Tijuana Cultural Center reaches 42 years, now with a humanist vision

Tijuana, BC., La she was of concrete rises between the streets of the city with the majesty that only Pedro Ramírez Vázquez could imagine. Its architecture made the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut) a geographical reference, shelter for the great showsexhibitions that came from the center of the country; Today the challenge is for the space to dialogue with the communitysaid its director, Vianka Santana, on the venue’s 42nd anniversary.

It has to do with the humanistic vision of the 4T, because the administration that ended a few days ago was characterized precisely by seeking to give attention to groups and sectors that historically and at the country level had not had the opportunity to enjoy the cultural infrastructure. , of our right to exercise art and creativity as a basic principle of developmenthe pointed out.

Inaugurated on October 20, 1982, a project conceived by Carmen Romano, wife of the then president José López Portillo and director of the National Fund for Social Activities (Fonapas), Cecut is unique in the country and was born in the context of a government strategy to foster national awareness and pride in a city that, due to its proximity to the United States, has a complex cultural identity.

For many years it was focused on big shows, famous singers and commercial groups, recognized exponents of art, which became the reason for the social catwalk, so that certain economically favored sectors made an appearance at the Cecut, but people did not enter. because the costs were very highSantana remembers.

It’s great that they (the great artists) come, but what do you think if they were on the esplanade, right?, where all the people could enjoy. Our primary intention is to create these connections, to present free of charge, as far as possible, shows for people who normally do not cross to the United States to see theater, to symphony concerts (…) is to think about the sectors who have not had access to those expressionscomments in reference to the alliances of recent years with institutions such as the Old Globe Theater and the San Diego Symphony.

The Tijuana Triennial is one of Cecut’s bets in its dialogue with the community, a plastic work contest of unparalleled operation and size, because in addition to the emphasis on the public voting for the selection of the winners, it has one of the biggest prizes in the country (one million pesos for first place).

The plastic artist Álvaro Blancarte, from Sinaloa, based his work and life in Baja California, where he died days before the inauguration of the first Tijuana Triennial. He devised the project, which currently exhibits more than 100 works resulting from its second edition.

indigenous peoples

“There is work that is done with the native people of Baja California (the Yumans); Cecut does not go and give them something because we have nothing to give them other than our respect and support and act as facilitators… currently Cecut has 45 headquarters outside its walls, which include the main residence centers of the indigenous peoples. of the state, as well as community centers far from the city of Tijuana.

What do we do? We find those characters who are references of exemplary character in the field, who have moral recognition, authority within the community for their knowledge, who are possible replicators of the language or of the artisanal processes, of the cosmogonic vision that is translated into stories of tradition. oral. And we accompany them in their process, which can range from helping them register with the Treasury so that they can be hired, to inviting them to be part of the Cecut cultural proposal; We also have the National Tetseebo Short Story Prize in Indigenous Languages, which this year had its second edition.

The dialogue

We believe that the Tijuana Cultural Center, at 42 years old, reaches a dimension that also allows it to dialogue with its peers in the world, which is why exhibitions like that of David Cerny, for which it took us more than two years to bring the work, who came from Prague to the United States, with a long job involved.

For Vianka Santana these exhibitions play a double role with the institution; on the one hand they are international exhibitions that bring together cultural expressions from other latitudes, but projects like the Triennial also have the role of showing the world what we do, the high level of Mexican creators in general, especially in Baja California..

I experienced it personally, that before and after of the culture in Tijuana, which changes completely when an infrastructure with the physical dimensions of Cecut arrives, which allows you to have all the artistic manifestations at the same time, operating on the same day: literature, cinema, dance, theatre, exhibition, everything, and not every venue has that.