Zócalo Urbano was erected by a group of young students and community residents as the youth branch of Centro Sin Fronteras. After two months of construction and renovation, the space opened its doors to over 200 youth and has been a fixture in the Mexican communities of Chicago.
El Zócalo Urbano is named and modeled after the Zócalo in Mexico City, which was the great marketplace of Tenochtitlan. In this historical context the Zócalo served as the space for the exchange of ideas, artistic expression, politics and ceremony.
The Urbano portion of the name references the reality of the modern urban Mexicano/a, Chicano/a, Latino/a experience in the barrios of Chicago. By combining both the Zócalo and Urbano we hope to make connections to our ancestral past while still addressing the current issues that face the Mexican people.
As a youth branch of Centro Sin Fronteras, El Zócalo Urbano continues to make its own history by sparking consciousness of struggle within youth. El Zócalo Urbano has been active in the fight for legalization by participating in the pro-immigration marches and a hunger strike demanding a moratorium on deportations and raids. Zócalo’s youth has taken the initiative to empower the latino community to register to vote by the masses.
Future and Upcoming Initiatives
Some of our future initiatives include the following:
· An after school program
· A media center
· A citywide latino/a agenda coalition
· Expansion of our space
We also hope to further develop our nights of expression and host a wider range of activities. As a community space that will reach its second year anniversary we will continue to influence the heart of Chicago’s Mexican and Latino communities.
Mission Statement:
El Zócalo Urbano is a Mexicano/a, Chicano/a, Latino/a alternative space that promotes cultural, artistic, political expression, and activism while preserving our identity and empowering ourselves at a grass root level.El Zócalo creates consciousness around issues such as immigration, gentrification, and militarization of inner city youth, racism, and the lack of community space.We accomplished this by creating different nights of expression incorporating poetry, hip-hop, rock, Aztec spiritual dancing, and other forms of cultural expression.
May 1 in Chicago
http://www.chicagomayday.com
Together, We are the New Majority, so Check out the latest Chicago May Day Website (e.g. text, images, objects, etc.)
Familia Latina Unida
http://www.familialatinaunida.org/