CCATE
¡Viva la comunidad!

The sky is the limit in the journey of the Monarch Butterfly!

Over the last two weeks 45 CCATE students and 20 adults have dedicated their afternoons and evenings to the creation of “Libertad” the Monarch Butterfly; a piñata that represents the powerful symbol of migration. “Indeed there is no better symbol” said community member Carmen Marcet.

The monarch has long been a symbol of migration and has become the iconic image of immigrants rights groups in North America. Each year millions of monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles from the Northern U.S. and Canada to Central Mexico to overwinter, freely crossing borders along their way. The monarch butterfly exemplifies this hope and freedom for migrants who embark on long journeys themselves.

On any given night you could find parents, teachers and students gathered around two tables at the Center of Culture, Art, Training and Education designing, constructing, engineering and painting the hundreds of papier mache pieces that would eventually come together in the beautiful form of “Libertad” the Monarch Butterfly Piñata. Obed Arango, Director and teacher at CCATE said of the process: “In CCATE our collective knowledge is comprehensive and should be shared. What we have discovered as a community is that by joining our talents and dreams we work toward creating a beautiful harmony.”

“The collective creation of a work of art fills me with pride.” said Diana Larisgoitia, another teacher and community member. “I pray that I will be able to work with the community for many years to come.”

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The piñata was on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art last Friday during the annual Feliz Navidad celebration hosted by the Mexican Consulate of Philadelphia and the Mexican Cultural Center of Philadelphia. Along with 6 other piñatas, the monarch butterfly floated high above the great stair hall, spinning in perfect harmony with Alexander Calder’s floating three dimensional mobile ‘Ghost’. The crowd gathered on the stairs swayed and clapped to the music of Jarana Beat, a Mexican Roots music group that fuses elements of Mexico’s African and Amerindian traditions with salsa, cumbia, and other contemporary music in its present-day take on folkloric music. The night ended with a rousing rendition of ‘La rama’ with the adults and children dancing and singing along to the lyrics of the traditional folk song: “Naranjas y limas, limas y limones. Más linda es la Virgen, que todas las flores.”(Oranges and limes, limes and lemons. The virgin is more beautiful, than all of the flowers.”)

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At the end of the festive evening, the CCATE community was awarded the third place prize by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Mexican Consulate of Philadelphia and Mexican Cultural Center of Philadelphia. “It looked impressive” said Arango before departing the museum with a group of CCATE families traveling back to Norristown. “It dominated the sky and gave a powerful message on migration. The community did an amazing job. Viva la comunidad!!!

Photos by Obed Arango and Caitlin Brady

El cielo es el limite en el viaje de la mariposa monarca!

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Durante las últimas dos semanas 45 estudiantes de CCATE y 20 adultos han dedicado sus tardes y noches a la creación de “Libertad” la mariposa monarca; una piñata que representa el poderoso símbolo de la migración. “De hecho no hay mejor símbolo”, dijo una miembro de la comunidad Carmen Marcet.

La mariposa monarca ha sido durante mucho tiempo un símbolo de la migración y se ha convertido en la imagen icónica de los grupos de derechos de los inmigrantes en Norteamérica. Cada año millones de mariposas monarcas emigran 3.000 millas desde el norte de EE. UU. y Canadá hasta el centro de México para invernales, cruzando libremente las fronteras a lo largo de su camino. La mariposa monarca ejemplifica esta esperanza y libertad para los migrantes que se embarcan en largos viajes.

En cualquier noche se puede encontrar padres, maestros y estudiantes reunidos en torno a dos mesas en el Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación diseñando, construyendo, ingeniando y pintando los cientos de piezas de papel maché que finalmente se juntan en la hermosa forma de “Libertad” la piñata de mariposa monarca. Obed Arango, director y profesor de CCATE dijo del proceso: “El conocimiento debe ser integral e integrado. Lo que como comunidad hemos descubierto es que al poner los talentos y los sueños juntos vamos creando con una armonía preciosa.”

“El proceso colectivo de creación de una obra de arte me llena de orgullo” dijo Diana Larisgoitia, otra maestra y miembro de la comunidad.”Rezo para poder acompañar por muchos anos mas.”

