Guadalajara will take center stage in Latin American community arts this April, hosting a colorful gathering of grassroots cultural organizations during the Caravana Quetzalcóatl.
The city’s portion of this month-long cultural journey will feature over 150 activities across four days (April 3-7), showcasing the vibrant diversity of Latin American community-based cultural expressions.
The Caravana Quetzalcóatl, organized by the Latin American Movement of Community Living Culture (Movimiento Latinoamericano de Cultura Viva Comunitaria), is a cultural caravan that will travel through Costa Rica and various regions of Mexico from March 9 to April 10. Guadalajara’s segment, called Ruta Occidente, promises to be the most extensive of all the routes.
“The festival in Guadalajara will be much larger than what’s happening in Mexico City,” explained Luisa Velasquez, who coordinates cultural programs in Guadalajara. “This is possible because we have an established network of ‘Puntos de Cultura’ (Culture Points) from neighborhoods across the city that have united to create this celebration.”
At its heart, the Cultura Viva Comunitaria movement emerged organically from communities across Latin America long before receiving institutional recognition. These cultural initiatives are fundamentally self-organized and independent, born in neighborhoods and marginalized areas where residents create their own artistic expressions—from theater to community radio—often with minimal resources. While government support has been welcomed in recent years, the movement remains community-driven, with public institutions serving as allies rather than directors.
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