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| Welcome to Cafe Cultura's October 2017 newsletter! We are excited to update you as we work to fulfill our mission. #CafeCultura #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories #ArtInThePark #WordsToActions #RiseUp |
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| Café Cultura is an award-winning arts, culture, and youth development organization that promotes unity and healing among Indigenous peoples through creative expression while empowering youth to find their voice, reclaim oral and written traditions, and become leaders in their communities. |
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Cafe Cultura presents
Indigenous Peoples Day Open Mic event
w/ spoken word, music, art, vendors, food for sale, & community!
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Spread the word...Bring your family & friends!!!!!
VOLUNTEERS PLEASE ARRIVE AT 5:30pm
Note: Make sure to come early to sign up and get a good seat.
WHAT: All ages showcase (alcohol/drug free event)
WHEN:
2nd Fri. of every month...October 13th, November 10th, December 8th.
--->Doors open w/ Vendors, Art, & Food for Sale @ 7pm
WHERE:
910 Galapago St
$3-$5 donation (nobody turned away)
Everyone is welcome!
Features:
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Gunner Jules (Alternative RNB Artist):
I am Sicangu Lakota from The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. The creative process of producing music relieves my thirst for self-expression and being heard. My music is as diverse as I am, varying in sound and blurring lines between genres. I was Born and raised on the reservation and I love it.
Instagram- @gunner.jules; Twitter- @gunner_jules; Facebook-
Gunner Jules
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| Up & Down- Gunner Jules (Shailene Woodley- Mni Wiconi Chant) |
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Z Bass Speaks
was born a creative artist, an out of the box thinker, and descendant of royal Mayan warriors of Chichen itza. I wrote my first poem in kindergarten, and I won my first competition and was published in a book in the 4th (and 5th) grade. It wasn't until middle school when my beloved teacher showed me the power of words and my passion for creative writing. I became a local activist and fought for civil rights, using poetry as my tool. Chak (Mayan thunder god) gifted me my voice later in my life and my voice was like thunder. I have been awarded many titles and recognition as a byproduct of my passion to serve my community and my people for a brighter future.
Art by:
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Pamela Reséndiz Trujano:
Pazmap is a queer, undocumented artist who engages with various mediums. They have been an artivist since 2010 and create art and community around themes of immigration, workers rights, womxns rights and their indigenous roots. Born in Mexico City and raised in Tejaztlan, pazmap looks forward to building community in Colorado.
Community Feature:
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INSPIRE:
The mission of INSPIRE is to ignite, train, and invest in youth to become Change Agents in their schools, families and communities. We strive for cross-generational impact in breaking the cycles of oppression in our families, schools, and communities. We believe empowered youth have the ability to construct innovative solutions and generate hope for an equitable future. We support schools transform school culture using the power of youth empowerment.
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#CafeCultura #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories
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| Xpress Yourself Spoken Word/Poetry Workshops for Youth (#XpressYourself) |
We have worked with schools and organizations throughout Colorado to give underserved youth an opportunity to express themselves
.
If you are interested
in Cafe Cultura presenting
at your school or organization, feel free to contact us.
We have used this
highly engaging
and
culturally relevant
workshop structure for over a decade to encourage Chicana/o and Native youth to use spoken word to give voice to our stories of love, struggle, injustice, and celebration. They serve to
support Language Arts curriculum (4th through 12th grades)
. Workshop structure was designed by a spoken word artist with 4 years experience teaching at the middle and high school level with contributions from other poets and youth advocates.
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Promo video for Cafe Cultura's Xpress Yourself: Hip Hop, Poetry, & Spoken Word workshops
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Youth in our current partner schools have truly impressed us. We are currently working at
Academy of Urban Learning, DSST College View, New America School - Lowry, Alameda Jr/Sr HS, and Edgewater Elementary (through Jeffco Indian Ed).
Below is a sample of what they have created thus far.
"My own color
stood right in front of me,
frozen.
They were frozen
from our unknown history
and police brutality.
I was still trying to find out
why this was happening to us.
Is it because they were jealous
of how smart and hardworking we are?
I cannot give up on them,
not now.
I have come too far.
Then,
I noticed they were scared to fight
for what was right
when something was wrong.
That is what gave me strength
and dignity
to get them out
of all the pain they were caused.
The fire of knowledge within me
starts to melt the fear.
My strength helps them realize
the power within themselves.
Now,
we are melting the ice."
-Ahkeisa, New America School - Lowry
"Our hands are full of success,
but we do not see it.
Others force hatred upon us.
We sometimes allow it
to cover the success
we do not know exists.
Sometimes we hold hate for motivation,
but we need to learn how to let it go.
We trust others,
but we do not trust ourselves.
We let others hold our hand,
not knowing what they can do to us.