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La piñata se exhibió en el Museo de Arte de Filadelfia el pasado viernes durante la reunión anual de la “Feliz Navidad” celebración organizada por el Consulado Mexicano de Filadelfia el Centro Cultural Mexicano de Filadelfia. Junto con otros 6 piñatas, la mariposa monarca flotó por encima de la gran sala de escaleras, girando en perfecta armonía con el movil flotante tridimensional “Ghost” de Alexander Calder. La multitud reunida en las escaleras, bailó y aplaudió la música de Jarana Beat, un grupo musical mexicano que fusiona elementos de las tradiciones africanas y amerindias de México con salsa, cumbia y otra música contemporánea. La noche terminó con una interpretación de la canción folclórica tradicional ‘La Rama’ con los adultos y los niños bailando y cantando junto a la letra de la canción “Naranjas y limas, limas y limones. Más linda es la Virgen, que todas las flores.”

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Al final de la noche festiva, la comunidad de CCATE fue reconocido con el tercer premio del Museo de Arte de Filadelfia, el Consulado Mexicano de Filadelfia y el Centro Cultural Mexicano de Filadelfia. “Se veía imponente” dijo Arango antes de salir del Museo con un grupo de familias de CCATE viajando de regreso a Norristown. “Dominaba en lo alto y daba un mensaje poderoso de migración. La comunidad hizo un trabajo increíble. Viva la comunidad!!!”

Fotos por Obed Arango y Caitlin Brady

News Release
For Immediate Release
December 5, 2018

Media Contact:

Cathy Bartch, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Latin American & Latino Studies Program
411 McNeil Building, 3718 Locust Walk
University of Penns

Penn Model OAS program travels to Washington D.C. bringing Philadelphia and Norristown public high school students to represent the delegation of Chile; Program wins top award

Philadelphia and Norristown High School Students participating in the Penn Model Organization of American States (OAS) Program successfully represented the delegation of Chile at the 37th Model OAS General Assembly for High Schools at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. from November 28th to November 30th.

The Penn Model OAS program won the 2018 Model OAS Award for the program’s community engagement and outreach in making the Model OAS program accessible to more students in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

“We were honored to win this prestigious award that recognized our efforts in engaging local high school students in our program,” said Catherine Bartch, Associate Director of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, which houses the Penn Model OAS program.

The Penn Model OAS program is multi-year, university-community based program that links Penn university students, Philadelphia District (PSD) high school students, and Norristown-area high school students who attend educational programming at the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación (CCATE). The students are engaged in collaborative teaching, research, and service.

Created by the Latin American and Latino Studies program, the Penn Model OAS Program is built around two LALS undergraduate courses that allow students to participate in conferences that mirror the activities and public policy making of the OAS.

As part of the program, Penn undergraduates and public high school students represent OAS member countries at conferences in Washington DC during the spring and fall semesters. They prepare resolutions, negotiate with other representatives, and are given access to the OAS staff and its member missions.

The Penn undergraduates have been teaching and working together with the high school students in a fall semester course entitled Democracy in Trouble: OAS to the Rescue? Each week a group of Penn students has led the structured, active, in-class (SAIL) exercises on one of the four main pillars of the OAS – democracy, human rights, security, and development to prepare the high school students for the Model OAS in D.C.

The “Democracy in Trouble” course provides an interactive framework for learning in which university students mentor the high-schoolers and, in turn, clarify their own knowledge by the process of teaching it to others.

Maria (Francesca) Arruda de Amaral (’20), the Teaching Assistant for the course, commented that “the class is different from many others because it employs a structured, in-class, active learning pedagogy where undergraduates learn from developing curriculum they carry out.”

The High School Model OAS General Assembly (MOAS) in D.C. is a simulation exercise of the proceedings of the annual regular sessions of the General Assembly of the OAS. During the conference, high school students engage in general debate, lobbying, negotiation, and participate in working groups to adopt resolutions that tackle several issues across the Americas such as sustainable development, discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation, big data initiatives, and corruption.

“Meeting people from different parts of the world really expanded my perspective on how big the world is. Meeting people form Belize, Puerto Rico, and other places opened me up to new ideas and experiences that I was not exposed to before.”

“The work wasn’t just for fun, it actually had meaning behind it, [because] it will actually serve as a prototype or guide to the actual OAS.” said Diego Ledesma, one of the high school students from Norristown and the CCATE program who participated in the MOAS program. “They told us that they went over the resolutions and took them into consideration,” he added.

Diego Ledesma represented the delegation of Chile in the Fourth Committee where he engaged in debate about harnessing big data for development and humanitarian action. With his working group, he wrote up a resolution that served to provide solutions to the issue at hand.

