(Latin music playing) - Good evening and welcome to a Horizonte, a show that takes a look at current issues through a Hispanic lens.

I'm your host, Catherine Anaya.

Tonight we discuss an organization promoting Latino arts.

The Arizona Latino Artist Cultural Center located in downtown Phoenix, celebrates and promotes the Latino presence here in Arizona through the arts, education, and advocacy.

ALAC was founded in 2009 and has since grown into something really special for showcasing the arts and artists in Arizona with a gallery and a store that people from all over the world have been able to experience.

In a moment, I will talk to the leader of that organization, but first here's an inside look at ALAC (Upbeat salsa music playing) (tap dancing sound) (Guitar strumming) (Slow music playing) Elizabeth Toledo is the executive director at the Arizona Latino Artist Cultural Center and she joins us now to talk more about the center.

It's so great to have you back here on Horizonte.

- Well, thank you.

Thank you for inviting me.

- So we saw the vibrancy and the color and just the different expressions of art that takes place at ALAC.

Tell me in your own words, what makes it so unique and special.

- Well, it brings the community together.

And so we are, as a community, we're artists.

Everybody sings, everybody paints, Everybody is doing something that has to do with art.

And when you do something that people can relate to that's what's so special.

And we enjoy it and we love it.

- Well, it shows, definitely.

And we know that supporting artists and education is so critical to the mission behind what you do.

What kind of artists would you say you collaborate most with?

How would you describe their style?

- I most, we mostly collaborate with visual artists, painters, artists.

And so we have different styles.

We have the, the center itself has a few artists that artists and residents that are the ones that we call they're the resident artists.

And so they work with artists that come in and upcoming artists because that is our goal.

Our goal is to promote the local artisans.

And so we help them out, but each and we help people learn their own style and to find their own style to seek it.

How do we find out?

And so, and then how to develop that and make it your own.

- Well, as you mentioned, you work with a lot of established artists, but you also really spend time fostering those emerging artists and really teaching them to connect with maybe the artistry that they didn't really know they had so much of would you say?

- Exactly.

We have there's different artists that we have that have developed and become and are becoming very good artists.

There's one young man, he, he used to deliver sandwiches to us and he saw us working on a mural and he said "I'd like to learn how to do that.

I like art."

And so he came into ALAC, Jose Andres Giron who's one of the founders of ALAC.

He's the one, he and Roman Reyes, are the ones that mentored him and he's Native American.

And he said, your artwork is good.

He says, your style is good but you have to find your style.

You have to find your technique you have to find what you like, and you have to find yourself because what you're painting your themes everybody's doing that.

He was doing what the kids were doing a Scar face, Marilyn Monroe, things like that.

And he said, go home, talk to your elders and find out who you are and then start painting cause you have to paint from your soul.

- Right.

- So his name's Pearson and Pearson started painting from his soul and it's amazing his work and how he has taken off.

And he's one of our resident artists and he's there 24/7 painting all the time.

And he's selling so, which is, that's - That's so wonderful - He's like one of our babies, you know - Yes, yes.

You've, you've raised him so to speak.

- Yes, yes.

- Well, I'm glad you mentioned that He's there 24/7 and painting, because you're located in downtown Phoenix.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Right next to the Phoenix Convention Center.

- Yes.

- So you get people from all over the world who are coming into your gallery.

What are some of the things that they say about their experience there and the times that they walk in and they get to meet the artists who you know is there 24/7 doing their work?

- Well, the artists art, they, they work in La Tindita which is our gift shop.

And La Tindita is all artwork by local artisans.

Everything is handmade by local artisans.

A few pieces from Mexico, like Talaveras and, so they walk in and they're painting as they're, as they're watched for La Tindita, they're painting right there on site.

And so they walk in, they like what they see there and then they say they have the artist there and he's explaining, or she's explaining her art.

They take a tour of the gallery, which is free and they just find it.

And sometimes if we have time, we take them to the studio and there's artists working in the studio.

And that's a big experience.

Everybody loves walking into the, into the studio.

There's something going on back there that it's very special.

- Well, it's, it's that vibrancy and that color and just that authenticity that we saw.

When you mention the, the store and that people are able to go purchase, you know different works of art from the artists.

It's not just paintings right?

- No, it's not just painting.

