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Mission
The Centro's mission is to
create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Latino
and Indigenous art and culture.
Directions
2125 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92101
Gallery Hours
Tues. - Sun. 12 - 4 pm
Tel.
619-235-6135
Fax 619-595-0034
E-mail: centro@centroculturaldelaraza.org
The
Centro is located on Park Blvd. and Inspiration Point Way
in San Diego's Historic Balboa Park
Easily Accessible from 12 &
C Trolley and # 7 Bus Line
News
The Centro Welcomes Stephanie de
la Torre as New Executive Director! Read Press
Release
Seven
Year Centro Boycott Ends
RE:UNION
C/S Exhibit Opens Sat., June 30
Upcoming
Please click here to visit our
Calendar for exciting programs, exhibits and community events.
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About
the Centro Cultural de la Raza
San Diego's Centro Cultural de la Raza was founded in 1970 as
a Chicano Community Cultural Center and functioned as an alternative
space that encouraged and facilitated artistic growth and cultural
interchange in the San Diego/Tijuana region. The Centro's mission is to
promote preserve and create Mexican, Chicano,Indigenous and Latino art
and culture.
The Centro has given birth to many artistic groups, such as
MALAF, the Mexican American Liberation Art Front, and Teatro Mestizo.
It also provides art classes and drama, music, dance and arts and
crafts Presentations, many of which have origins in Mexico and
"Aztlán," a term used by Chicanos to indicate the American
Southwest. Tours and presentations have been designed to give
background on various cultural activities. The Centro's circular
building has offices and workrooms, studios, a theater, and much wall
space for mural projects. It is one of the largest Chicano cultural
arts buildings in the Southwest.
Groups that formed through the work of the Centro include:
Ballet Folklorico en Aztlán, founded by Herminia Enrique;
Congreso de Artistas Chicanos en Aztlán, founded by Salvador
Torres; and Trio Moreno, a musical group, the Taco Shop Poets, BAWTAF
(The Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo) and countless
artists, musicians, performers, writers, dancers and activists who
would achieve national prominence in the arts and culture community.
Throughout it first three decades, the Centro was a dynamic
incubator for the best and brightest Chican@/Latin@/Mexican@ and
Indigenous performers in the region. Some the artists who were nurtured
at the Centro include Los Lobos, Culture Clash, Gronk, Guillermo Gomez
Peña, Lalo Lopez Alcaraz, the Taco Shop Poets, Yareli Arizmendi,
James Luna, David Avalos, Dora Areola, Chicano Secret Service, Richard
Lou, Robert Sanchez, Isaac Artenstein and Calaca Press.
The Centro was known internationally a dynamic cultural center
where academics such as Shifra Goldman, Tomas Ybarra Frausto and Chon
Noriega could be found conversing with community members as well as
artists such as Magu, Luis Valdez, Judy Baca, Sergio Arau, Lalo
Guerrero, Jose Montoya, Barbara Carrasco, Gabino Palomares and El Vez.
The Centro was known internationally a dynamic cultural center where
academics such as Shifra Goldman, Tomas Ybarra Frausto and Chon Noriega
could be found conversing with community members as well as artists
such as Magu, Luis Valdez, Judy Baca, Sergio Arau, Lalo Guerrero, Jose
Montoya, Barbara Carrasco, Gabino Palomares and El Vez.
Permanent
Collection
The Centro Cultural de la Raza’s Permanent Collection features
a variety of media including oil, acrylic, watercolors, prints, poster
art, photography, 3 dimensional works of such renowned artists as Pedro
Liners, David Avalos, Yolanda Lopez, Antonio Burciaga, Augustin
Casasola, Guillermo Aranda, Guillermo Rosette Chavez, Las Comadres,
Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo, Jose Guadalupe Posadas,
and includes the Leon and Leticia Singer Collection of historic Mexican
Masks, and many more. In addition, the Centro’s Permanent Collection
contains slides and video of previous exhibitions and performances
along with past publications of the Centro such as Maize, Rebozos of
Love and the Tula y Tonan children’s book series. Part of the Centro’s
works and archives are also housed at the UCSB Davidson Library,
Special Collections Department, California Ethnic and Multicultural
Archives.
CEMA
A portion of the Centro's
permanent collection is housed in the UC Santa Barbara California
Ethnic and Multicultural Archives – http://cemaweb.library.ucsb.edu/cclr_slides_pain.html
Website redesign by Victor Payan and Jocille Flores Ady
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