In this newsletterUpcoming Events, New Staff Announcement, Remembering Lewis Suzuki
In this newsletter: Upcoming Events - New Communications Manager -
Remembering Lewis Suzuki - Super Bowl Protest in SF
Featured Events at La Peña
La Peña Welcomes New Communications Manager
La Peña is proud to welcome Natalia Neira Retamal as Communications Manager. She brings a wealth of experience and skills to the role, having worked as both Editor and Marketing Manager at the Santiago Times in Chile, and as Multimedia & Marketing Executive at the Dallas Observer. Born in Temuco, Chile, Natalia moved to the US with her parents and sister when she was 7 years old. She grew up in Dallas, Texas where she studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of North Texas. We wish her the best as she takes command of reorganizing La Peña's communication strategy to better serve our diverse communities who make La Peña their home.
Dear La Peña community,
It is a privilege to be entrusted with the Communications Manager role at La Peña. I was lured to the center because of its incredible social justice ties to Chile and the space it provides for all communities fighting for dignity, respect and understanding everyday. Soon after I learned about the center, I began to volunteer with La Peña's communications efforts.
After meeting so many of you wonderful and passionate people that make this center feel alive and vibrant, I felt compelled to capture the essence of La Peña in promoting all of our amazing events and classes. I am so excited to be designing and implementing new communications strategies in order to improve and drive more traffic to La Peña's website, expand our list of email subscribers, grow our relationship with local media, increase our presence in the Bay Area and more. My hope is that these new communications strategies will increase attendance at our events and classes, and contribute to a sustainable and robust future at La Peña!
There is a lot of work to be done, but the center's mission and people keep me energized and inspired. I am grateful to be a part of this community and look forward to meeting more of you as we continue to build together.
En solidaridad,
Natalia Neira Retamal
P.S. If you are interested in becoming a Communications Intern, please email your resume and cover letter to natalia@lapena.org
Artist Activist Lewis Suzuki Dies at 95
La Peña is sad to announce the passing of activist artist Lewis Suzuki. Lewis was inducted into La Peña's Hall of Fame in 2011. At the reception honoring him, Lewis said, “We are the richest country in the world, but there are many people who can’t get health care or who can’t afford to pay for college … Let’s get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. One day we will have peace, where U.S. troops are not overseas and we can have freedom throughout the world.†Lewis' artwork reflected much of his passion for peace and social justice. "Suzuki became politically active in issues of peace and justice, and believed in the role of art in furthering these causes. He traveled to Hiroshima, which had been devastated by an atomic bomb, and would later create a graphic work, “No More Hiroshimas,†and other peace posters for the American Friends Service Committee. Suzuki’s bold and imaginative use of color won him numerous awards, including two at the Society of Western Artists show at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. He served on the Berkeley Art Commission and was recognized by the City of Berkeley in 2010. Until recently, he continued to work at his studio on Grant Street in Berkeley, participating in such events as East Bay Open Studios and Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios." – Rafu Shimpu Los Angeles Daily News, Jan. 28, 2016
Tackle Homelessness, NOT the Homeless
by Craig Campbell, Curator at La Peña Cultural Center
Dozens protested San Francisco mayor Ed Lee’s plan to push homeless people out of where Super Bowl festivities are being held. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP
On Feb. 4, 2016 a major protest against the displacement of homeless people was held in San Francisco – AKA, Super Bowl City. Officials have been “cleaning up†the streets of homeless people because of the Super Bowl. Our very own Art Curator, Craig Campbell, was there to report on the protest.
Economic inequality has been the source of discontent for many in the Bay Area. It has driven out much of the San Francisco population from SF as well as much of the Oakland population. This has turned San Francisco in a more expensive city to live than Manhattan, New York, and Oakland into the city with the highest growing housing prices in the USA in 2015.
This all came to a head with the San Francisco hosting the Super Bowl party. For the residents, this was not an event that was held for San Francisco. One issue is that the super Bowl is being held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The bigger issue is the demographic of the individuals attending the event. On Jan. 27 the cheapest tickets for the Super Bowl was $3,989, while the most expensive tickets were $21,402. These became the economic marker for the population invited to celebrate at the Super Bowl party in San Francisco. The event would cost the taxpayers in San Francisco nearly $5,000,000. Continue reading on our blog. . .
If you would like to submit a blog post about what is happening in the community, please email: natalia@lapena.org.
