¡LA PLAZA ESTÁ PRESENTE!
¡LA PLAZA ESTÁ PRESENTE!
By Vanessa Shieh and Jessica Paz-Cedillos
The leadership at the School of Arts and Culture at MHP (SOAC) está presente!
SOAC leads the way as an inspiring hub for creativity and social action. Coming to La Plaza everyday, we can see the difference this work makes in our community, and we know there is more to do.
In its first decade, SOAC focused on what happened inside the walls of the Mexican Heritage Plaza (La Plaza). The Board and staff refined a successful revenue model that offered accessibility to La Plaza’s venues for both community-based organizations and community members. Most significantly, it gained the trust of the local neighborhood and the creative sector by ensuring consistent, ongoing, and stable programming — even in moments of crisis. We work hard to sustain our community’s trust.
“Coming to La Plaza everyday, we can see the difference this work makes in our community, and we know there is more to do. ”
During the pandemic, La Plaza became a community hub for essential resources and information. SOAC doubled the number of people served from 70,000 a year to 150,000. We did this by leaning into a dynamic co-leadership approach supported by a diverse homegrown team. When it was all said and done, SOAC fed over 50,000 residents, tested 15,000 individuals, and vaccinated 25,000 people.
“ SOAC doubled the number of people served from 70,000 a year to 150,000. ”
SOAC now enters its second decade of serving the community and we are expanding the vision. We’re turning our perspective to the built environment. In January, we launched a Community Development Program, and we’re using social purpose real estate to establish the city’s first cultural district with La Plaza at its center.
This enduring and progressive strategy will help to build a destination in East San José that speaks to:
The preservation of cultures, traditions, and identities.
The opportunity to fuel the local economy, including the creation of jobs and the development of a homegrown workforce.
The shift in decision-making power in the neighborhood to preserve cultures and traditions via property ownership.
“SOAC now enters its second decade of serving the community and we are expanding the vision.”