“I believe this program is crucial in helping these high school students understand the issues plaguing the region today, as well as enhancing their critical thinking skills and come up with realistic solutions to these problems,” said Eva Lardizabal (’20), a current Penn undergraduate majoring in Political Science who is enrolled in the course.

“It was also very rewarding for me as an undergraduate to watch the high schoolers put into practice what we have taught them all semester” added Lardizabal. Eva Lardizabal has also participated in the college iteration of the Model OAS conference (WMOAS) while she was enrolled in International Organizations in Latin America course last spring, another component of the Penn Model OAS Program.

The Penn Model OAS receives generous funding, support, and resources from the following partners: Fox Leadership International, Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Penn Global, and the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo, y Educación (CCATE), a community organization.

“This cohort of 11 extremely committed, intelligent, and creative high school students would not have had the opportunity to participate in the Model OAS program in D.C., or meet with the Secretary General or visit to Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, without the generous support of the University of Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Tulia Falleti, Director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program.

“We feel privileged that our program has the opportunity to engage and work with local public high school students, and to deepen ties with their schools and community organizations, such as CCATE,” said Dr. Falleti.

“Most importantly, we are thrilled that we can educate and instill and a sense of the importance of Latin America and democracy among youth at a very young age,” added Dr. Falleti.

Obed Arango Hisijara, the Executive Director of CCATE, the non-profit organization in Norristown dedicated to the empowerment of the Latinx community via art, work, and education said “the students of the [Penn Model OAS program in partnership with CCATE] are immigrants or son or daughters of Latin American immigrants.” He said “[T]his opportunity for them, and their parents is very meaningful and represents a landmark because it closes gaps and open opportunities.”

In the upcoming academic year, LALS will be doing research and evaluation, including developing a participatory research program, to evaluate the impact of Penn Model OAS on high school students’ education and civic and global engagement.

To learn more about the Penn Model OAS program, please contact lals@sas.upenn.edu for more information or visit the website here: https://lals.sas.upenn.edu/welcome-penn-model-oas

Cathy Bartch, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Latin American & Latino Studies Program
411 McNeil Building, 3718 Locust Walk
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6209
Tel: 215-898-9919
Email: bartch@upenn.edu

By Dr. Cathy Bartch

Associate Director of Latin American and Latinx Studies of the University of Pennsylvania and Board Member of CCATE

The Penn Model Organization of American States (OAS) program won the 2018 Model OAS award in Washington D.C. for its efforts in engaging Philadelphia and Norristown public high school students in the 37th Model OAS General Assembly for High Schools at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. from November 28th to November 30th.

We want to thank our partners — Fox Leadership International, Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, Penn Arts & Sciences, Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Perry World House for making this possible! We also want to thank our community and school partners including Central High School, Bodine High School for International Affairs, and the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación CCATE for all of their support.

The High School Model OAS General Assembly (MOAS) in D.C. is a simulation exercise of the proceedings of the annual regular sessions of the General Assembly of the OAS. During the conference, the high school students engaged in general debate, lobbying, negotiation, and participated in working groups to adopt resolutions that tackled several issues across the Americas such as sustainable development, discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation, big data initiatives, and corruption.

Cada semana las maestras Mariana y Caitlin ofrecen la clase de jardinería y cocina para que nuestros estudiantes prueban cosas nuevas, celebran sus raíces culturales, aprendan como cocinar sus propios cultivo y realizan elecciones mas saludables y nutritivas para ellos mismos y sus familias. Cada mes durante este semestre vamos a publicar recetas que hacemos con nuestros estudiantes. Este mes estamos explorando tópicos en nutrición y hicimos dos recetas que se puede dar ideas para el desayuno, el almuerzo, la cena y snacks nutritivos. A disfrutar!

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Ensalada de Nopales
El nopal es un tipo de cactus comestible, muy popular en la gastronomía mexicana, que tiene numerosos beneficios para la salud. El nopal cactus es un simbolo nacional de Mexico que aparece en la bandera nacional y que se puede encontrar creciendo en muchas regiones del país. Este cactus es rico en vitaminas A hasta C y contiene minerales como el potasio, el magnesio y el calcio. Otra de las características fundamentales de esta planta es que tiene un alto contenido en agua y es muy rico en fibra, por lo que hace que sea un buen aliado para facilitar las digestiones. La forma de obtener los beneficios de esta planta es tomando su jugo o extracto, comiéndolos cocinados, ya sea en ensaladas, en guisos u otro tipo de preparaciones (una vez limpios de espinas, claro está!)

