The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection

Centro Cultural Aztlan is pleased to present The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection in our new space! Join Centro Cultural Aztlan for the first ever dual exhibition featuring Midsummer Solstice: A Celebration of Life, Balance and Renewal in Galería Expresión I and The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection, the first exhibit to open in our new gallery space, Galería Expresión II. These two exhibits come together for a stellar experience commemorating cosmic events and exploring our collective cosmology.   Centro Cultural Aztlan is a galactic outpost of Project:MASA (MeChicano Alliance of Space Artists), an ongoing exhibition featuring Chicanx and Latinx artists from San Antonio and South Texas. Project:MASA’s mission is to establish an awareness of outer space as an integral part of the Chicana/o modern mythos, reality and iconography. Rasquachismo and Latinxfuturism energize this exhibition, inviting us to collectively imagine and enact alternative horizons of possibility in which we all thrive juntos. Attendees of prior iterations of this ongoing exhibit were invited to participate in “MASAporte Naturalization Stations” wearing an original cosmic outfit or space suit. The Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection features a series of portraits, or “MASAporte” photos, of attendees wearing their cosmic outfits from the exhibit’s duration. Lead Artist: Luis Valderas   Join us at the opening reception on Friday, June 14, 2024 from 6:00-9:00pm for light refreshments and live music The exhibit is free and open to the public and will be on view through Saturday, July 20th, 2024 Monday-Thursday, 10:00am-4:00pm, except during holidays. For more information, please call Centro Cultural Aztlan Monday through Thursday, 10am to 4pm at 210-432-1896 or come by Centro Cultural Aztlan’s office located in the Deco Building at 1800 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 103.

Midsummer Solstice: A Celebration of Life, Balance and Renewal

Centro Cultural Aztlan is pleased to present Midsummer Solstice: A Celebration of Life, Balance and Renewal exhibit. Join Centro Cultural Aztlan for the first ever dual exhibition featuring Midsummer Solstice: A Celebration of Life, Balance and Renewal in Galería Expresión I and The Project: MASA Cosmic Couture Portrait Collection, the first exhibit to open in our new gallery space, Galería Expresión II. These two exhibits come together for a stellar experience commemorating cosmic events and exploring our collective cosmology. Each year in June, the Summer Solstice marks the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day and shortest night of the year – Midsummer. The Mayans oriented their sacred sites, like Chichén Itzá, with the cycles of the Sun. Indigenous peoples synchronize their agricultural and ceremonial calendars with these solar cycles. Human beings need to return to these cycles to recuperate harmony and balance with Life. The English word “solstice” comes from the Latin word solstitium, meaning “sun standing still,” since at the solstice the sun appears to stand still in its path across the horizon. This mid-point in the sun’s annual movement symbolizes transformation and renewal, or death and rebirth. Artwork in this exhibit is inspired by these themes. Participating artists include: Richard Arredondo, Rita Maria Contreras, Celeste De Luna, Mónica Estrada-Saldaña, Oscar Galvan Jr., Noe Garza, Debi Lively, Angelica Mayorga, Angel Moreno, Alexandra Nelipa, Adriana Netro, Denise Perez, Lenise Perez-Miller, Kathleen Baker Pittman, Angelina Pliego, Martin Emmanuel Rangel, Sergio Angel Ruiz, Raul Servín, Sarah Shore, Anita Valencia, Michael Villanueva, Monica Walker, Robert Wilkens, Liliana Wilson, Theresa Ybáñez, and more.   Join us at the opening reception on Friday, June 14, 2024 from 6:00-9:00pm for light refreshments and live music The exhibit is free and open to the public and will be on view through Saturday, July 20th, 2024 Monday-Thursday, 10:00am-4:00pm, except during holidays. For more information, please call Centro Cultural Aztlan Monday through Thursday, 10am to 4pm at 210-432-1896 or come by Centro Cultural Aztlan’s office located in the Deco Building at 1800 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 103.

