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| Welcome to Cafe Cultura's June 2015 newsletter! We are excited to keep in touch with you as we work to fulfill our mission. #CafeCultura #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories |
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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
5th Annual Art in the Park
an open mic w/ spoken word, food, art, vendors, & 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 open mic (alcohol/drug free event)
WHEN: June 12th....2nd Fri. of every month...Summer 2015 (July 10th, August 14th)
--->Marketplace w/ Vendors, Live Art, & Food (frybread & stew for sale) @ 6:30pm --->Show starts @ 7pm
WHERE: La Alma/Lincoln Park Amphitheater (12th Ave & Osage St...next to the swimming pool)
$3 (nobody turned away)
Everyone is welcome!
with support from
-Biennial of the Americas (July 14-18, 2015)
-Ready Foods Inc
-Tocabe, An American Indian Eatery
June Features:
---->Showcase of Workshop Participants from
@ Lake
. Youth from these sites have done an amazing job with Cafe Cultura's Telling Our Stories spoken word workshop series. In addition to publishing books of poetry, they performed for their communities. Now they will come together to share their words and insights with our regular audience.
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Live Art by
Xencs L. Wing
: My Brother couldn't say my name when we were young, so he called me Xenca/Xencs(Chenka/
Chenks). My creations come in music, pen, or dance form, but these days it's mostly paint and jewelry form. In 2004, my Brother gifted me paint brushes, a canvas, blue, black and white paint. With his inspiration, I fell in love with painting.
#CafeCultura #ArtInThePark #XpressYourself #TellingOurStories
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Along with our partner schools and organizations (Heart & Hand, Contemporary Learning Academy, and Escuela Tlatelolco), we finished the school year strong. We were able to provide a space for youth participants to express themselves and tell their stories through the publishing of books and coordinating showcases. Below is a glimpse into those experiences. Feel free to click on the book covers to read the complete book of powerful poetry the youth wrote during our time together.
"When I see myself letting my mistakes take me down,
I take a break, a break for myself to think of why I cannot give up now. I know that my mom went through difficult paths to raise 3 kids on her own and wants to see them all succeed, not letting others stop them from winning. I get myself back in the game to show them that just because I am by myself on this court, I can make it. As I stand there, ready to serve this winning point, I look at my mom's face, full of excitement. She cries because she knows that I would make it. All the power that I put to get this far goes into scoring that last point, finally seeing myself graduate and not letting anything stand in my way."
-CLA student (age 17)
  
"The smell of sage and copal lingered in the air, sending good vibes to the people, just like the masa and tortillas my mother makes. I will always remember the sound of her voice, whispering in my ear, as the drum echoed in the background. The sounds are so similar to the calls of the animals in my mother's pueblo and the car wheels going down the dirt road leading to the place where my father is buried. In all those sounds and smells, my father speaks to me."
-Escuela Tlatelolco participant (age 16)
"I will always remember
the sweet and bright smile on my grandma's face. Even though she passed away, I still see her in my dreams. I can still hear her talking to me. I feel that she is with me. She tells me to never give up and keep dreaming. She lives on in the enchiladas that I love. When I eat them, it is something wonderful. I imagine myself being powerful and passionate. I am not afraid to show it."
-Heart & Hand participant (age 11)
Our
youth-written books available online
. To access each collection of powerful spoken word poetry from participants in our workshop series,
simply click on the book cover
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Make sure to read future newsletters for more updates.
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Cirque du Soleil
Benefit Performance for Cafe Cultura
 
We are honored to work with Cirque du Soleil in hosting a benefit performance to support our Telling Our Stories workshop series. Tickets are now for sale for 2 Thursday 7:30pm shows: June 25 and July 23.
For information about the show and to purchase tickets, simply visit
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| Contact Information |
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Cafe Cultura
P.O. Box 11791
Denver, CO 80211
Office: 1029 Santa Fe Dr Unit #6
Hours: Mon-Thurs from 9am to 2:00pm
Fri from 9am to 5pm
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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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| Xpress Yourself Basic Spoken Word Workshops for Youth (#XpressYourself) |
We have worked with numerous schools and organizations throughout Colorado to give underserved youth an opportunity to express themselves. Recent partners include: Native American Club @ North HS.
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 eight years 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
supplement and support Language Arts/English curriculum
. 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 a detailed information sheet.
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| Cafe Cultura's Xpress Yourself: Hip Hop, Poetry, & Spoken Word workshops |
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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:
Last Saturday of the month (June 27th, July 25th, August 29th)
TIME:
11:00 to 12:30pm
WHERE:
Cafe Cultura Office (1029 Santa Fe Dr)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
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| Exciting Updates |
Thank you to everyone who made our May open mic such a success...from those who attended to volunteers. Special shout-out to our features (
Night Oblivion &
The Black Actors Guild) for sharing your energy and blessing us with your music, dance, & words. We also appreciate representatives from Woodbine Ecology Center for providing information about your programs and wok in the community. Much love to David Ocelotl Garcia for creating a beautiful work of art during the event.
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Running for Creative Expression
: We participated in the Colfax Marathon on behalf of Cafe Cultura's "Telling Our Stories" spoken word workshops. A total of 11 runners (2 relay teams and 1 who placed 3rd in the Half Marathon) put forth their sweat to support our organization's work. Below is a picture of
Cafe Cultura's runners after the Colfax Marathon (a few needed to leave for previous commitments).
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Cafe Cultura is collaborating on an HIV/AIDS prevention research project with Assistant Professor, Ramona Beltran and the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work
. Funded by the Public Good Fund through
University of Denver's Center for Community Engaged Scholarship and Service Learning
. See flyer below.
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We are moving!
We have an amazing opportunity to move our office into La Academia @ Denver Inner City Parish on 910 Galapago (site of our monthly open mic event). After almost 10 years of working with the school, we look forward to building on this relationship to strengthen both organizations' work in the community. More updates to come!
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Words to Actions Youth Leadership Program
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We are getting ready for our summer program for Indigenous youth ages 13-18. Dates: Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays (10am to 3pm) from July 13 to August 14. Application and flyer will be posted on our website and Facebook page shortly.
-We continue to receive support from important members of the foundation community. Thank you to our recent funders: 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, Peyback Foundation, Hispanics In Philanthropy, Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, 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 for us:
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| 2013 Denver Mayor's Awards for Excellence in Arts and Culture - Youth Arts Award: Cafe Cultura |
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Performances/shows from Cafe Cultura poets:
If you want us to host an open mic featuring our spoken word artists, contact us ASAP. Funds will go to sustaining our organization and the work we do in the community (especially our workshops for youth).
-Feel free to
visit
our website
often for updates
(click on the image).
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