Taking ownership of their culture and traditions, these two organizations are drawing crowds.
A scene from Café Cultura. Photo courtesy of Teatro Izcalli
Not many areas in Denver provide a safe environment for spoken word, danza, and also encourage the sharing of Latino culture. Café Cultura brings a show to the communities of the Denver-Metro area, inviting everyone to come and share their thoughts on every second Friday of the month.
Beginning with a traditional native blessing and danza Azteca by Grupo Tlaloc, the crowded Inner City Parish stage vibrated with the drum’s resonance. Grupo Tlaloc’s performance captivated the audience, keeping them enthralled to see the next act. “Every time I come to Café Cultura I know that there will be something amazing happening. The opening act is always one of the most entertaining parts,” said Eduardo Zuniga, one of the spectators during the March show.
As is accustomed at Café Cultura, the opening act was followed by spoken word and poetry from members of the audience. Everyone is encouraged to participate, from young children to teens to the older generations. The main act in Café Cultura for March was Teatro Izcalli, a teatro campesino traveling all the way from California.
Macedonio Arteaga founded Izcalli in 1993 in San Diego to promote and preserve Chicano and indigenous art, culture and history. The organization hopes to continue to motivate young Chicanos to finish school and better their lives and those of their families. This traveling theater addresses issues such as racism, identity, higher education, health education and the representation of Latinos in the entertainment world, taking ownership of the negative commentary made about Latino culture and using it as a way to entertain and educate the public.
When Latinos, Chicanos or Mexicans see this group they can relate to the lessons it teaches through comedy, as well as the actors they see on stage. Older and younger generations share the stage, making a parody of all situations in the Latino community. “We travel to many different states, from New York to Wisconsin and Arizona. We’ve done agency workshops with multicultural groups, teaching to elementary schools (mostly),” said Artega.
“The group started after watching a Culture Class in San Diego, California. I began a la brava, most of us had no experience in acting,” said Arteaga. The group features seven players, including Arteaga’s wife and daughter, who have all been acting together for 15 years.
“When we first started, the group met in a restaurant and wrote their ideas on a napkin. These are still some of the things we use today. Many of our ideas come from summer programs with students. That was where we developed some of them. We just meet and write down stuff as well; ideas we take from television and other shows, changing it to be culturally relevant,” said Artega’s wife, Alicia Chavez-Arteaga.
“Teatro Izcalli is part of the larger organization, Izcalli. The Teatro started as a way to raise money for an escuelita (elementary school). As a non-profit organization that focuses on Latino advocacy. The mission of IZCALLI is to transform the lives of Chicano/a and Indigenous communities by promoting cultural consciousness through the arts, historical education, and community dialogue,” said Chavez-Arteaga.
Café Cultura was the proud host of Teatro Izcalli, drawing a crowd to the Inner City Parish auditorium.
Café Cultura has been part of the Latino community for the past six years, and since then has housed some of the most successful open-mic and Latino arts presentations in the Denver Metro-area.
“Café Cultura is an artist collective & open mic that showcases the work of the Chicana/o, Indigenous, Latina/o, and other under-served communities, and provides opportunities for new artists and activists of all backgrounds to learn, grow, and create positive change. As poets, activists, and artists, we strive to keep our oral and artistic traditions alive,” said Ara Cruz, one of the founders.
Ara Cruz and Bobby LeFebre, two Chicano/Indigenous spoken-word artists and activists started Café Cultura in October 2004 with the help and ideas of other community members. As the months passed and interest increased, Ara and Bobby knew that they were creating something that was long overdue. They tried to host Café Cultura at different locations during the first sessions and they settled down at the Café Café coffee shop on 44th Ave. and Zuni St. At Café Café about 60 people can be part of these spoken word sessions. In the spirit of showcasing the talent in our community, Café Cultura began a tradition of featuring specific artists and performers. In fact, the now popular and successful Debajo Del Agua had its first performance at Café Cultura, which also offered a venue for informative short films and a space where people could network.
The success in this area led to artists coming in from coast to coast for a chance to perform. “Some of the memorable features are Cihuatl Ce (LA), Guerrilla Queenz (LA), Molina Soleil & Aju, Teatro Izcalli, Slam Nuba, Nubai, Gabriela Garcia Medina (LA), Blackfire (Arizona), Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde (Abany, NY & Philly), and Broadcast Live (Albany, NY),” said Cruz.
Because of these performances, Café Cultura has received many acknowledgements from Denver and Colorado media. The Denver Post and the North Denver Tribune, Westword, as well as El Semanario have featured many of the works in Café Cultura, concentrating mainly on some of the spoken word and hip hop workshops that they host in the local high schools and community centers.
During 2005, the founders of Café Cultura decided that they were moving to a different location in order to accommodate the growing crowds attending every 2nd weekend of the month. “It was difficult to leave Café Café because they treated us so well. However, we had to do it to respond to the needs of our communities. Since finding a new home in October 2005 at Denver Inner City Parish/La Academia, we have more than doubled in size. On average, more than 150 people attend our event on a regular basis,” said Cruz.
“The roots of Café Cultura go back to the work done by our elders in previous decades and even further back through the cultural traditions passed down by our ancestors. One of the events that began the trajectory of this was the passing over of Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado into the spirit world. As a respected elder and veteran Chicano poet, we came to the realization that it is our responsibility to carry that palabra (word) and use it to help our communities,” said Cruz.
Another was the struggle of the native people to stop the celebration of Christopher Columbus that takes place through an annual parade in Denver. This work forms part of a larger movement uniting indigenous people from throughout this continent, which many native people refer to as Turtle Island. During this struggle, people representing southern Indigenous nations, known by terms such as “Chicana/o,” “Mexicana/o,” and “Latina/o,” came together in unity with those Natives of northern nations, referred to today as “American Indian” or “Native American,” to end the celebration of genocide, slavery, and oppression. “These actions inspired us to form Café Cultura in that spirit of Red/Brown Unity. In fact, our first open mic event took place the night of the All Nations Four Directions March on October 8th, 2004. The next day, many of us participated in the direct action that took place in an attempt to transform the holiday,” said Cruz, an attendant at that first Café Cultura, who believes in the views of the native people and the impact they have had on Café Cultura.
In addition to the written word produced from the sessions, a collaboration with Tiahui Podkast (http://www.tiahuipodkast.com) has allowed Cafe Cultura to reach national recognition (they are featured on two episodes). MySpace and FaceBook have also helped connect many people to the events and have been a major way of spreading the word for many of the most recent sessions. For more information visit (http://www.myspace.com/cafecultura) and (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Cultura/49001449645).
The work done by Teatro Izcalli and Café Cultura have impacted Latinos and especially Latino youth in the Denver area. The collaboration of these two organizations led to a successful night in the Denver Inner City Parish, and the beginning to many similar, future performances for the Café Cultura.
