This summer La Sala is cooking!
La Sala invites you to join us in La Cocina (the kitchen)! La Cocina is a place where people congregate to share the latest news and delight in the aromas of abuela’s age-old recipes side by side with new culinary creations. Inspired by the metaphor of the kitchen – a space that is intensely social and expressive - La Sala will gather some of the Puget Sound’s most dynamic Latina/o/x visual artists, dancers, musicians, actors, writers and poets to cook up something special!
La Cocina is an exciting month-long art space that will pop up in Pioneer Square at the Good Arts Building during the month of August. La Cocina artists will collaborate across artistic disciplines and diverse Latinx perspectives to advance dialogue, both within and beyond our community. We’ll be serving up a delicious mix of flavors – ranging from traditional and folkloric to urban and contemporary, and informed by the beautiful constellation of African, Indigenous and European elements that shape our identities.
Kinda’ like sampling Sonoran tamales wrapped in cornhusks, followed by banana leaf-wrapped Salvadoran tamales, alongside Venezuelan hallacas; or arroz mexicano with garlic, tomato and cumin next to arroz con gandules that’s peppered with pigeon peas and steaming with a hint of coconut. If your mouth is watering, you get the picture!
La Cocina participating artist Adream with his work at a La Sala event.
La Sala presents La Cocina: Culture is served.
La Sala is a non-profit initiative formed to coalesce and mobilize the growing Latino/Latina arts community of the Puget Sound region. Recognizing the booming diaspora and the scarcity of space, presence and voice for this community, a committed consortium of arts advocates embarked on this empowerment enterprise in 2006, aiming to gather, empower and raise the profile of the region's Latino/Latina artists and artisans.
To join our mailing list or contact La Sala, email info@lasalaseattle.org
The administrative aspects of La Cocina are organized by La Sala board members Antonio Gomez and Lauren Davis.
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Antonio Davidson-Gómez is an educator and percussionist focused on musical dialogue between cultures. He has studied, performed and recorded in various styles with emphases on Mediterranean and Afro-Latin music. He has worked in public television and produced cultural programming, educational projects, and community engagement initiatives for over two decades. Tony is a speaker on music and culture and is currently the Education Manager for the Broadway Center for Performing Arts in Tacoma as well as on the Seattle’s teaching artist roster at Creative Advantage. Recent musical projects include work with Tango del Cielo and Trio Guadalevín. He holds a Masters in Education from UC Berkeley and has conducted study and research trips in Latin America, Europe and North Africa.
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Lauren Davis is assistant director of ArtXchange Gallery in Pioneer Square, an intercultural gallery that promotes cultural exchange through art and reflects the diversity of influences shaping the Seattle community. The gallery was named Outstanding Organization of 2011 by the International Examiner Community Voice Awards, the first business to receive an award usually granted to non-profit organizations. Davis' projects include exhibitions and events with the Office of Arts & Culture, Arts & Social Change Partnership, La Sala Latino/a Artist Network, Bellevue Arts Museum and Columbia City Gallery. She is committed to grassroots community engagement and creating equitable access to arts opportunities for both artists and audiences.
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With additional help by:
Vanessa Villalobos, Procurement and Development
Xavier Lopez Jr., Social Media and PR
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