CENTRO CULTURAL AZTLAN

The seven caves of Chicomoztoc, from Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca

Centro Cultural Aztlan was founded in 1977 by a group of young community organizers active in the Chicano movement and eager to extend its message of pride and empowerment.  Their vision was to preserve and build upon the long tradition of Chicano/Latino culture by creating programs that would involve local artists and increase public awareness of their work.

Ramón Vásquez y Sánchez

While our programs and audiences have grown since then, our mission remains the same: to support and strengthen Chicano/Latino culture and identity.  Over the past 30 years, this center has sought to share that culture with the San Antonio community at large, while providing encouragement to artists who identify with the Chicano/Latino community.

Since our creation, we have had four different locations - our most recent in Las Palmas shopping center on the Westside for 19 years. In 2006, we moved to our new home in the newly renovated Deco District.  This new facility affords us a larger gallery and administrative space where we seek to continue expanding our programs, in order to increase our outreach and engage the participation of artists, students, residents and visitors.

Ruben and Band 

Visual artists are showcased in our Galeria Expresion, which mounts 10 art exhibits a year, mixing established local artists with talented newcomers.  Monthly exhibits of varying genres and artists in the Galeria Expresión provide valuable opportunities for the creation of new works, forums for the exchange of ideas, and a marketplace for artists to sell their works of art.

Galeria Expresion

A unique form of mobile public art is celebrated yearly at the Annual Lowrider Festival, to pay homage to local barrio artists and other community people who have turned their once factory standard cars into mobile works of arts through complex mechanical modifications, and elaborate decorative paint patterns.  Live musical entertainment and dance performances at this annual festival demonstrate the diversity of Chicano/Latino music styles and brings an ever-increasing audience to hear local performers.

Other center programs commemorate and interpret significant historical events, such as the annual teaching/exhibit that focuses on February 2, 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed ending the Mexican-American War.  Shifted the borders that turned thousands of Mexicans into the first Mexican-American citizens of the United States.  This historical event includes contemporary discussions on the significance of the Treaty, a group exhibit and poetry reading honoring the diverse contributions made by Mexican Americans in the arts and other fields in this country.

El Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo 

Another annual event illuminates the artistic, cultural and religious facets of Dia de Los Muertos, the rich tradition through which Mexicans have venerated their ancestors and contemplated mortality since pre-Columbian times.  For the past 30 years, the center has observed this day with guest lecturers and local artists installing altares, perspectives range from academic to deeply personal.

Los Esqueletos Baile

Centro Cultural Aztlan offers a wide array of art classes and cultural workshops for hundreds of students from throughout the city to participate in. Students of all ages have opportunities to enroll in art classes facilitated by professional artists and peer educators.  The workshops introduced students to a broad range of artistic techniques and materials and are guided to explore their own creative skills and ideas.