The 11th Annual Noche de Altares is set for Saturday, November 2, 2013, from 1 to 10 pm, at 4th and Birch Streets, in Santa Ana.
This event is free to the public. The event includes
You can support this year’s Santa Ana 2012 Noche de Altares (Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos) event by attending the first annual Catrina Ball at Bistro 400, at 9:30 pm. Bistro 400 is located at 400 W. 4th St., in Downtown Santa Ana, by the Federal Courthouse.
El Centro Cultural de Mexico and Calacas are among those who are organizing the Noche de Altares event. They apparently turned down a $10,000 donation from Downtown, Inc., the association that manages the money that is taken from Downtown Santa Ana property owners and spent by a select board. Bravo to El Centro and Calacas for turning down this dirty money! Continue reading
Announcing the 10th Annual Noche de Altares, which will take place on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012, from 1:00pm – 10:00pm., at 4th & Birch Street, Downtown Santa Ana.
Take part in this unforgettable community event by participating as an altar builder in the 10th Annual Noche de Altares! Build an altar dedicated to a loved one or to bring awareness to a social issue.
Schedule of Events: Continue reading
Calcas is hosting the Orange County Dream Team’s 4th Annual Loteria Fundraiser, this Friday night, March 30th, from 6:30-8:30pm. They are asking for a $10 Donation.
Location: Calacas, Inc., located at 324 W. 4th St. #B, in Santa Ana.
Prizes • Snacks • Beverages Continue reading
Thousands of people gathered downtown Saturday afternoon for an annual Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebration that has mushroomed in size over the past nine years, according to the O.C. Register.
The event was masterminded by Jackie and Rudy Cordova, owners of Calacas and the new Calacas Cafe. This was the Ninth Annual Noche de Altares event. Check out Calacas’ Facebook page for pictures of yesterday’s event.
In related news, Belinda De La Libertad has started a new website called “Altares Por Siempre” which will gather pictures of Day of the Dead altars, to forever commemorate the dearly departed. Continue reading
UPDATE: Click here for pictures and a recap of the 2011 Noche de Altares (Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos).
For the 9th year in a row, Centro Cultural de México is organizing Noche de Altares (A Night of Altars/Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos) on Saturday, Nov. 5. This year Centro is proud to present this free event in partnership with Calacas Inc., a Santa Ana business that promotes art and culture through products made by indigenous people living in México and local artisans living in Southern California.
Noche de Altares is a community-based event celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), one of México’s oldest, indigenous festivals. Organized by volunteers, the purpose of the celebration is to honor the ancient traditions of the festival and bring community members together through art, culture, and compassion. Continue reading
Calacas is hosting a “Dia de los Muertos” art exhibit starting tonight, Oct. 1, from 7 to 10 pm. Calacas is located at 324 W. 4th St., in downtown Santa Ana. They are at 4th and Birch, in the West End Theater. Continue reading
Calacas presents a booksigning with Juan Farias Alvarez this Saturday, June 18, from 4 to 6 pm.
Alvarez will be signing his book, “El Paisaje Nocturno”
Free parking! 310 N. Birch Street, in Santa Ana.
For more info email: rudy@calacasinc.com or Juanderfulpoetrypublishing@yahoo.com.
“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” Frida Kahlo ~ July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954
Celebrating Frida! Art Exhibit
Opening: Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
Call for Entry ~ Frida Kahlo Art Exhibit
Calacas is looking for local artists to submit artwork for our next art exhibit: Celebrating Frida! Please pass on to any artists that you may know!
Frida Look-Alike Contest!
Be part of our Frida look-alike contest! Come to the opening reception by 8 pm dressed as Frida for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate from Calacas!
Opening Show Reception: Saturday, July 2nd, 2011, from 6 pm – 10 pm. .Exhibit runs through: 7/6/11
Calacas | 714.662.2002 | 324 W 4th St #B | (in the West End Theater @ 4th & Birch) | Santa Ana | CA | 92701
Our readers have voted, and their Santa Ana Woman of the Year for 2010, is Sarah Rafael Garcia, creator of Barrio Writers, a creative-writing program that encourages students to grow through exposure to the cultural arts and the written word, according to the O.C. Register.
