Westwood’s Día de los Muertos Festival will honor loved ones, traditions and the future
Día de los Muertos officially starts Nov. 1 but the celebration, preservation and reclamation of the holiday begins Nov. 3 in Westwood.
Día de los Muertos officially starts Nov. 1 but the celebration, preservation and reclamation of the holiday begins Nov. 3 in Westwood.
Starting Friday, Hecho en Westwood, Re:Vision, In Lak’ech Denver Arts and other Westwood partners will close down Morrison Road and throw a three-day street festival to immerse Denverites in the holiday’s cultural history and its transcendence to modern times.
City Council approves eight grant agreements to organizations that provide food and food education to Denver youth
Eight organizations will receive a combined $10.7 million in funding from Denver to continue providing food and food education to youth in their respective communities.
On Monday, City Council approved eight grant proposals between the City and the organizations through the Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids Initiative.
Meet the Brothers Revitalizing Ancestral Mexican Foodways in Denver
By tapping into the ritualistic flavors of fire and smoke, chefs Alejandro and Alberto Rodriguez are diversifying Mexican cuisine in Colorado. The brothers’ food and beverage business, Dos Caras, is dedicated to using pre-colonial cooking techniques from Mexico “to show deference to our community and culture,” as Alberto says. The results are fiery jarred salsas, corn tortillas nixtamalized with wood ash, and various takeaway snacks that the pair sell at farmers’ markets and pop-ups across the Front Range.
Cinco de Mayo has been distorted into a day of drinking. Denver groups are reclaiming the holiday’s true meaning.
The original intent of Cinco de Mayo was to celebrate Mexico’s pride and fight for sovereignty and autonomy during the early 1860s.
Reclaiming that pride is one of the goals of “Cinco de Mayo en Westwood,” a free community celebration Saturday on Morrison Road (between Osceola Street and Meade Street) in front of the RISE Westwood Campus. It runs from noon to 7 p.m.
Westwood Celebrates History and Community at Cinco de Mayo Event
Activists in the primarily Mexican-American Westwood neighborhood want to change that, and for the third year in a row, community partners there are holding a wide-ranging celebration of their culture.
For decades, the history and heritage behind the celebration of Cinco de Mayo has often been drowned out by marketing from big beer companies. Activists in the primarily Mexican-American Westwood neighborhood want to change that, and for the third year in a row, community partners there are holding a wide-ranging celebration of their culture. The event is free to attend and takes places this Saturday, May 6, led by the food-, aid- and art-focused business collective Hecho en Westwood. We discussed the event with several leaders of the movement, which is shining a light on the art and culture thriving on the streets of southwest Denver today.
Festival del Mole and La Noche de Frida head to Westwood this weekend to celebrate delicious food and woman empowerment
Frida Kahlo, woman empowerment, local artists, chefs and mole, gallons upon gallons of mole, will collide this weekend for two events at the RISE Westwood Campus at 3738 Morrison Road.
Frida Kahlo, woman empowerment, local artists, chefs and mole, gallons upon gallons of mole, will collide this weekend for two events at the RISE Westwood Campus at 3738 Morrison Road.
On Friday, Hecho en Westwood, Re:Vision and other Westwood partners will honor Kahlo’s legacy and three local women who have made significant contributions to the community at La Noche de Frida, a community award and fundraising dinner.
Birria ramen and kimchi tacos: The Saigon Azteca Night Market will fuse Asian and Latino cultures in Westwood this Friday
“This event is just our first one, but we hope it can continue for many years to come,” Luong said. “Who knows, maybe this can help preserve this area. Like just letting the city know that this area cannot be pushed out because these cultural things all happen here.”
Two communities in the Westwood neighborhood are coming together to throw a culturally fused night market filled with food, dancing, vendors and, most importantly, unity.
On Friday night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the inaugural Saigon Azteca Night Market will take over the RISE Westwood Campus, at 3738 Morrison Rd. A combination of Latino and Asian culture will be on full display. (Full disclosure: Denverite is a media partner of the event.)
Think lion dancers twirling between Aztec dancers. Tacos topped with kimchi
Festival del Mole and La Noche de Frida head to Westwood this weekend to celebrate delicious food and woman empowerment
About a dozen chefs will be earning that recognition Saturday as they present their variation of mole. Ronkanen said folks will see common mole such as mole poblano and mole Oaxaca. There’s mole negro and amarillo. One local chef will have mole blanco, which uses white chocolate. And remember, not all mole has chocolate in it, like mole tamarind, a sweeter mole that uses tamarind pulp which may also make an appearance on Saturday.
Hecho and Re:Vision are hosting the event as part of their ancestral food series that focuses on bringing traditional indigenous cuisines to the table while also educating participants on the food’s history.
“Mole is so unique to everyone’s background, where they’re from, what part of Mexico they are from, and that’s what I love about this event. It allows people to really showcase that,” said Damaris Ronkanen, the owner of Cultura Chocolate and founder of Hecho en Westwood. “This isn’t just famous chefs from all over Denver coming together here. It’s actual women from the community sharing their family recipes. I feel like often it’s women like that that don’t get the recognition or support they deserve.”
