In its fifth year as part of the Syracuse University community, La Casita Cultural Center is spreading its wings across the nation

La Casita is a program in the College of Arts and Sciences at SU that works to connect the Hispanic communities of the university with Central New York

“It’s a bridge between the university community and the Syracuse community,” said Jose Perez, a Syracuse attorney and La Casita board member. “These two different communities are all coming along to one place and sharing a culture.”

In five years, the center, located in the Near Westside of Syracuse, has grown from a space that allows for meeting and learning to one that also teaches as it brings research and exhibits to the area.

Perez, a 2007 graduate of the SU College of Law, said the center is used to connect people and give them a place to network.

In the center there is an art gallery, a classroom, a bilingual library, a performance space and a meeting space, according to the La Casita website. The center also provides bilingual reading classes, dance classes and after-school programs for children.

“From the start, the plan was for the center to establish solid roots with the local community and the campus community,” said Tere Paniagua, executive director of cultural engagement at the La Casita Cultural Center.

Through La Casita, students at SU can volunteer and intern in a partnership that continues to grow. Paniagua said that through interning or volunteering with the center, students get the opportunity to practice their specialties in a multicultural environment.

Paniagua said the students that come through the center come from a wide range of majors, including social work, international relations, education, advertising and public relations.

“The center is something to feel proud of, good about,” Paniagua said. “A place for the community to work together with positivity.”

Paniagua said over the years she has also seen an increase in professors using the resources La Casita provides for their classes, as they see opportunities to connect what the center does to what they are teaching in class.

Paniagua said the students have so much to gain from the center, whether it is for personal interest or their studies.

Dulce Gallo, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, began volunteering at La Casita when she was a freshman, reading with kids and doing activities.

Gallo, who is the only student who sits on the board for La Casita, said that in her time at the center, she has seen students show more interest in volunteering with La Casita.

“(La Casita) gives students the opportunity to serve that community,” she said.

Gallo said that the center allows for students celebrate the Latino culture and learn about the community.

La Casita also works with SU’s libraries to create archives for students to use when conducting their own research. Paniagua said contributions from the university make a huge difference in how the center is able to continue expanding.

In that growth, the center has broadened its networks to other organizations in the Central New York area. Some of the partners in the center have included the Spanish Action League of Upstate NY, the Near Westside Initiative, the Literacy Coalition of Onondaga County and the Central NY Library Resources Council.

Paniagua said that over the past five years, La Casita has worked on expanding and developing partnerships with other organizations so they can better impact the community in a positive way.

“Collaboration with partners leads to stronger programming and support,” Paniagua said.

The center also coordinates with SU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs in Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month. The month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 this year, will feature musical performances, traditional cuisine samplings, dance parties and compelling speakers, according the Office of Multicultural Affairs website.

For La Casita’s part in events, the center has opened a “Balcon Criollo” exhibit with the theme “Familia.” The artifacts relate to real life stories of families in the community and tell their stories through photographs and meaningful pieces, Paniagua said.

“You feel like you are walking into your family home,” Paniagua said. “We are reminded of where we come from and honor the memory and roots that many of us share.”

In addition to the “Familia” collection, visitors will also see a baseball collection within the exhibit. The collection is in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. Paniagua said the idea is to catalogue and connect pieces that will relate to the history of the community through the lens of baseball.

Research is exactly what put La Casita in Syracuse on the national map, Paniagua said. Scholars, researchers and 12 other centers are involved in curating the artifacts for the baseball collection. This is the first time the center has been able to participate in a national conversation.

Paniagua said there is a “strong urge to try to rescue the history of these communities.”

“There is a gap in terms of documentation in New York State archives to learn more about the community that we have in New York,” she added.

As for the future of the center, Paniagua said she hopes to continue to see the center grow, not only for the benefit of the students and the surrounding community but nationally as well.

“I think we’re on the right track to become a leader in Hispanic culture centers in the region, in the state and nationally,” Paniagua said. “It is an important goal of the center to continue to provide an education center for students and faculty and on a much larger scale.”

Published on September 27, 2016 at 8:14 pm

Contact Ali: Ali Linan