Day of the Dead Stamp Unveiling by the United States Postal Service

[ms_row] [ms_column style="3/5" align="left" class="" id=""] [ms_heading style="" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="30" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="10" border_width="5" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] Centro Cultural Aztlan is delighted to announce that we have been selected to host the unveiling of the first ever Day of the Dead Stamp by the United States Postal Service. [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="20" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="10" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""]Since 1977, Centro The new stamps were designed and illustrated by artist Luis Fitch. Antonio Alcalá was the art director. The stamps are the first of their kind to be issued by the United States Postal Service to mark this annual cultural celebration. This is a great honor for Centro Cultural Aztlan, acknowledging our history as the first organization in San Antonio to celebrate this centuries-old tradition. Please join us for this memorable occasion on Friday, October 1, 2021 from 6-9 p.m. in our gallery located at 1800 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 103. Let’s celebrate our community, our heritage, and our cultural traditions! Centro Cultural Aztlan is pleased to partner with the United States Postal Service for this historic and momentous occasion. As you may know, since 1977, Centro Cultural Aztlan has welcomed tourists and residents to take part in one of the biggest and oldest Dia de los Muertos celebrations in San Antonio, paying tribute to our ancestors and to this special tradition. In recent years, Dia de los Muertos has caught on in the United States as a festive and increasingly popular celebration for all ages. In addition to the unveiling of the Day of Dead Stamp, attendees will have an opportunity to glimpse this year’s Dia de los Muertos Altares y Ofrendas exhibit installations, created by community members and local artists. They include: Hector Garza, Henry De Leon, Elizabeth Hernandez, The Negrete Family, and Don Nuñez. These new stamps and special edition postcards will be available for sale during the event. [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="50" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="4" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="24" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="2" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""]

Monarchs and Marigolds

[ms_row] [ms_column style="3/5" align="left" class="" id=""] [ms_heading style="" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="30" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="10" border_width="5" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] Centro Cultural Aztlan presents Monarchs and Marigolds with Don Nuñez. [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="20" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="10" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""]Since 1977, Centro Cultural Aztlan has opened its doors to tourists and residents to take part in the biggest and oldest Dia de los Muertos Celebration paying tribute to this centuries-old tradition. This year, as we get ready to convert our gallery into a giant installation that is filled with altares, ofrendas, cempazuchitl (marygolds), photos of loved ones, candles and more, we wanted to share two easy projects you can use for your own Dia de los Muertos altar or to decorate your home or office. Join us in a virtual presentation Friday, September 17, 2021 at 7pm, as Artist Don Nuñez makes it easy for us to learn the basics in creating paper or vinyl marigolds and paper-maché Butterflies; Two very significant and meaningful components of the Dia de los Muertos celebration. [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="50" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="4" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="24" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="2" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] Video Premiere: Friday, September 17, 2021 at 7PM Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CentroCulturalAztlan/ and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQwMXA110JIVCskeaxtjEmg [ms_heading style="" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="40" margin_top="0" margin_bottom="0" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] [/ms_heading] [/ms_column] [ms_column style="2/5" align="left" class="" id=""] [ms_heading style="" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="12" margin_top="10" margin_bottom="10" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] [/ms_heading] [ms_heading style="" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="18" margin_top="10" margin_bottom="10" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] Video presentation will be on our website, Facebook and YouTube indefinitely. [/ms_heading] [/ms_column] [/ms_row] [ms_accordion style="boxed" type="2" class="" id=""] [ms_accordion_item title="About Don Nuñez:" color="#666666" background_color="" close_icon="" open_icon="" status="close"]Don Nuñez was born in Corpus Christi and raised in San Benito Texas. He holds a BA in Art from A&I University, and has a master’s in Fine Arts from Texas A&M Kingsville. Don studied ballet folklórico at Bellas Artes in Mexico City, where he was certified as a Maestro. He is a former dancer with the Royal Ballet Company in Canada, and spent time on Broadway in New York City with Ballet Folklórico de México. Don later became an art and dance teacher for youth grades K-12 in schools and private studios. In 1998, Don helped start the Ballet Folklórico program at the Edgewood ISD Fine Arts Academy, where he was devoted to his students for nearly 20 years. Now retired, he focuses his artwork on the rich cultura here in San Antonio and South Texas. Don continues to create art through installations, costume design, and set design. [/ms_accordion_item] [/ms_accordion] [ms_divider style="normal" align="center" width="100%" margin_top="15" margin_bottom="15" border_size="1" border_color="#f2f2f2" icon="" class="" id=""][/ms_divider] [ms_heading style="none" color="" border_color="" text_align="left" font_weight="500" font_size="18" margin_top="10" margin_bottom="10" border_width="0" responsive_text="yes" class="" id=""] Here is a sample of some of Don's artwork:[/ms_heading] [foogallery id="2123"] [ms_divider style="normal" align="center" width="100%" margin_top="15" margin_bottom="15" border_size="1" border_color="#f2f2f2" icon="" class="" id=""][/ms_divider] [the-post-grid id="1302" title="Galeria_postgrid"] [ms_divider style="back_to_top" align="center" width="100%" margin_top="15" margin_bottom="15" border_size="1" border_color="#f2f2f2" icon="" class="" id=""][/ms_divider]