Center for Latino Arts preserves cultural heritage at UCLA

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music held an inauguration ceremony for the UCLA Center for Latino Arts on Sunday.

The UCLA Center for Latino Arts will expose the UCLA community to Latino art, said professor Steven Loza, director of the UCLA Center for Latino Arts and chair of the department of ethnomusicology.

He said he thinks the center will bring Latinos and non-Latinos together to experience the diversity of Latino culture.

The center plans to collaborate with students from all grades on artistic projects that have educational value, such as music workshops, he said. He added he hopes to invite Cuban scholars and artists to the center and send American scholars to Cuban universities to improve the relationship between the two countries.

The center was created because the Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture, a museum in downtown Los Angeles lacked funding and was operating solely on donations. Loza, who was involved in the museum, said board members proposed the museum become a UCLA center to preserve the museum.

The museum, which is the first museum in the U.S. that showcases elements of Latino culture, will transfer its art to the center, Loza said.

The new center will also include Latino audiovisual arts, such as music, film, dance and theater.

“Latin America is what we call mestizaje, the mixing of race and culture,” Loza said. “And the art reflects this mixture; that is why (Latino art) is so dynamic, rich and strong.”

Loza said he thinks although California boasts a significant Latino population, many Latinos are not educated about their culture in school.

After the inauguration, Loza said the center plans to establish a visitor’s advisory board to garner external financial support for the center.