Esperanza Justice and Peace Center
We Are Esperanza
The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is a grassroots, community-based arts & cultural organization, built around a vision of social justice and cross-cultural understanding. We are committed to serving marginalized communities and preserving San Antonio’s unique cultural heritage. We produce and present programs that provoke dialogue, honor traditional cultures, nurture new aesthetics, renew the soul, break stereotypes, and strengthen communities.
Esperanza works to create a better world through art, dialogue, and action by culturally grounding our Chicano/Latino/Mexican-American communities, building bridges across social, political, economic, gender, sexual, religious, linguistic, and varying physical divides and increasing access to artistic expression and education.
Esperanza is mujeres, Latinas, African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, and Whites. Esperanza is queer, lesbian, trans, gay, and straight. Esperanza is the economically disadvantaged trabajando junto con la gente de clase obrera, la clase media, and with our economically privileged allies. Esperanza is feminist, is politically progressive, is outspoken. Esperanza is strong and overworked because we are people struggling to find new voices, new forms and new solutions to the problems oppressed people are facing.
The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center has been dedicated to creating a better world through art, dialogue and action. We believe that in order to participate fully in society, people need to see themselves and their experiences reflected in the world around them. We create and present artistic work that erases borders, builds bridges, and creates alliances between people.
Arte y Corazon volunteers-
Annual Events
Exhibits
Film Festivals
Historic Preservation
Música
Readings and Platicas
Theater and Performance
Workshops
Power del Pueblo
At the Esperanza, we believe in intersections. We invite others to come into our spaces without shedding any of their identities. It is this intersectionality that allows us to approach issues of social justice and peace through multiple lenses. We also believe in thinking beyond ourselves to include issues affecting the earth and the generations that follow.
Our people power strives to Respect Each Other, Respect (Y)our History and Culture and to Respect our Mother Earth.
Historic Preservation
Public Spaces
Museo Del Westside
The Museo will collect, conserve, research, communicate, and exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage of the historic Westside. As a community participatory museum, the Museo will invite the community to participate in developing the museum’s exhibits and programs.
Mujerartes Women's Clay Cooperative
At the MujerArtes studio the women, with the guidance of experienced ceramicists, shape the clay into historic snapshots of their lives as workers, heads of households and marginalized women in a country where they have always had to struggle. International artists/cooperatives Irene Aguilar, Enedina Vasquez, Taller Leñateros and Domitila Dominguez are invited for annual cultural exchanges.Through cooperative efforts, the women create an environment where each woman is a teacher and student by way of their creativity and cultural experiences.
La Voz de Esperanza
La Voz de Esperanza is a monthly newsjournal featuring stories, news, poetry and artwork submitted voluntarily by members of our community. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights through written word. It provides a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our bodies, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.
Radio Esperanza
Radio Esperanza, 96.5 KEPJ-LPFM-San Antonio, is a low-powered community radio station dedicated to providing social justice organizing and community expression to our listeners. We provide a platform for local news, music, podcasts, and programs produced and presented by women, people of color, the lesbian, gay, trans and queer community, the working class and the poor.
Radio Esperanza empowers buena gente to speak out about injustices through media literacy and equitable access platforms. We are a non-commercial program of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, a nonprofit organization. We cover a geographic area within three to five miles of the Esperanza Center at 922 San Pedro Avenue in San Antonio, Texas.
Social Justice Movements
We welcome all volunteers to help move the work of our communities!