June 30, 1985-San Antonio Express-News
Death of a private center with a public sense of duty
Cultural centers are sometimes private affairs created out of dreams and built by personal perseverance and means. Not all cultural center rely on government monies for their existence.
Such a center came to a halt in San Antonio recently, and its demise left a societal gap here.
El Centro, Inc. was located at 802 N. Zarzamora, at the corner with Leal Street. It served a number of purposes during its nine year existence.
Founded by Jesús "Chista" Cantú, Roger "Pelón" Mercado and Oscar "Double-O" Obledo.
It was a gathering place for area artists, street people, politicians, aficionados and visitors to the city.
El Centro had no prettified amenities, but it was a place where questions and discussions abounded in a rustic yet vital arena. It was a watering hole that served a needed social end in our increasingly technologized world.
Meeting place
A roster of those who once stopped there to rap with Chista includes such luminaries as Fernando Herrera, a concert pianist; César Chávez, the farmworkers union visionary and leader; George Cortéz, scion of Mi Tierra; Nephtalí de León, poet and artist; Andrés Segura, dance captain of "Los Concheros," an Aztec dance group, and Mario Obledo, attorney and national figurehead in civil rights.
It was a dream that Chista, a fine artist who supported himself and the center through his commercial art projects, founded for a number of purposes.
Chief among those was establishing a place where anybody could talk with kindred spirits. There were no pretentions at El Centro, for oftentimes one would be discussing world affairs with people who had a finger on the pulse of the nation.
Other times, there would be artists sharing their works and ideas informally with pintos, writers, poets, politicians and business persons. No one knew just what to expect there, other than any possibility under the sun.
Many a time was I fortunate to spend a lazy afernoon drinking a few beers while Chista would regale us with his insights into pre-Columbian México, for he is steeped in that lore.
Other times some visiting poets might just treat whomever was there to an impromptu reading.
Open forum
El Centro did not perpetuate any specific dogma or ideology for it was an open forum where all comers felt welcome.
It probably was influenced by the teachings of Paulo Freire, the Brazilian depatriated educator who wrote "The Pedagogy of the Oppressed" and other works that had a decided impact on educational theory worldwide.
It most certainly influenced - and was influenced - by La Academia de la Nueva Raza from Dixon, New Mexico, during the heyday of the Chicano Movement.
The policy of welcoming everyone made it a place where one could enjoy philosophy at its best - not in a stuffy, formalized setting that was burdened by rigidity, but in a relaxed setting where one could just be oneself.
Chista would be there, sometimes painting signs while discussing colors and always ready to leap into the fray of discussions.
It was a place where artists from Centro Cultural Aztlán could talk with those from the Guadalupe Cultrual Center, while Louis Leroy might be in the foreground and seeing an environment far removed from City Hall.
The city was there, for the first campaign sign for Mayor Cisneros was made there by Chista. Cantú also painted the pillar murals IH-35 near El Mercado, as well as the signs and mural at Mario's.
Poets José Montalvo and Evangelina Vigil passed through there. So did artists Jesse Almazán, Armando Sánchez, Roberto Ríos, Miguel Angel Telles and César Augusto Martínez.
As I mentioned before, it was a place noted for informality, and its physical amenities where sketchy. Its ideas though were far from limited, for one could freely discuss any topic and present any work without having to justify oneself or present any credentials.
A Richard V. Sánchez could stop there only to meet Bennie Eureste or George Cisneros coasting with Roy López in conversation. Frank Rodarte or Ricardo "Guero Polkas" Davila might just be in attendance, while Richard Acevedo and Danny Fernendez might be razzing each other.
The artist
Chista, who at one time had his work in many major Texas museums under the auspices of art competition through Laguna Gloria and the Texas Fine Arts Association, just wanted a private setting where ideas could mesh upon one another.
He succeeded for nine years, and that he did by painting commercial signs and works in order to support his dream.
Such an undertaking merits response, specially when it was done without government backing. He could have turned things around and subscribed to pat formulas for funding, but Chista wanted the integrity of calling his own shots without dickering with bureaucrats.
Though Chista is closing El Centro, he still thinks of developing another one. It is a needed place, one that is informal enough to attract anyone without any hitches.
He has about 41 years of experience as an artist, and his story-telling abilities are both informative and entertaining.
We might live in a modern, technologized society, but we still need places where anyone can philosophize about just any topic, for such is the way that myth develops.