We teach artists how to market their work.

It's not easy to to buy an original piece, you know, it could be $15,000 but that artist can make t-shirts with prints.

We have paper prints, we have they make t-shirts, purses, aprons, hats.

There's all kinds of stuff that the artists make.

They make little, little prints like this art those are our hottest sales sellers for people who come from out of town.

And those are easy to stick into your - Yes.

- So we have to think of those things cause there's people that travel from all over the world to the Phoenix Convention Center.

So we think of, okay how can this fit in a suitcase without getting damaged?

So we think of different ways of printing and, and, and marketing that.

So there's a lot of things they can find their jewelry.

My gosh.

- Yeah.

So much to offer.

- Yes.

- Tell me a little bit about the energy right now because, like a lot of businesses, local businesses you had to shut down during COVID, you're back now, you had the support of the city of Phoenix.

You know, what is the energy like being back and having people in the gallery Once again?

- It was when the artists came back, we came back like a month before and cleaned everything up and, and and it was sad because the door, the stores had I mean the doors had been closed for quite a while and we had had, we were so excited because the year before we had the whole year booked.

Cause we do a lot of rentals there.

It's also a venue.

There's weddings and all kinds of stuff that go on there.

So we had everything rented and then it everything was canceled.

So of course we went underwater and we didn't know what was gonna happen to us.

And, and it was sad, but at the same time we were happy to see each other.

And the city of Phoenix helped us out and, which was great.

And, but now that we opened the doors and as soon as we opened the doors and we said, a lock is open again come to the, our first Friday, it was like, whoa.

All these people came.

Of course, we were everybody, you know, wearing masks and they were, were like, - Right.

- Still a little bit afraid.

But it was great.

Oh, it was great.

And now and, and now it's this energy where people are connecting again and and are coming out and, you know, it's, that's the great part.

- Well, and it's so good for the exposure of the artists as well, when you have so much going on.

Especially you mentioned first Fridays and I know you have an exhibit coming up that features women artists.

- Yes.

- Can you tell me about that?

- We're gonna, first Friday in March, which is March 3rd we're having our women exhibition open.

It's called, La Mujer, which means women and it's very interesting because it's the it's a month of international for international women.

And so it's very interesting because we get, we get so many we send out a call to artists and we get so many artists wanting to participate.

I have people from Japan that wanna participate.

I got one last night, I said, I was gonna mention it to you.

And of course people from Mexico people from from South America, people from France and and they want to participate.

And it's really exciting.

These are women who have been, some are new some are upcoming, and some have been exhibiting before but they don't get a big opportunity.

- Mm.

- Doors aren't as open to us in the arts to females.

- Why is that?

- I have no idea what that's about.

It's an old custom.

Usually it's the male artists that gets the, you know, okay come on in.

And for us it takes a little bit longer.

You have to really be known.

It's like authors the same thing.

Remember in the 1800s, the authors female authors had to use other names, male names.

And so in order to get published and so artists like ourselves, it takes a little bit longer it's a little bit more challenging.

So when we have a show like this, I want it to be for women.

And sometimes we, we have had in the past a show called Toxic Love, for example, or that has to do with violence against women.

And so there's a lot of emotion that is shown, and artists, We leave our souls on a painting.

And so a painting tells a story.

And so there's a lot that women have to say.

I mean, we're mothers, we're sisters, we're - We're everything - wives, we're daughters we're everything throughout our whole life.

And to be ourselves, it takes time to be yourself.

And to pour that into a painting means a lot.

So women, women in general have a lot to say.

Well, and our, in our community, excuse me - That's okay - to interrupt.

In our community, you know, we are our families are matriarchal.

So we have a lot, a lot to say.

- We sure do.

Powerful stories.

And it all comes through with the artistry.

And that's why it's so important to have a lock in the community.

I wanna let people know where they can find you so that they can find out more information about the exhibit and also all of the wonderful things that you're doing.

And to go see the gallery, please go to ALACArizona.org and that's where you can find out everything you need to know about the wonderful work that you do in our community.

So thank you so much for joining me.

- Thank you.

- It's good to see you.

- Good to see you.

- Thank you.

Well, that's gonna do it for us for tonight, for our show for Horizonte and Arizona PBS, I'm Catherine Anaya.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Have a great night.

(Latin music playing)