Ingredientes
3 libras de nopales pelados
1 libra de jitomates
½ cebolla
1 manojo de cilantro de preferencia largo de cañita
Aguacate al gusto
Chile en vinagre o chile serrano(opcional)
1 cucharadita de sal o al gusto
1 cucharada de carbonato

Pasos
Limpia y corta los nopales en cuadritos. Luego pones agua a hervir y luego agregas una cucharada de carbonato. Despues agregas los nopales ya que el agua este hirviendo. Luego los dejas hervir por 10-15 minutos hasta que esten blanditos. Los retiras inmediatemente del agua y los cuelas. Despues picas el jitomate, cilantro, cebolla, y chile opcional picadito, agregas aguacate al final de todo, ya que lo haigas mezclado todos los ingredientes. Le agregas sal a tu gusto y listo!

Agua de Jamaica
Agua de Jamaica es un típico agua fresca para acompañar la comida del mediodía en México. Es dulce, tarta, deliciosa y realmente refrescante todo al mismo tiempo. Es una de las varias aguas frescas comunes, como agua de pepino, agua de Tamarindo y agua de piña, que son deliciosas bebidas hechas a partir de zumos frescos o extractos. Hibiscus está lleno de vitamina C, minerales y antioxidantes, así como compuestos naturales que ayudan a reducir la hipertensión y bajar el colesterol.

Ingredientes
¼ libra Flor de rosa de jamaica deshidratada
1 galones de agua
1 taza de azucar o miel de agave; endulces a tu gusto
Hielo a su gusto

Pasos
Pones un media galon de agua a remojar o hervir el los flores de jamaica una hora antes. Despues se cuela el liquido, y deja los flores al lado. Mezcla el liquido de jamaica con el resto de agua(medio galon). Mezclas con azucar o miel de agave(es opcional). Se pone hielo y a disfrutar!

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Papas a la Huacaina
Papas a la Huancaína es un aperitivo peruano de papas amarillas hervidas en una salsa picante y cremosa llamada salsa huancaína. A pesar de que el nombre del plato se deriva de Huancayo, una ciudad en el altiplano peruano, este plato es de Lima-Perú. Se ha convertido en un elemento básico de la cocina diaria y festiva en todo el país. Se sirve típicamente frío sobre hojas de la lechuga y adornado con las aceitunas negras, los granos blancos del maíz y los cuartos duros del huevo hervidos. La salsa está elaborada con queso fresco, aceite vegetal, ají amarillo, leche evaporada y sal mezclada en una licuadora.

Ingredientes
4 ajies amarillos sin venas y cortados
1 taza de leche evaporada
300 gr. o mas de Queso fresco
1/2 taza de Aceite de la mejor calidad vegetal
1/2 paquete de galletas de soda
sal al gusto

Guarnición
Lechugas frescas
Aceitunas moradas o verdes
4 huevos duros
Unas tiritas de pimientos rojos si desea
3 a 4 papas cocidas de regular tamaño(peladas y cortadas en rodajas)

Pasos
Limpiar y desvenar los ajies. Luego los cortas en trozos. En el vaso de la licuadora se colocan los ajíes, luego agregas la leche, el aceite y tambien agregas el queso fresco cortado en trocitos.Echas sal al gusto poquito nomas…Licuas para mesclar todo bien por unos 3 minutos. De alli agregas las galletas y licuas en alta velocidad para que te salga bien cremosito ..no debe salir aguado. Se sirve sobre las hojas de lechuga. Colocamos unas 3 rodajitas de papas. Agrega la crema y luego se adorna con rodajas de huevo duro y aceitunas o pimientos en tiritas muy finas. A disfrutar!

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Vaso Loco
Las jicamas, los pepinos y melones son muy hidratantes por que tiene cantidades alta de agua. Los pepinos y melones tienen altas cantidades de vitamina K, vitamina B, cobre, potasio, vitamina C y manganeso pueden que ayuda a evitar las deficiencias de nutrientes.La jicama tambien esta llena de vintaminas y minerales importantes. Comer jícama combate el colesterol alto y los triglicéridos. Es un efectivo antidiabético, por su activa potencia hipoglicemia para reducir el nivel de azúcar en la sangre.Elige jícamas con cáscara lisa y que se sientan pesadas. Una buena jícama pesa entre 500 g y 1 kg. Entre más grande sea la jícama, la textura será más gruesa y su ligero sabor dulce será menor.

