Trenton center provides art, joy amid fears of immigration enforcement
Casa Cultura opened amid an uptick in immigration enforcement during the first year of President Donald Trump’s second administration. Its goal to provide a welcoming space for the Latino community became all the more important, Kanig said, as U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents began conducting raids and making arrests in the neighborhood where the center is located.
“For us, sometimes it’s difficult because we might have an event here, and it’s a joyful, joyful moment,” he said. “And then the next morning … we’re seeing that 8 o’clock in the morning, immigration is a block away or something like that.”
Those fears have kept some people away from the center, Hernández said.
“If it wasn’t for that, I think that there would be more people here on a daily basis,” she said. “But I do want to make sure that people know that they’re safe here. That this is their home too.”
She said those challenges spur Casa Cultura’s team to work hard to “make sure that families experience joy.”
“That word keeps coming up because there’s so much sadness, so much craziness going out there, that we need to bring some joy,” she said. “Because what are we if there’s no joy in our lives?”
A new mural on the side of the building featuring the words “esperanza” and “libertad” — “hope” and “liberty” — is a powerful message to neighbors and passersby, Kanig said.
“It’s a presentation card to the community,” he said. “Like, hey, we’re here, and we have hope, and we have liberty, and we’re going to continue fighting for that, right?”
Casa Cultura also hosts events and meetings for immigrant rights’ organizations such as Resistencia en Acción NJ, as well as elected officials. And the center is preparing to launch a new podcast series to highlight community leaders and share resources and residents’ personal stories.
“That’s the civic part of Casa Cultura, to make sure that we’re also using our space to kind of empower and advocate for our community,” he said.
‘The feeling of joy is gonna live here’
Saturday’s event was a preview of a monthly series the organization plans to launch in March, called “Cultura en el Barrio” — “Culture in the Neighborhood.”
Volunteers Jordan Coellar and Kaylee Yungazaca, both sophomores at The College of New Jersey, painted mini-canvases at a sidewalk table Saturday. They met Kanig through the college, where Kanig works as a program coordinator, and collaborated with him on events for the Ecuadorean Students Association, of which they are members.
Coellar said Casa Cultura’s work is significant for students as well as other community members in Trenton.
“An event like this is so important because it really allows people … creative liberty to speak what is on their mind without saying it, and it shows their culture, shows where they’re from,” she said.
For Kanig, the goal is to continue to grow and include more people in the center’s programming.
“What we’re hoping is that, as time passes by, the community starts seeing this block in this area as that creative space in Trenton where they’re going to be able to come and enjoy music, art, but also participate in it,” he said.
That in turn will have a “really positive effect in their neighborhood itself,” Kanig said.
“It’s going to make it brighter, more colorful,” he said. “The feeling of joy is gonna live here.”
