Over the span of a year, Community Planning and Development staff engaged community and local historians in a first-of-its-kind initiative to uncover and share the rich history of Denver’s Mexican American, Chicano, and Latino communities. On Monday, February 28, 2022, Denver Landmark Preservation staff released findings from this project, including ¡Qué Viva la Raza! Honoring a Denver Legacy, an “I Am Denver” documentary from the Denver Office of Storytelling.
Over the course of this project, members of Denver’s Mexican American, Chicano, and Latino communities shared their oral histories, experiences, and perspectives with city staff and partners, which are reflected in the ¡Qué Viva la Raza! documentary and final project report. More than 300 people shared compelling stories and worked to identify significant places across Denver that are part of this vibrant heritage. This study, report and film are the first step for greater inclusivity in city preservation practices and are not meant to be an exhaustive history of these communities and cultures. Rather, this work is a foundation that will guide future landmark preservation efforts as well as related city planning initiatives for strong and authentic neighborhoods.
Watch the documentary
Led by Denver’s Landmark Preservation staff in partnership with the city’s I Am Denver storytelling project, this first-of-its-kind initiative in Denver helped uncover and share the deep history and historic places of Denver’s Chicano and Latino communities. Through engaging public outreach and traditional historic research, this project create a broad overview on the citywide settlement and development patterns of Latino and Chicano communities in Denver up to the 1990s.
The project:
Funding for this project came from: Community Planning and Development, the offices of councilmembers Jamie Torres and Amanda Sandoval, History Colorado’s State Historical Fund, and the Peter Grant Preservation Services Fund for Colorado of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Over the course of this project, members of Denver’s Mexican American, Chicano, and Latino communities shared their oral histories, experiences, and perspectives with city staff and partners, which are reflected in the ¡Qué Viva la Raza! documentary and final project report(PDF, 46MB). More than 300 people shared compelling stories and worked to identify significant places across Denver that are part of this vibrant heritage.
This study identified eight key themes rooted in Denver’s Mexican American, Chicano, and Latino history. These themes are closely tied to the significant places that these communities hold dear.
- Religion and Spirituality: Religious facilities where the sense of place and community is strong.
- Education: Schools that offered a central space to learn and participate in after-school activities, sports, and meetings.
- Labor: Latinos/Mexicanos came to Denver during periods of significant economic growth. As these communities grew, they gained representation within unions and other organizations through strikes, boycotts, and self-organizing efforts.
- Commerce: Mexicanos/Latinos throughout Denver built prosperous and essential businesses for all members of the community.
- Politics: The fight for political representation and civic inclusion began before statehood. Within the city, many individuals and organizations helped their neighborhoods and shaped city politics.
- El Movimiento/The Chicano Movement: The Chicano Movement in Denver consisted of grassroots organizing by numerous activists, including the Crusade for Justice, established by Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and others.
- Arts: The renaissance of Chicano music, literature, art, poetry, dance, and theater, which started during the 1960s as an integral part of El Movimiento, remains a crucial component of culture in Denver today.
- Neighborhood Life: Denver’s neighborhoods feature countless essential places for Latinos/Mexicanos, where people have fostered a strong sense of belonging, developed deep relationships, and feel connected and accepted.
A few examples of the buildings and sites identified through these key themes include La Raza Park, Morrison Road commercial district between Sheridan Blvd. and W. Alameda Ave., Su Teatro, and Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios.