The Latino Center of Art and Culture aims to celebrate, preserve traditions

The Latino Center of Art and Culture is a leading cultural institution home to many events and programs that help the community. COURTESY PHOTO

The Center also offers a new program called ‘Cultura es Fuerza’ which aims to invest in the next generation of cultural bearers and leaders. COURTESY PHOTO

From left, Board Member and Visual Arts Committee Chair: Justin Mata and artist Miguel Gutierrez at the More than Ordinary Gallery Exhibition Opening Reception. COURTESY PHOTO BY MIGUEL GUTIERREZ

The Latino Center offers its major events every year such as Día del Niño, Fiesta de Frida, Oaxaca Sacramento and El Panteón de Sacramento. COURTESY PHOTO

Image

By Angelica Vera-Franco

afranco@dailydemocrat.com

Nestled in the edge of West Sacramento lies The Latino Center of Art and Culture, a museum and multidisciplinary cultural center that brings a sense of home and support to all of the community, offering events, artworks and programs.

“The Latino Center of Art and Culture is a leading cultural institution,” Board Chair Alma Elizabeth López explains. “We celebrate and preserve Chicano, Latino, and Indigenous arts and traditions while fostering community empowerment, creative expression, and cultural pride for the community here.”

López has been a board member of the Latino Center since 2022. She first connected with the Center in 2014 through collaboration work and volunteering before joining the board.

She describes the Latino Center as a place that gives her and the community that “home” feeling.

“I started volunteering because I was yearning to go back to Mexico, and I think the Latino Center, the programs that it offered, really would take me back home,” López said. “It would always give me that feeling that you only get back home, and so I wanted to get more involved, and because I was volunteering very often, I was asked if I was interested in joining the board.

“The traditional arts programming that would take place was filled with things that you would just see back home,” she continued. “The elements were very traditional, something that I had not seen somewhere else. I think there are versions of that in other places, but not with the actual authenticity that the Latino Center of Art and Culture had, and I think that definitely caught my attention.”

The Center was founded in 1972 as ‘La Raza bookstore’ during the Chicano movement, a civil rights movement that fought for the rights of Mexican Americans and other Hispanic groups.

López says that the center changed its name in 2014 to represent the broader Latino community that it was serving.

“I think it’s important that we honor its deep roots within the Chicano movement,” Lopez said. “The Center serves as a multidisciplinary cultural center, ensuring that we’re offering Chicano, Latino, Indigenous programming and also a community gathering space.”

The Center offers its signature major programs and events every year, such as Día del Niño, Fiesta de Frida, Oaxaca Sacramento, and El Panteón de Sacramento.

“We host an array of events throughout the year,” Lopez said. “It’s called ‘El arte del pueblo,’ but it’s essentially cultural programming and workshops that include art exhibitions, performances, collaborations that address social justice issues, community concerns and healing, but also educates about the Chicano, Latino, Indigenous community and culture.”

The Center also recently invested in a new program called ‘Cultura es Fuerza,’ which aims to invest in the next generation of cultural bearers and leaders.

“Essentially, it was a two-year program, and we’re looking to expand what it was, but the idea was to invest in young people and their leadership, artistic and creative development through traditional Mexican dance,” López says.

She explains that this was their second year working on the program with 20 young people. They are looking to continue the program and expand it to offer other forms of creative expression.

“The investment was so that young people can not only take cultural pride in their roots and their culture but also once they learn the skills that they take them into the community,” she says. “We believe that art is healing, that art creates dialogue, that art is economic power, and I think that’s something that we will continue to strive to help shape the narrative of the contribution of Chicano, Latino, Indigenous artists.”Additionally, the Latino Center offers art exhibits featuring local artists, as well as solo or group exhibitions that anyone can view during viewing hours.

“The visual arts committee composed of board members, the community and one of our artists is also involved,” she explains. “There’s a commitment to support and serve local and emerging artists, and this space is one that amplifies their work. They are supported by a stipend as long as their work aligns with our mission.”

López also explains that the Center ensures that artists get attention to their artwork.

“I think both the space itself, but also the people.

“I think the people will always be the factors that give you that sense of belonging, warmth and welcome,” Lopez said. “But I think ‘el espacio,’ (the space), the facilities themselves have a homey feeling that reminds them of someone or somewhere that gives them a sense of peace,” López says.

To learn more about the Latino Center, visit https://thelatinocenter.org/ or you can also check their Facebook and Instagram pages to learn about upcoming events, workshops, programs and art exhibits.