ABC-7 gets preview of Mexican American Cultural Center
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- This morning ABC-7 received a tour of the new Mexican American Cultural Center located at, located at 201 West Franklin Avenue. The center features an auditorium, black box theater, dance studio, a teaching kitchen, a rooftop event space, classrooms, and exhibition space.
The Mexican American Cultural Center was part of a quality of life bond approved by El Paso voters in 2012.
Ben Fyffe, the Managing Director, Quality of Life Museums & Cultural Affairs Department, says part of the reason the project took 13 years to develop is because of the rollout schedule for the bonds projects that were approved. He also said it took time to learn what the community wanted out of the center.
"Working with the community on this project to really understand what people expected and what they wanted to see in this space. about being a space that celebrates and is active and becomes an incubator for local culture," Fyffe told ABC-7.
Rebecca Muñoz, the director of the Mexican American Cultural Center, says the center is the first of its kind along the U.S.- Mexico Border. She says it's aimed to represent the resiliency of the Mexican American Community in El Paso.
"Some of our families and our parents remember being punished for speaking Spanish in schools. They remember being mistreated in different ways because they were Mexican American. And so this center really reflects that struggle."
Fyffe says this center is needed now in the borderland more than ever.
"We are at a point in our nation's history where conversations about what it means to be American and what that looks like are more fraught and politicized than ever. I think opening a space that celebrates our unique identity at this time, in this particular place regionally means so much for this community," Fyffe said.
The Grand Opening will be held on Saturday March 22, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., marking the opening of the MACC and the newly renovated Cleveland Square Park. After the ceremony, guests are welcome to explore the MACC and enjoy a day filled with festivities, which will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The all-day celebration will take place along Franklin Avenue in Downtown El Paso.
