Frida Kahlo, woman empowerment, local artists, chefs and mole, gallons upon gallons of mole, will collide this weekend for two events at the RISE Westwood Campus at 3738 Morrison Road.
On Friday, Hecho en Westwood, Re:Vision and other Westwood partners will honor Kahlo's legacy and three local women who have made significant contributions to the community at La Noche de Frida, a community award and fundraising dinner.
On Saturday, the festivities will continue with the third annual Festival del Mole. About 30 variations of mole made by local and professional chefs will fill the RISE Campus from 2pm-8pm.
Let's start with the mole.
Hecho and Re:Vision are hosting the event as part of their ancestral food series that focuses on bringing traditional indigenous cuisines to the table while also educating participants on the food's history.
"Mole is so unique to everyone's background, where they're from, what part of Mexico they are from, and that's what I love about this event. It allows people to really showcase that," said Damaris Ronkanen, the owner of Cultura Chocolate and founder of Hecho en Westwood. "This isn't just famous chefs from all over Denver coming together here. It's actual women from the community sharing their family recipes. I feel like often it's women like that that don't get the recognition or support they deserve."
Mole has indigenous roots and grew to become an important dish in indigenous and Mexican culture. It's a rich sauce and marinade that starts with one or more types of chili pepper, nuts, seeds and spices. From there, the variations are endless.
About a dozen chefs will be earning that recognition Saturday as they present their variation of mole. Ronkanen said folks will see common mole such as mole poblano and mole Oaxaca. There's mole negro and amarillo. One local chef will have mole blanco, which uses white chocolate. And remember, not all mole has chocolate in it, like mole tamarind, a sweeter mole that uses tamarind pulp which may also make an appearance on Saturday.
"I always tell people that mole is like Mexican curry," said Mariana del Hierro, the Executive Director of Re:Vision. "People are so familiar with all the different types of curries and regions. And mole is equally complex because there's so many variations that every family, every region has their own recipe for it. It's just beautiful to be able to introduce that to folks so that we can all celebrate that."
This year, the event isn't closing down Morrison Road but will instead take place all over the RISE campus.
Vendors will line the streets selling goods, and all of the mole vendors will be in the center of the campus. The event will start off with a danza Mexika. Then Neni from Movete Chiquita Vinyl Club will keep the music flowing.
In Lak'ech Denver Arts will also play a huge role in the event. Their youth Folklorico dance team and their mariachi students will perform. They'll also have a "flower crown" making station inside La Casita.
Mole will be the star of the show this weekend but so will Frida Kahlo, the surrealist Mexican painter whose art focused on gender, class and race through the lens of her experiences pushing norms, dealing with the patriarchy and battling with various health issues.
To honor Kahlo throughout the weekend, Kahlo-inspired artwork made by In Lak'ech students and other local artists will be on display throughout the campus.
Marianna Lucero, In Lak'ech's program director, said the organization held a Kahlo-inspired self-portrait workshop, led by teacher Aalycia Rodriguez, where youth and family members learned how to plan out their faces and draw a proper self-portrait.
"Rodriguez encouraged them to really think about what are the things that represent who they are, their cultural identity and also their many intersecting identities," Lucero said. "Whether they really wanted it to pay homage to Frida herself or to really think about how they are feeling today or how they are feeling about the world, or how do they want the world to view them? And then to put all of that within the painting itself."
Which is how Kahlo created her own work.
Ronkanen and del Hierro agree that Kahlo has inspired many in the Westwood neighborhood to be politically active and tap into their strong feminine ideologies.
Friday's dinner is where Kahlo's feminist ideologies will shine.
Dinner guests will experience a mole feast curated by local female community chefs, as well as a danza Mexika opening ceremony and live music. This event is ticketed with general admission being $35 and VIP tickets going for $75. A community discount will be given to Westwood residents and all proceeds go toward supporting Hecho.
Ronkanen said the dinner is less about the fundraising but more about the guests being honored for their community work.
"This year's dinner is featuring three women in the community that we feel don't necessarily get the recognition that they should but are very important to the work that's being done here," Ronkanen said.
The dinner will honor three people: Rodriguez, Hecho's 2023 resident youth artist; Norma Brambila, the program director for Westwood Unidos; and Daisy Rocha Vasquez, senior aide to Councilmember Jamie Torres.
Friday's dinner will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and tickets should be purchased beforehand.
Tickets to use for mole purchases can also be bought ahead of time. For $25, folks will get 10 tickets to redeem at any mole stand. One ticket costs about $3.
Overall, Ronkanen and del Hierro said both nights will celebrate culture and the women behind these cultural pushes. Mole isn't just a sauce an abuela makes on her spare time and Kahlo isn't just a pop figure on a t-shirt. Both represent community gathering and that's the sentiment that'll be shared Friday and Saturday.
"This event speaks so much to the intentionality of the work and the organizations on this campus that really look at hiring and partnering and soliciting vendors from local Latina leaders here in Westwood," del Hierro said. "Being able to have an opportunity like La Noche de Frida, who is that emblem of feminism in Mexico, is like being able to roll that into something...where we're highlighting local women leaders, local women chefs, and just having it just be a big celebration."
