Latino immigrants use cultural arts to maintain diversity

By Kate Klinck

When people think of the South End, they often think of upscale restaurants and luxury housing. The people at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center are working to bring one more thing to mind--Latino arts.

“There’s such a stigma,” said Javier Torres, the director of the center for Latino arts, “We’re two streets away, but they [neighborhood residents] automatically think they wouldn’t want to come here. The community is very gentrified and segregated.”

As new upscale restaurants, boutiques and luxury housing units are constructed in the South End, non-profits and boutiques in the area maintain diversity by promoting the influence of Latin immigrants though centers for Latino arts, and the importing of products from places such as Argentina.

The Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center, the center for Latino arts, is affiliated with Villa Victoria and the Inquilinos Boricua in Accion in the South End. The goal of the center is to preserve and promote Latino Arts, according to the website. It includes visual art exhibits, dance classes, and musical performances.

“Our primary mission is to have artistic opportunities for residents to enjoy,” Torres said. “We also want to instill in new generations ethnic pride. They need to see whose shoulders we stand on and where we come from to understand where we’re going.”

Another place that is displaying the Latin Influence in the South End is Diseno, a boutique on Harrison Avenue. The store owner, Frank Campanale, searches for products such as animal skins and leather sofas in Argentina, and then brings them back to America. The boutique also has wine tastings every Friday night to promote Argentinean and Chilean wine.

“He opened the store because he thought that there was a market for his products in the South End,” said Melissa Rousseau, a friend of Campanale’s, who watches the store when he travels to South America. “He thought it would be different and unexpected.”

Washington Gateway Main Street is an organization that helps preserve and transform the area, said Linda Royer, the director.

On Nov. 12, the non-profit has scheduled Necktie, a gala fundraiser that will include a silent auction and free food from several South End restaurants. The money will be put toward improving open space on Washington Street as well as up-keep of historic buildings.

Alison Tomisato, the director of events and marketing at Rocca, said that the restaurant participated in the fundraiser because it would promote the making of a dynamic neighborhood.

“The neighborhood is changing for the better,” Tomisato said. “It is a diverse patchwork that is residential, artistic, and it is always growing.”

Alyssa Shepherd, a manager at Toro, said the restaurant wanted to help the non-profit raise money because it is part of the community.

“I don’t think the construction is making [the South End] it more diverse,” Shepherd said. “There is a lot of high-income housing now, but some areas are still diverse.”