The runner-up in our voting was the O.C. Register’s Therese Cisneros, who does such an awesome job covering all things Latino here in Orange County. You can friend her on Facebook by clicking here.
Jackie Cordova, the co-owner of Calacas, in Santa Ana, came in third. Calacas sells products made in Mexico as well as local artwork. It is a great place to find gifts and fun t-shirts, and great handcrafted art that celebrated our heritage. I must say that Cordova is not only one of the friendliest persons you will ever meet, she also pours her heart and soul into improving downtown Santa Ana. She is very involved in local events and community affairs. You can friend her on Facebook by clicking here.
Gustavo Arellano wrote a nice post about Garcia over at the OC Weekly. Here are a few excerpts from that article:
García figured life in Santa Ana—where she grew up during the 1980s—would’ve gotten better for teenagers when she returned in 2008. She had just released her first novel, Las Niñas, a memoir of growing up in one of the most Latino cities in the United States, after trying the corporate life for a good decade and hating every moment of it. (Seewww.sarahrafaelgarcia.com for more info.) But when she took the stage at Willard Intermediate School to read, García realized nothing had changed—in fact, things were worse. “I was filled with pride thinking I would change young lives with my book,” García says. “But the resources for the kids were so limited. The library where I spoke was small and overcrowded. Language was no longer the only issue that kept them down—it was also immigration status. The teachers didn’t seem to care—you could tell the students wanted to learn, but no one was listening to them.”
García wanted to help change that. She remembered what a social worker gave her at 15, when García’s father passed away: a journal, plus some words of advice (“There’s nothing I can say right now that can make you understand what happened to your dad, so I’m giving you a journal to write your feelings in”). The young García filled that notebook fast. “Writing gives youth an opportunity to have a voice without anyone judging them,” she says. So in 2009, García decided to start Barrio Writers, a summer reading-and-writing workshop for Santa Ana teens.
The O.C. Register also wrote about Barrio Writers. Here are a few excerpts from that article:
Thirty high school and college students signed up for the 10-week program. They met twice a week in Santa Ana to read and reflect on essays written in various styles by a range of authors, including Ray Bradbury, John Steinbeck and Malcolm X.
In the end, 25 students finished the program. Stories by 20 of them made their way into the first edition of “Barrio Writers,” a paperback modeled after the class textbook that touches on topics ranging from death to deportation. Two hundred copies were printed up.
You can buy the Barrio Writers book at Santa Ana’s Calacas. Click here to visit their website. And you can sign up for Garcia’s email list by clicking here.
My wife and I visited tonight’s Santa Ana Art Walk, in downtown Santa Ana, and had a great time. We started our evening with a surprise. The big parking garage just north of the Proof Bar was full. So we drove to the Federal Court parking garage and found a free space there.
We then walked over to Calacas, and checked out their annual Dia de los Muertos exhibit. It was fantastic! They have a lot of great t-shirts and art available for sale. They are located at 324 W. 4th St., Ste. B, in Santa Ana.
Then we walked over to the Santora Building. It was really warm inside but we had a good time visiting the various exhibits and galleries. MC Art Gallery had some terrific sculptures for sale. They also hold art classes on Monday nights. Click here to read about that.
We wrapped up our visit to the Santora and headed out to the CSUF Grand Central Art Center. It was really crowded so we stayed outside and checked out the Southwest Art Car Caravan & Film Tour. The cars on exhibit were incredible, especially the van that was covered in cameras.
Then we headed across the street and visited Rueben Martinez’ bookstore, Libreria Martinez. We got to speak to Rueben and met his family. He has actually authored a book and has a great selection of books for adults and kids, in Spanish and English. He also has a lot of great art on display.
We were getting thirsty now so we headed back across the street to the new Copper Door bar. We had a laugh when the guy at the door checked our I.D.’s. First time that has happened to me in many years.
