FOUR YEARS FOR CHUCHA'S SYLMAR COMMUNITY CENTER CO-OWNER HOPES TO EXPAND.Byline: Rick Coca Valley News Writer As Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural in Sylmar celebrates its four-year anniversary, co-owner Luis Rodriguez Luis Rodriguez or Luis Rodríguez can refer to different people:
Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. centro, or community center. Rodriguez is the author of 10 books, including the critically acclaimed ac·claim v. ac·claimed, ac·claim·ing, ac·claims v.tr. 1. To praise enthusiastically and often publicly; applaud. See Synonyms at praise. 2. , ``Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.'' His wife, Trini, who manages the cafe-bookstore, and her brother are the other co-owners. Rodriguez manages the center, which received its nonprofit status in 2004. Rodriguez earns no money from the bookstore or center and makes his living through his writing, as well as speaking engagements, traveling 80 to 100 days out of the year. With four children and four grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. , Rodriquez is constantly seeking to balance the various pursuits and interests that make up his full life. He's also seeking a balance that works for the center, which offers programs such as a teen outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. program, traditional Latino music and dance lessons and writing classes, as well as a small recording studio for would-be recording artists to hone their skills. Rodriguez wants to build a performing arts school with a full theater, art gallery and studio. Eventually, he would like the cafe-bookstore to be inside that bigger facility, and in doing so, truly make the center the center of activity. The cafe-bookstore plays host to a number of art shows and poetry readings as well as musical performances featuring indigenous music Indigenous music may refer to any of the musics of indigenous peoples, especially the folk, ceremonial or ritual, and religious traditions of those people
``What's thriving thrive intr.v. thrived or throve , thrived or thriv·en , thriv·ing, thrives 1. To make steady progress; prosper. 2. is, there is a lot of creative and artistic talent here,'' Rodriguez said. But he sees room for improvement. One of the reasons Rodriguez wants to expand the current film and television instruction is what he sees as a lack of participation of Latinos in the entertainment industry. And although the Northeast Valley is close to Hollywood and the entertainment capital of the world, young people from his area have no idea how that industry functions and what opportunities are available. ``We're so close, yet so far,'' Rodriguez said. That analogy analogy, in biology, the similarities in function, but differences in evolutionary origin, of body structures in different organisms. For example, the wing of a bird is analogous to the wing of an insect, since both are used for flight. would hold up for many of the area's woes, Rodriguez said. ``The Northeast Valley is very talented,'' Rodriguez said. ``The problem the Northeast Valley has is it is isolated from the rest of the Valley and the city of Los Angeles
When the cafe-bookstore first opened, Rodriguez said, there were no book stores, art galleries or movie houses in the area, but that is slowly improving. Long ignored by cultural funding institutions, Rodriguez said, the center is seeing support make its way to the Northeast Valley. He said the center received some support from the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Cultural Affairs Department, which helped fund some programs, including a Mexican-style Jarocho music and dance program. The center has begun an outreach program to promote that program, which is offered free to 13- to 18-year-olds and taught by master instructor Cesar Castro, from Veracruz, Mexico. ``For everything we've done, there's people in sections of the Northeast (Valley) who aren't aware of us,'' Rodriguez said. Currently, the center functions under a three-member board with Rodriguez as the president, but he wants to change that as well. ``We need staff to get grants and our operations going because I definitely want to get more community people involved,'' Rodriguez said. ``It really has to be a community center.'' For information on Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural or the center, call (818) 362-7060 or log on to www.tiachucha.com. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Luis Rodriguez has his eye on the future of Tia Chucha's Cafe Cultural bookstore and nonprofit community centro. Rick Coca/Valley News |
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