Welcome to Cafe Cultura's March 2016 newsletter! 

We are excited to update you as we work to fulfill our mission.

 

#CafeCultura #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories #ArtInThePark #WordsToActions #RiseUp

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. 

We hope this message finds you and your family in good health and spirits.  This newsletter helps us keep you informed of our growth as an organization. You can find more updates on our Facebook (facebook.com/cafecultura), Issuu (issuu.com/cafecultura/docs), Instagram (instagram.com/cafeculturadenver), Flickr (flickr.com/photos/cafecultura/sets), and Youtube (youtube.com/user/cafeculturavideos) accounts.

Café Cultura and community presents 
7th Annual Rise Up
w/ spoken word, music, free food, free HIV/STI testing, resource fair, vendors, door prizes, & community!



Spread the word...Bring your family & friends!!!!!   
    
in honor of National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10) & National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 20)

VOLUNTEERS PLEASE ARRIVE AT 4pm  

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....March 11th...next open mics (April 8th & May 13th @ 910 Galapago St

--->6 to 9pm

WHERE: Denver Indian Center (4407 Morrison Rd...off of Ohio Ave & Utica St)

$3-$5 donation (nobody turned away)

Everyone is welcome!

Featured Performers:
---->JB the First Lady  is a 1st Nations hip hop/spoken word artist, beat-boxer, cultural dancer, and youth educator. She has performed at over 500 hip hop shows, spreading the words of empowerment and offering the perspective of urban Indigenous women in Canada. She has released 4 albums to date: "Indigenous Love" (2008), "Get Ready, Get Steady" (2011), "Indigenous Girl Lifestyle" (2014), and the 2015 IMA winning album "Indigenized by Entertribal," in collaboration with Chief Rock. She is a 5-time nominated artist at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, the only female to ever be nominated for Best Hip Hop Album (twice), and has been nominated previously for Best Pop Album & Best Album Cover. JB wants young indigenous women to feel proud, inspired, and to see someone on stage that looks like them; representing Indigenous women in mainstream media.



JB The First Lady - Get Ready (Music Video)
JB The First Lady - Get Ready (Music Video)

----> Alexis Rain (Xicana/Native Poet & Activist):  Alexis Rain has performed on an international final stage. Having been published in numerous magazines and articles, she was also featured on Everyday Feminism and Huffington Post. Alexis is a high school senior attending Prescott College in the fall.

Broken Arrow by Alexis
Broken Arrow by Alexis

----> Keya Clairmont Photography:  Keya Clairmont (Sicangu Lakota/Taos Pueblo/Meskwaki/Ojibwe) is the daughter to Kiva Trujillo & Lakota Clairmont. She is a Junior at the University of Denver and is an aspiring photographer. She enjoys traveling with her family and taking photographs at various powwows. Her favorite subjects to capture are powwow dancers and children. Keya would like to thank everyone in the Denver Native Community for the continuous encouragement. This show is dedicated to her parents, who have supported her to follow her passion.


in association with:
-Buried Seedz of Resistance
-Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Program
-Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights
-Councilman Paul D. López, City & County of Denver District 3
-Denver American Indian Commission
-Denver Indian Center
-Denver Indian Health and Family Services
-Lakota Way Healing Center
-Mile High UNITY
-Ready Foods, Inc.
-Servicios de La Raza
-Sister Nations Color Guard
-Sisters of Color United for Education
-Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
-University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work


For more info: info@cafecultura.org; 720-394-6589

#RiseUp #CafeCultura #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories

Cafe Cultura is staying busy with our "Telling Our Stories" spoken word/poetry classes at  Mi Casa @ Lake  (after-school),   DSST: College View High School  (elective), Escuela Tlatelolco (elective), College Track (after-school), and  Grant Beacon Middle School  (enrichment). We look forward to sharing excerpts from their amazing poems in our next newsletter.

If you are interested in having Cafe Cultura bring our "Telling Our Stories" workshop series to your school as an elective, after-school enrichment, or a part of an existing class , contact as soon as possible.  

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.
Join Our Movement!


In this newsletter....
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Contact Information

Cafe Cultura
910 Galapago St
Denver, CO 80204

Hours: Mon-Fri from 8am to 6pm

info@cafecultura.org
720-394-6589
 cafecultura.org 

facebook.com/cafecultura    

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.

Xpress Yourself

Basic Spoken Word Workshops for Youth (#XpressYourself)

 



We have worked with schools and organizations throughout Colorado to give underserved youth an opportunity to express themselves. Recent partners have included: Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Denver Center for International Studies @ Montbello, Fort Morgan High School, La Raza Youth Leadership Program, and Overland High School.

If you are interested in having Cafe Cultura present at your school or organization, feel free to contact us. Our basic version is a one time, 1 to 2 hour  session . 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. Click here for more information.

Cafe Cultura's Xpress Yourself: Hip Hop, Poetry, & Spoken Word workshops
Promo video for Cafe Cultura's Xpress Yourself: Hip Hop, Poetry, & Spoken Word workshops
 


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:  Last Saturday of the month (March 26th, April 30th, May 28th)
 
TIME:  11:00 to 12:30pm

WHERE:  Cafe Cultura @ Denver Inner City Parish (910 Galapago St)

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
 
Questions: 720-394-6589; info@cafecultura.org
Exciting Updates

- Thank you to those who joined us for a packed house at our last open mic. Special thank you to our features. 15 year old  Ty Holly gave audience members goosebumps with her powerful words. Hasan Salaam brought incredible energy and truth with his performance.  Gregg Deal blessed us with some insightful spoken word while displaying his amazing paintings. VORP of Denver shared information about their important work keeping youth in our communities out of the School-to-Jail pipeline. Of course, it wouldn't have been possible without everyone who volunteered. Thank you!

Videos from Cafe Cultura's 2/12/16 Open Mic
Videos from Cafe Cultura's 2/12/16 Open Mic

-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 recent funders: Hispanics In Philanthropy, Latino Community Foundation Colorado, Young Latino Philanthropists, Bowen Family Performing Arts Fund (The Denver Foundation), Biennial of the Americas, National Association for Latino Arts and Culture Fund for the Arts, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples , WESTAF , and The Chinook Fund .

-We were honored to have been selected for the  2013 Mayor's Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture (Youth Arts) . Here is the video they produced:

2013 Denver Mayor's Awards for Excellence in Arts and Culture - Youth Arts Award: Caf?? Cultura
2013 Denver Mayor's Awards for Excellence in Arts and Culture - Youth Arts Award: Cafe Cultura

Purchase your
Cafe Cultura 2016 Season Pass
for $30 ($120 value)


-free admission (for you and a guest)
-free gifts (stickers, books, etc)
-front row seating
-recognition during the event (of you &/or another person)

Don't miss this opportunity! 

Available at March 11th Rise Up event