Ingredientes
2 jicamas pequenas o una grande
2 pepinos
1 melon
1 Limon
Chamoy a su gusto
Tajin a su gusto
1 bolsa mediana de churritos de maiz
1 bolsita de cacahuates japoneses
1 paquetito de salsa gettis o tamarindo de su gusto

Pasos
Picar toda la frutas y verduras en cubos o en rebanaditas largas de su preferencia. Mezcla todo en un bol grande y agregas el jugo de limon, el chamoy, un poco de tajín, le agregas los churritos, los cacahuates, el salsa getti or tamarindo y los mezclas. Reparte en vasos. A disfrutar!

Tortillas de Colores
Ingredientes para la masa:
Maseca
Agua
Manteca de cerdo o aceite de oliva(opcional)
Un poco de sal

Tortillas Anaranjadas:
1 taza de Chile Guajillo(hervidos en agua hasta que esten blanditos)
¼ de cebolla
Diente de ajo
(Licua todo)

Tortillas Verdes:
Manojo de Espinacas, licuados

Tortillas Rojas:
3 betabeles, pelados,hervidos y licuados

Tortillas de Frijol Negro:
2 tazas de frijoles negros machucados
Diente de ajo
¼ de cebolla
Una rama de Epazote
(Licua todo)

Pasos
Cada ingrediente de cada tortilla de color se licua con un poquito de agua y se mezcla con la maseca, manteca y sal. Prepara las tortillas en el comal. Las tortillas de betabel se puede hacer dulce y en vez de sal agrega azucar.

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Lentejas a la mexicana
Originaria del suroeste asiático, es una legumbre rica en hidratos de carbono, hierro y vitamina B, su aporte en fibra es menor que el resto de legumbres. Su bajo contenido en grasa es recomendable para regular los niveles de colesterol en sangre. En cualquier caso debemos comprobar que están enteras y desprenden un olor fresco, con un ligero aroma a nueces. Las lentejas reducen el colesterol, son buenas para diabéticos, ayudan a la digestión!

Ingredientes
1 bolsa de lentejas verdes
1/2 cebolla picado
2-3 dientes de ajo picado
4-5 jitomates picados
4 ramitas cilantro macho picado
Una charolita chorizo
8 salchichas de pavo
Una pizca de sal
Una pizca de pimienta

Pasos
Hierve las lentejas en agua con una pizca de sal por media hora. Pica finamente el ajo. Corta la cebolla y los jitomates en cuadros pequeños. Pica el cilantro. Pon un sarten a calentar. Frie el chorizo hasta cocerlo. Agrega la cebolla y el ajo. Después agrega el jitomate y dejalo sofreir. Agrega la salchicha y sofreirla. Despues agregas las lentejas ya cocidas con su agua. Espera que hierva todo junto y al final agregas el cilantro. A disfrutar!

Camotes Asados con Nueces y Cajeta
El cultivo del camote, que es nativo del Perú, data del año 750 A.C. Existen alrededor de 400 variedades de camotes, unos más extraños que otros, diferenciados por su color de piel y carne, variando desde color crema, amarillo, y anaranjado hasta rosa o morado. Su color anaranjado profundo es más que simplemente diferente a la papa blanca; es una de las indicaciones del beta-caroteno presente, que se muestra en varios estudios que es especialmente abundante en los camotes. La vitamina A por porción es parecido al de las verduras de hojas verdes proveyendo 769% del valor diario por porción. Especialmente en vista de su alto contenido de azúcar, un hecho sorpresivo del camote es su capacidad de ayudar a regular el azúcar en la sangre, hasta en pacientes de diabetes de tipo 2.

Ingredientes
2 camotes
Nueces de su preferencia
Cajeta
Aluminio

Pasos
Corta los camotes en rebanadas. Envuelvan 2-3 pedazos en una hoja de aluminio. Cocen encima de la parilla o al horno hasta que esten tiernos. Sacan de alumino y sirven con nueces y cajeta. A disfrutar!

Ohtli Prize Reception Speech

By Obed Arango and Holly Link

11-20-2018

Consul Alicia Kerber, friends, friends, brothers and sisters who are with us today. Today is a day of celebration for the CCATE community. Today is a day that we celebrate love. The love that Martin Luther King referred to, such as “Communities of love” or “the Beloved community”.

