About CALACA: Founded in 2003 for the encouragement of community participation in developing art initiatives for preservation and promotion of Latino(a) and Indigenous Cultural Arts. CALACA promotes mutual cultural experiences that are developed from layers of tradition, history and social norms. Calaca embraces community involvement, partnerships and collaborations among small and large cultural organizations and institutions.  

 MISSION: To Preserve & Promote Latino and Indigenous Cultural Arts.

PURPOSE: To Promote Cultural Arts Through Community Arts Initiatives. 

A brief overview of our history: In the Summer of 2003, due to a need to represent Chicano/Latino/Indigenous artists in Arizona, ACLAA (Arizona Coalition of Latin American Artists) was founded, setting a arts movement in Arizona not seen since the 1970's and early 1980's. In September of 2004, a reorganization of ACLAA was done and a new organization was born, CALACA Cultural Center was founded. The Calaca Cultural Center was set to cover a represention of all segments of Latino/Chicano arts, thus forming the basis of an art and culture movement, and setting the foundations of a statewide cultural center for Arizona. A public plan was formed and executed for the Calaca Cultural Center to represent and present the idea of a cultural center to private individuals, organizations, government entities, and others and tool every opportunity to participate in art exhibitions at galleries, community and government facilties, schools, hotels and parks across the Phoenix area and Tucson. It sponsored theatre, music concerts, public art exhibits, and conducted art and cultural workshops as means to promote the concept of a cultural center and gathered public opinion to this concept. A complete historical overview is still on the works and we will tell a full story of our arts movement as part of Latino arts historical archiving.