For more than a quarter century, Latino Arts, Inc. has been celebrating Latino culture through music and art. From the Mariachi orchestra made up of local school children, to hosting international musical acts and artists in its facilities within the United Community Center on the near south side, Latino Arts serves as a model for arts education, urban youth development and cultural engagement.
Last month, Latino Arts welcomed Jacobo Lovo as its newest artistic director. A graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Lovo spent the past decade and a half working as an art teacher at the Bruce-Guadeloupe Community School. He hopes to expand the Latino community's reach through his new position.
"The Latino community in Milwaukee is something incredibly beneficial for the state as a whole, because we bring the culture, we bring the music and the food and the visual arts," Lovo says. "Through that, Wisconsin benefits."
Lovo notes that his organization's presence and mission is more important now than ever. "Through art, whether it is music or the visual arts, we want to create a greater communication and understanding between cultures," he says. "Especially in our political climate nowadays, it is very important for us to demonstrate how influential we are and how much beauty we have to contribute to our society."
The organization welcomes Wisconsin artist Rafael Salas this Friday afternoon, followed by a concert with the Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet in the evening at the United Community Center on Milwaukee’s near south side.