Today we receive this award thinking about Mexico, in Mexico there and in Mexico here. We receive this prize thinking about our homeland, Latin America there, and Latin America here. We receive this prize thinking about the thousands and thousands of refugee children and migrants around the world, including those who are in this country in need of beloved communities. We receive this prize with a vision that’s local, regional, national and international, knowing that what we do here at the local level can influence the global. As Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, reminds us, education has to be dialogical, an education in which everyone learns and everyone teachers, one in which everyone reflects and shares and in which we declare: all of the knowledge of the world for everyone and from everyone. This is only possible through what Freire reminds us – Love.

At CCATE we decided from the beginning that love would be our guide, that every effort, every word, every action, every purpose, would be guided by love. That’s why today CCATE is joined by more than 24 volunteer teachers who teach 32 weekly classes that reach 275 families with at least one member on CCATE. How is it possible that with such limited resources, CCATE does such work? The answer is LOVE.

As a university professor who has been teaching for 27 years, I know the importance of having university partnerships and support for places like CCATE. We are thrilled to have the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Montgomery County Community College, Eastern University and Cabrini University walk down this road with us.. That love and solidarity has made it possible that this fall, 4 of our high schoolers have been attending a course at the University of Pennsylvania in collaboration with Drs. Tulia Falleti, Cathy Bartch, and the Organization of American States….that mentors from many of our college partners work with CCATE students each week. And that we have interns at the undergraduate and masters level that work with us behind the scenes on CCATE’s growth and development. What has propelled all of this work is love.

In the last four years CCATE has made 5 murals with historical, ecological themes that promote peace, justice and dialogue, with the participation of no less than 400 members and friends of CCATE. Our of our 12 short film productions, six have been awarded in local film competitions. How is that possible? With love.

In the last 4 years CCATE has developed a deep love for the environmental health and well-being of our community, with the support of Ann Stillwell, the John James Audubon Center, Greener Partners, the Food Trust, the Norristown municipality and school district, and the University of Pennsylvania. CCATE families and students have explored the air, water and soil quality of Norristown, learning not only to take care of the environment, but also proposing and making important changes at the center; we have, also, learn about nutrition, health and food. Through such projects we have developed a deep love not just for our environment, but also for integrating the arts, health, nutrition and sciences.

It is love that motivates each volunteer teacher at CCATE to get up every morning, and in their busy schedules, finding the time to spent a few hours each week to teach at CCATE – to motivate a love for reading in children, to teach them to paint and draw, to teach them ceramics, theater, cello, violin, guitar, piano, music production, to have dedicated classes for girls empowerment, to work on SAT preparation, to kick a soccer ball, to learn to win and lose, to learn to live together, to respect each other, to love each other as sisters and brothers, and to create a free space for free minds in an atmosphere of love, affirmation and dialogue.

It is out of love that CCATE’s relationships with the representatives of our consulate and local governments and the school district are positive, constructive relationships, always focusing on doing our best, working on the complex challenges we face. We want to be part of the solution, which we believe is often through art, a lot of art in and around this town. We want this art to cross over regional and national borders, helping make Norristown a center for the arts.

It is the support of foundations, philanthropists and local enterprises that support CCATE to works towards our dreams every day. Thank you all! Because that love is manifested in financial, material and labor resources, we appreciate your recent and continuing support in the search for our own building that we are close to obtaining. Thank you.

It is love that motivates each mother and father of CCATE to push this community to continue growing, to read, to paint, to create, to surprise the world with their hands and talents. It is love that drives the board of directors to fight for the dreams of everyone, to have CCATE always in excellent condition in every way. It is love that drives Dr. Holly Link to dedicate her talent, her focus on each girl and boy, and from her wisdom and experience to be the driving force for educational innovation at CCATE. She, together with Diana Lugo,  and the team of parent leaders guide this director of a thousand dreams and a thousand errors as we move forward. It is the love of all of these leaders that give us balance, and through CCATE families, students, mentors and teachers reinvent this space each day.

Finally, although it is impossible for me to mention everyone that has made CCATE possible, I would like to say that CCATE was born not just in my own dreams, but of two girls and a mother who are able to be with us today, the Arango Kautz family. Kathy, Haruko and Christy, saw me dreaming and shared that dream with me, stars in my eyes in 2006, when I discovered myself an immigrant and told them one winter afternoon, deeply missing Mexico, as I pointed to an abandoned building: girls one day we will found there a cultural center so that all of us can achieve our dreams, so that immigrant community can exist. It was out of love that they believed in me and continue to believe.

May our commitment always be love in all facets of our life. And at CCATE, that love is greater than any other resource. In this way we will always say: Long live the community!