Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
Latino arts and culture
The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve, and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of the Chicano, Central and South American, and Caribbean people. MCCLA makes the arts accessible as an essential element to the community’s development and well-being.
MCCLA’S main objectives to present the best representative sample of contemporary and ancient artistic traditions of Latin America and to develop in the community a high degree of sensitivity and understanding of Latin American culture. To this end, throughout its 25-year history the MCCLA has sponsored a series of local, national, and international activities and programs that helped establish it as the largest Latino cultural center in the continental United States.
In 2013, ACTA’s Development Program supported MCCLA’s consultancy with development coach Alfredo Vergara-Lobo, allowing for his facilitation of their strategic planning process.
In 2012, MCCLA received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support the Haitian Dance and Music Festival which will be held on October 19-21, 2012, in San Francisco under the leadership of Afoutayi Dance, Music, and Arts Company. Founded by dance artist Djanane St. Juste and her mother, Florencia Pierre, a Voudou priestess, in 2009 after the massive earthquake which devastated the island, the company’s mission is to foster and build awareness and understanding of Haiti’s rich traditional arts. Workshops, master classes and performances will be offered by visiting Haitian master artists-in-residence.