Aalycia Rodriguez is representing Westwood and Mexican culture as Cinco de Mayo’s featured artist
“My mom’s from here and she grew up in that time where people were pushed to be more Americanized, so I never learned Spanish growing up. I never learned about my ancestors,” Rodriguez said. “I was very disconnected from my culture as a kid. My mom tried her hardest to educate me as much as she could… but now I know I’m indigenous. I’m Chicana. I’m a woman. I’m just so many different things.”
Aalycia Rodriguez first discovered she could paint when she was 16 years old. She had always been “artistically inclined,” creating crafts with her mom around their Westwood home.
But picking up a paint brush started her love of art and, unintentionally, her desire to find liberation.
Fast forward to today and Rodriguez is 19 years old, spreading her desire and love through her artwork and teachings. She’s also the featured artist at this year’s “Cinco de Mayo en Westwood.” The free event at the RISE Westwood Campus on Saturday is hosted by Hecho en Westwood, Re:Vision and In Lak’ech Denver Arts, where Rodriguez teaches weekly visual arts classes for students in fifth grade and up.
Denver chef makes traditional barbacoa in Westwood neighborhood
No part of the animal goes to waste. The bones are used to make broths, and the charcoal in the pit becomes compost for the garden at Re:Vision, a nonprofit based in Westwood. The Re:Vision campus is where Avila prepares the lamb in the commercial kitchen and cooks it in a permanent barbacoa pit.
Throughout Mexico, there are different types of barbacoa. The one Jose Avila grew up eating was barbacoa de borrego, or lamb barbacoa, originating from Hidalgo.
When he moved to Colorado and began working in kitchens, he couldn’t find any chefs or restaurants making traditional barbacoa the way it’s done in Hidalgo. Two years ago, he decided to become the first in the Denver metro area.
Avila started El Borrego Negro, a Sunday popup offering barbacoa by the pound. He cooks one full lamb each week.
“This is more about the passion and the love, and it’s super personal for me to re-create a piece of my childhood every weekend," Avila said. "I think that is super neat and super cool. I am super happy that I get to experience that on a daily basis."
Since its inception, Avila’s cooking has gained national recognition. He was recently named a finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards.
Nonprofit fighting food insecurity by planting urban gardens in backyards
Re:Vision's nonprofit initiative helps struggling families with little access to grocery stores and fresh foods to cultivate gardens in their own yards.
In Denver's Westwood neighborhood, one nonprofit is fighting food insecurity by bringing access to fresh foods directly to families – planted right in their backyards.
In an area where there are not enough grocery stores to meet demand, this neighborhood relies on the community to fill the food gap, along with help from the nonprofit Re:Vision.
How this nonprofit in Westwood is avoiding being gentrified out of the area
This month, Re:Vision, a Westwood nonprofit that focuses on improving food access and food security, and the Urban Land Conservancy, a real estate nonprofit that aims to preserve communities and prevent displacement, announced they’d be collaborating through a real estate partnership that allows each organization, especially Re:Vision, to continue benefiting the westside.
This month, Re:Vision, a Westwood nonprofit that focuses on improving food access and food security, and the Urban Land Conservancy, a real estate nonprofit that aims to preserve communities and prevent displacement, announced they’d be collaborating through a real estate partnership that allows each organization, especially Re:Vision, to continue benefiting the westside.
One block in Denver’s COVID economy: The largely Latinx Westwood got help late in the pandemic, but businesses are holding strong
Padilla and Cintron were two of ten business owners we spoke to along Morrison, on the block between Meade Street and Custer Place that’s at the heart of Westwood’s Mexican cultural district. We’re trying to understand how people who make their livelihoods in Denver have fared over the last year.
… Padilla and Cintron were two of ten business owners we spoke to along Morrison, on the block between Meade Street and Custer Place that’s at the heart of Westwood’s Mexican cultural district. We’re trying to understand how people who make their livelihoods in Denver have fared over the last year…
All six businesses on Welton Street, which we profiled last week, received some sort of loan or grant in the worst of the pandemic. But the story was a little different on Morrison Road. Four of the ten people we spoke to said they did not receive emergency support, and many of them told us access was an issue in this area dense with Latinx-owned businesses.
Westwood microbusinesses join collective to maintain dream, thrive during pandemic
DENVER — There is strength in numbers. Members of Rise Westwood Collective can attest to that.
Damaris Ronkanen, owner of Cultura Chocolate, a Latina owned "bean to bar" chocolate making company, says individually the microbusinesses that are part of the collective would have struggled to survive during the pandemic. Together, they have thrived.
Westwood artist Santiago Jaramillo connects community and heritage
Recently, Jaramillo has returned to the streets of Westwood; but this time, his intentions are vastly different. His most recent project was designing and constructing Plaza Mexica, a local gathering space owned and operated by Re:vision, a local non-profit food cooperative.
Re:Vision works to bring fresh food into the food desert that is Westwood via a locally supplied grocery store and a backyard garden program that, collectively, makes the neighborhood home to the second largest urban garden in America. Their goal, similar to Jaramillo’s and that of D3 Arts, is to empower the community by encouraging economic and personal autonomy.