Only we can decide,
if we hold success
or let it drop.
We hold our future.
We hold our lives.
Only you can control
what you see with your eyes.
We need to trust ourselves
and others,
gathering our hands together
to walk toward our dreams."
-Victor, New America School - Lowry
If you are interest
ed
in having Cafe Cultura bring our "Telling Our Stories" workshop series to your school as
an electi
ve, after-school enrichment, or a part of an existing class
, contact us.
Our
youth-written books are available online
. To access each collection of powerful spoken word poetry from participants in our workshop series,
simply click on the book cover
.
Make sure to read future newsletters for more updates.
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13th Anniversary Showcase & Fundraiser
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Contact Information
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Cafe Cultura
910 Galapago St
Denver, CO 80204
Hours: Mon-Fri from 8am to 6pm
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Make a one-time or monthly donation to Cafe Cultura!
You have the opportunity to invest in Cafe Cultura's work in the community. Click on the following image to make a tax-deductible donation. 
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Whether you are a beginner or an experienced poet, join us as we workshop poems you are currently drafting or will write during our time together.
WHEN:
3rd Friday of the month (October 20th, November 17th, December 15th)
TIME:
6 to 7:30pm
WHERE:
910 Galapago St
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
October featured poet/facilitator: Alejandro Jimenez
Alejandro is a spoken word poet, educator, avid distance runner and soccer fanatic from Colima, Mexico. Arriving in the United States as an undocumented immigrant in 1995 and working as a farm worker for over 10 years in Oregon, he now resides in Denver, CO. Upon becoming the first member in his family to graduate from college he moved to the "mile high city" to organize for immigrant rights. Now, he works with youth trying to instill in them the power of words.
He is a firm believer that words can transform, heal, and take you to places never thought imaginable. He has shared his poetry at universities, conferences, festivals, Museums, cultural events, protests, and schools.
In January 2012, Alejandro had the honor and privilege to write and read a poem for the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, Dolores Huerta. He is a 2-time National Poetry Slam Semi-finalist with Slam Nuba (2012 & 2017), Southern Fried Poetry Slam Runner-up (2017) & 2017 TEDxMileHigh Speaker. He also had perfect attendance in 8th grade.
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Cafe Cultura's Youth Council
We invite Indigenous (Native, Chicana/o, Latina/o) youth ages 13 to 21 to join us for a monthly Cafe Cultura Youth Council meeting.... especially past participants of our Words to Actions Youth Leadership Program.
WHEN:
1st & 3rd Wednesday... October 18th, November 1st, November 15th, December 6th
TIME:
6 to 7:30pm
WHERE:
910 Galapago St
Food will be provided.
Focus of the group:
-a support system...checking in about school and life
-leadership opportunities...youth will advise Cafe Cultura on programs and plan actions in the community
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Exciting Updates
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-Thank you
to everyone who joined us at our last open mic. It was an amazing night! We appreciate everyone who made it possible: volunteers, open mic participants, and attendees. Special thank you to 1) Lucille Left Hand Bull for blessing us with powerful poetry 2) Ballet Folklorico de la Raza for sharing music that made us groove and think 3) Birdseed Collective for showing us insightful and moving art 4) Armando Geneyro for giving us beautiful photography to see. 5) Americas For Conservation+The Arts explaining how we can improve our communities through organizing. Thank you!
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Videos from 9/8/17 Open Mic
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-Cafe Cultura was
featured by Denver 8 TV! Hosted by our Board member
Bobby LeFebre, the episode
documented our July Art in the Park. We appreciate those who had good things to say about us! Make sure to
watch the whole episode as there is some footage at the end too...
-Thank you to whoever nominated
Cafe Cultura's Executive Director
as a My Brother's Keeper 2017 Honoree. Ara accepted the recognition on behalf of the organization and everyone who makes what we do possible.
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Thank you to the
Bonfils-Stanton Foundation
for selecting our
Executive Director to be a 2018 Livingston Fellow
. Below is both a group picture and the video they produced to share how the 5 fellows lead their organizations. It is a great honor for Cafe Cultura to be showcased in this way. Thank you to our supporters who made this possible.
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Performances/shows from Cafe Cultura poets:
If you want us to perform at an assembly or host an open mic featuring our spoken word artists, contact us. Funds will go to sustaining our organization and the work we do in the community (especially our workshops for youth).
-We continue to receive support from important members of the foundation community. Thank you to our past and current funders:
Arts In Society, Imagine 2020 Fund, Hispanics In Philanthropy, Latino Community Foundation Colorado, Young Latino Philanthropists, Bowen Family Performing Arts Fund (The Denver Foundation), Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), National Association for Latino Arts and Culture Fund for the Arts, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples
,
WESTAF
, and
The Chinook Fund
.
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