian Peninsula.”
Why does the National Park Service promote the inaccurate history that Cabrillo may have been born in Portugal? Even Portugal did not recognize Cabrillo as a native on the famous Monument of the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) in Lisbon.
Why does the National Park Service refuse to update the information it disseminates to the public on its website, wayside exhibit and brochures? Why does it reference the name João Rodrigues Cabrilho when that person does not exist in the history of California? This name is a fake created by the government of Portugal and the Portuguese in California. Read the history of California.
The House of Spain in San Diego’s YouTube channel shows a short video about the Cabrillo National Monument history.
Where is any similar historical research and peer review acceptance of the Portuguese claims? Answer: There is none.
Latin American history experts with whom I have consulted unanimously agree Cabrillo was Spanish. They unanimously agree there is no reliable evidence supporting the position that Cabrillo was Portuguese.
The National Park Service needs to be honest in telling the story of Cabrillo. Give all visitors the objective truth.
Benayas is president of House of Spain in San Diego and lives in San Diego.
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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San Diego, CA
Solans, Luna, Guilavogui help RSL beat slumping San Diego, extend unbeaten streak to 6 games :: WRALSportsFan.com
SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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