We met Marta Gumm, one of the owners of the Copper Door. She is so nice! She treated my wife to a strawberry beer that tasted like fresh strawberries! I had a Belgian white beer that was so smooth, with hints of citrus. We also enjoyed a jar of smoked almonds, which was only $3. They have over forty beers! The place is huge and Marta says they are planning a psychedelic Halloween party that should be out of this world! The Copper Door is located at 225 1/2 N Broadway.
We were tuckered out after all that, so we headed back to our car and drove off. We did notice an increased police presence tonight. We also saw the security guards that the folks at Downtown, Inc. pay for. We never felt anything but safe. There were a lot of nice folks out. It was great to see our downtown hustling and bustling!
Jeffery Lee Chung, 23, of Irvine was shot and killed by a robber, in a parking structure nearby a bar called Proof, in downtown Santa Ana, this morning at about 1:30 am, according to ABC News. Chung’s friend ran off. Chung was shot when he resisted the robbers, who got away.
While ABC News is calling this a setback for Santa Ana, I am calling it a random act of violence.
Murder happens. In fact, an 81-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder for allegedly beating to death his 94-year-old roommate at a Laguna Hills nursing home, authorities said Saturday, according to the L.A. Times. This happened at 11:20 pm on Friday.
I am still going to tonight’s Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk with my wife and daughter. And we are going to the Dia de los Muertos exhibit at Calacas too.
But a word to the wise. If someone tries to rob you, give them what they want. Losing your life over a wallet just isn’t over it.
Our sympathies to the Chung family. I truly hope this tragedy won’t dissuade our friends from Irvine from visiting our exciting and fun downtown.
Did you know that in Irvine, violent crime rose 19 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year, according to the O.C. Register?
My wife and I visited our downtown tonight. Click here to read about our evening at the Art Walk. Pictures are below. We had a lot of fun and were quite safe.
Courtesy of our friends at Don Palabraz:
In Southern Cali, last week’s Easter earthquake was a slow and easy roller. But to our hermanos in Mexicali where the epicenter of the 7.2 tremor was, the devastation took much more of a toll. Locally, SolArt and Calacas culture and clothing store will be collection donations to take down across the border this weekend. If you are in and around the Santa Ana area, you can drop off things like bottled water and toilet paper at Calacas during their operating hours all day Sunday. The store is located at 324 W. 4th Street in Santa Ana. Or you could drop an email those provided to the flyer above and arrange for a drop off with SolArt volunteers who will actually be taking the donated supplies down to Mexicali on Sunday.
1st Annual Santa Ana International Music Festival 2009
Casas Guanajuato – Santa Ana, El Centro Cultural de Mexico and Fundacion Yanga Veracruz
Title Sponsor – Downtown Inc.
Where: Downtown Santa Ana 4th Street, Sycamore, Artist Village, Fiesta Marketplace, Yost Theater
When: Saturday November 21, 2009, noon to 9:00 p.m and Sunday November 22, 2009, noon to 8:00 p.m
Entertainment: various musical styles from all over the world, including world music, country, reggae, latin, african drumming, japanese, flamenco, persian, rock, hip hop, native american, colombian, brazilia and much more… Continue reading
Santa Ana’s Calacas store has announced an opening reception for a new Day of the Dead art exhibit coming up this Saturday, Oct. 3, from 7 pm to 10 pm. The festivities will include an appearance by “La Catrina.” The exhibit will run through October 7.
Calacas is located at 324 W. 4th St., in downtown Santa Ana. There is free parking at the structure at 3rd and Birch. You can find out more about this event by calling Calacas at 714-662-2002 or by visiting their website. Continue reading
The Santa Ana Artists Village Open House is this Saturday night!
The Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk is held every first Saturday of the month, rain or shine. The event starts at 7pm and runs through 10 p.m.
This is free for all to attend and enjoy the atmosphere. Come, introduce yourself to a local artist, invite your friends, grab a bite, lot’s to do in Santa Ana Artist’s Village.
Parking can be found in the ‘Artists Village Parking Structure’ at Third Street and Broadway.
Walk through the galleries and studios, see a live performance or just hang out and enjoy the music.
Venues Open: Continue reading