"We Are Here to Stay": Inside NYC's New Immigrant Cultural Center 🎭

After years of performing in schools, libraries, and restaurants, the People's Theatre Project finally has a permanent, state-of-the-art home on 206th Street! On this special on-location episode of the Uptown Voices podcast, Led Black and Octavio Blanco sit down with Mino Lora to discuss the massive impact of this new Immigrant Cultural Center.Mino shares the incredible journey of building this space, noting that nearly 60% of the construction was done by local immigrants and Latino-owned businesses! With a restrictive declaration ensuring it remains a cultural center in perpetuity, this fully ADA-accessible space will host everything from theater and dance to civic action training. The inaugural season kicks off with Guac, a powerful, bilingual one-person show from Manuel Oliver honoring his son who was lost in the Parkland shooting.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the People's Theater and its significance02:10 The journey from community spaces to a dedicated home04:04 The theater as a symbol of immigrant resilience and culture07:07 The political and social context of the theater's opening10:27 Features of the new theater space and technical capabilities13:48 Grand opening events and community activities15:43 The inaugural production Guac and its importance18:03 The theater's role in civic action and advocacy21:37 The theater as a space for diverse stories and languages24:25 Community engagement and the future vision for the spaceSupport Hyperlocal Media: Uptown Voices is a fiscally sponsored project of the Maysles Documentary Center. Support our mission here: https://bit.ly/4eddiWT