Artisan Workshop & Exhibit @ Calacas this Friday!‏

Join us as we host traditional artisans from México demonstrating their workmanship in toy making and other craftwork.

Friday, December 17th, 2010
5 pm - 7 pm

Artwork will be available for purchase during event!

Lalo Alcaraz & Gustavo Arellano @ Calacas this Friday Night!‏

Lecture & Signing
with
Lalo Alcaraz &
Ask a Mexican's Gustavo Arellano

Friday, December 17th, 2010
7:30 pm

Do your Navidad shopping with us: Books, calendars & posters will be available for purchase after the lecture!

Free Cookies & Hot Chocolate this Saturday @ Calacas!

From our family to yours, with love: We would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Let us all count our blessings ~ we have so much to be grateful for!

Saturday, 11/27 is Small Business Saturday! Stop by Calacas for free cookies & hot chocolate. Also, please bring over your out-of-town guests to visit our beautiful downtown!

Original Gift Ideas @ Calacas!

We have hundreds of awesome gifts for your family & friends! Check it out:

Santa Ana's Día de los Muertos Celebration this Saturday!‏

Please invite all of your family and friends to this beautiful celebration of life!

8th Annual Noche de Altares, A Día de los Muertos Celebration!

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

1 pm - 10 pm

New Location this year!

4th & Birch Street

www.nochedealtares.org

Día de los Muertos Art Exhibit

Día de los Muertos Art Exhibit
Saturday, October 2nd
7 pm - 10 pm

Come check out this art exhibit featuring over 20 local artists!
Also, a live appearance by La Catrina!

End of Summer Art & Music Showcase ~ this Saturday Night for Artwalk!

Saturday, September 4th, 2010
7 - 10 pm

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This showcase will go on during the First Saturdays Art Walk, and will feature the photography of Tracy Vega, as well as live musical performances by Santa Ana locals: Dj Michelle and Street Spirit !!

Tracy Vega is a Southern California photographer with over 10 years of experience first shooting with instant cameras for personal projects, and later photographing at music and activist events. She is very much into music and admir...es the approach of local bands that care about their fans and who are into D.I.Y. (Doing It Yourself!): designing their own band logos, CD art, t-shirts and more. She would like to shoot photos of what has been labeled “underground or sub-cultural”, Tracy characterizes this as the "non-average and the non-corporate".

For this series she was inspired by the experiences she had growing up as a Mexican-American in the "melting pot" or "salad bowl" that is Southern California. Due to her unique facial features, people often wondered and tried to figure out where she was from, guessing Chinese, Middle Eastern, or a mix of Mexican and another ethnic group.

The idea of this project was to create a self-portrait series mimicking the many ethnicities that people have associated her with. It is an interpretation of what the artist imagines each ethnicity to dress like or look like. The costumes and backdrops also reflect her attempt at bringing out the beauty of each culture, while working with a limited budget. Also due to the limited equipment on hand, instead of photographing herself, she chose to photograph a model who could represent her vision for this project.

-Claudia Lavini

Sugar Skull Workshops ~ Every Friday in September!

Fresh from the oven! New Conchita coin purses are here!

Super cute!

Barrio Writers Book Signing & Live Reading this Saturday @ Calacas!‏

Barrio Writers Book Signing & Live Reading
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
7 pm - 10 pm
@ Calacas





In the Summer of 2009, thirty students came together to form the first Barrio Writers chapter in Santa Ana, California, a non-profit reading and writing program that aims to empower teens through creative writing, higher education and cultural arts.

Since then, 20 students have been published in the 1st Edition Barrio Writers, A Collection of Works by Teens for Teens, Teachers & Our Communities.

**Join us for their first book signing & living reading as published authors!**

The students featured in the book have attended various surrounding schools, such as Century and Santa Ana high schools. Please join us in supporting our youth and showing the world that regardless of the obstacles and stereotypes placed on our teens, they find a way to be heard to teach us all life lessons!

Books are limited, please stop by Calacas to buy a book or call to reserve your copy today! Ask to purchase & hold your book for the event: 714-662-2002.

Barrio Writers First Edition - $20*
by Valeria Alaniz, Nancy Alcalá, Joana Ayala, Claudia Breña, Daniel Farías, Lorena García, Germayn, Carissa Hernández, Illoheem, Michael Jasso, Janet López, Clarysa Mendoza, Elizabeth Mendoza, Jennifer Montero, Michelle Moreno, Edwin Reyes, Evelyn Salazar, Natalie Sánchez Valle, Xochitl Sánchez Valle, Kore Sierra

*Just think of it as $1 per student, just $1 per our 20 new authors will help us double the number and locations for the second edition! We need all your support so we can continue to empower our teens to exceed our expectations!

New Merchandise @ Calacas!

Here's what's new at Calacas!
Stop in & say hi!

Loteria Night Fundraiser this Friday, 3/12!

Loteria Night Fundraiser @ Calacas!


Join the Orange County DREAM Team for their
2nd Annual Loteria Fundraiser!

Prizes · Snacks · Beverages !

$10 Donation


If you are unable to attend but would still like
to make a donation, please mail checks payable to:
Orange County Dream Team
PO Box 1855, Santa Ana, Ca 92702

Free parking around the corner, in the structure @ 3rd & Birch after 6 pm!

Grrl Fair Rocked the House!

After losing their venue THE DAY BEFORE Grrl Fair was supposed to go down, the organizers of the empowering event gave one last shot before finally giving up. Asking if Calacas would be willing to host a somewhat different version of their event, we wholeheartedly agreed! The house was PACKED as all of the awesome bands got down. We are grateful to the organizers of Grrl Fair, for all of their hard work, plus for the awesome energy that the event filled our space with.

Here's a review of the event:

Come out & Bike with us! 1st & 3rd Mondays

I Bike Santa Ana!
Join us as we get together to celebrate commUNITY and have lots of fun! We ride for about an hour, and go about 5 miles around the downtown area. $5 tshirts available (cash only) when you bring your bike!

Orange County Dream Team Fundraiser this Friday, 2/26!

DREAM Monologues
Our student testimonies have been written into monologues, and will be read and performed by community leaders and allies, in an effort to increase awareness that the DREAM Act belongs to all of us as a community.


Friday, February 26, 2010
Time: 7pm
Location:
El Centro Cultural de Mexico (Breath of Fire Theater)
310 W. 5th Street
Santa Ana, CA. 92701
Suggested donation: $5

Photos from our last art exhibit!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Saturday night to check out the opening of our Amor Eterno art show, and for filling our space with Amor! It was BEAUTIFUL! We had 5 new artists premier their works. Thanks also, to the Barrio Writers for coming out and representing the YOUTH!

Due to lots of prayers, it stopped raining about an hour before our art show, and then DJ Michelle had to leave her stuff here at the store because it started raining again as soon as we wrapped it up! So needless to say, we're so grateful it stopped raining!

If you didn't get a chance to stop by, the exhibit will be up until Monday, 2/15!