Jaramillo began working with Re:vision a few years after their opening. Since his first conversation with Re:vision founder Eric Kornacki, Jaramillo has created over four full wall murals for Re:vision.
The Plaza Mexica is a brightly painted amphitheater with yellow and red Aztec figures adorned with multicolored headdresses dancing across the walls. The paintings are largely inspired by Jaramillo’s heritage and are often brightly colored contemplations on origin, the environment, and ancestry.
Recently, Jaramillo has returned to the streets of Westwood; but this time, his intentions are vastly different. His most recent project was designing and constructing Plaza Mexica, a local gathering space owned and operated by Re:vision, a local non-profit food cooperative.
Re:Vision works to bring fresh food into the food desert that is Westwood via a locally supplied grocery store and a backyard garden program that, collectively, makes the neighborhood home to the second largest urban garden in America. Their goal, similar to Jaramillo’s and that of D3 Arts, is to empower the community by encouraging economic and personal autonomy.
Jaramillo began working with Re:vision a few years after their opening. Since his first conversation with Re:vision founder Eric Kornacki, Jaramillo has created over four full wall murals for Re:vision.
The Plaza Mexica is a brightly painted amphitheater with yellow and red Aztec figures adorned with multicolored headdresses dancing across the walls. The paintings are largely inspired by Jaramillo’s heritage and are often brightly colored contemplations on origin, the environment, and ancestry.
DSW 2020: The Westwood Revolution
Re:Vision, XATRUCHO Concepts, and Cultura Craft Chocolate chat with Sterling Rice Group for Denver Startup Week.
Healthy Food for Denver's Kids Grantees
The Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids (HFDK) Commission awarded $5,961,555 in grant funding to feed Denver’s children and provide education about food and nutrition. The funds were distributed through HFDK’s first round of competitive grants to non-profits and local government agencies, including DPS, who lead community-based food programs.
The Healthy Food for Denver’s Kids (HFDK) Commission awarded $5,961,555 in grant funding to feed Denver’s children and provide education about food and nutrition. The funds were distributed through HFDK’s first round of competitive grants to non-profits and local government agencies, including DPS, who lead community-based food programs.
CI Volunteers at Re:Vision Westwood’s No Cost Grocery Program
I wipe the sweat away from under my mask, take a swig of Gatorade, and get back to work breaking down boxes at Re:Vision Co-op. The CI staff decided to join the finely tuned operation that is Westwood’s No Cost Grocery Program this past Wednesday. The program has been operating to distribute rescued food boxes to Westwood residents every Wednesday from 3 – 5pm…
I wipe the sweat away from under my mask, take a swig of Gatorade, and get back to work breaking down boxes at Re:Vision Co-op. The CI staff decided to join the finely tuned operation that is Westwood’s No Cost Grocery Program this past Wednesday. The program has been operating to distribute rescued food boxes to Westwood residents every Wednesday from 3 – 5pm and will be doing so through August 19th. The 4 of us are a microcosm of about 15 volunteers and Re:Vision Community Promotoras stacking and breaking down empty boxes, unboxing food items, directing traffic, and getting water for everyone. It’s a hot day but we have juices, produce, snacks, packaged foods, milk, and thermometers to box and send down the assembly line. When 5 o’clock rolls around we’ve run out of food items to package on my end of the line and thankfully everyone (including volunteer residents) are going home with a box of food. I remember overhearing that nearly 300 boxes were distributed in that 2 hour span…
KDVR Fox 31: Denver Foundation grant money helps 90 plus non-profits
“They say if they didn’t have this food from us, they wouldn’t have anything to eat,” Bahena told FOX31.
DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Foundation has awarded another round of grants to Colorado non-profit organizations, in response to COVID-19.
They’ve awarded $2.3 million to over 90 non-profits across the state—most recently, $700,000, through their Critical Needs Fund.
One of the recipients, Re:Vision, says that grant money was vital in continuing their emergency services.
They’re a non-profit organization that helps people across southwest Denver access food.
Re:Vision is located in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood, which was struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic.
TIME Magazine: How Small Business Owners Are Banding Together to Adapt During the Coronavirus Pandemic
“It was really about coming together, relying on each of our own networks that we already had to create more awareness about each other’s businesses, to help drive more support to the whole collective,” Ronkanen said. “We have a really strong local community here in in Westwood and the majority of the businesses that are all part of this are all Latino businesses, so really just wanting to keep money within our community, having our community still feel supported was a top priority.”
For others, creating a strong community as small business owners is about providing resources to vulnerable businesses. When the pandemic guidelines hit Denver, Cultura Craft Chocolate founder and owner Damaris Ronkanen had just opened a new café and chocolate factory in the city’s Westwood neighborhood; she chose to close the cafe and her retail side in mid-March to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. After speaking to other small business owners in her community, Ronkanen that while her business had a better chance at survival (she recently received a PPP loan), there weren’t adequate resources being directed to truly small, “microbusinesses” (under nine employees) that she knew or for businesses that could no longer work under the new pandemic guidelines, like a local food truck.