This Sunday afternoon, Aug. 25, marks the sixth annual La Raza Park Day – a celebration of Chicano culture and community that began with a conflict.
Back in 2019, a local news story focused on complaints about loud cars and “cruising” in Barnum, a historically Latino neighborhood. But cruising along Federal Boulevard is a longstanding part of local culture — and many neighbors weren’t pleased to see it attacked.
That’s when Ben Chavez, now La Raza Park Day’s lead organizer, stepped in.
He acknowledged folks who aren't familiar with Latino culture often view cruising as a disturbance or an activity for “troublemakers” because they don’t understand its cultural significance.
So he worked with Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval, Councilwoman Jamie Torres, Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and his wife, Senator Julie Gonzalez, to respond to this complaint with an act of community pride.
At the same time, Jolt of Guerilla Garden and Evan Weissman, the executive director of Warm Cookies of the Revolution, had similar ideas. Instead of dividing community with three separate events, they banded together to produce one collective affair.
Thus, La Raza Park Day was born.
Cruising “is something that is a rite of passage as a young person. It's a Mexican-American Chicano pastime,” he said. “We gather around building cars, painting cars, and cruising those cars. And that's as a family.”
Chavez described the practice as “creating art on wheels” and noted many lowriders and classic cars used for cruising are award-winning and worth upwards of a hundred thousand dollars.
Here’s what’s planned for this year’s La Raza Park Day.
The event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. this Sunday, Aug. 25, at La Raza Park, 1501 W. 38th Ave. Admission is free of charge.
For starters, it's the first year the event has a theme: youth violence prevention.
Chavez said the La Raza Park Planning Committee will bring in nonprofits that specialize in violence interruption, respond to active shootings and get families mental health services, as well as organizations that provide support for individuals and families after violence occurs.
La Raza Park Day will also feature a four directions blessing ceremony and a Mexika Danza program, both of which are meant to educate and entertain.
From there, Chavez said, the rest of the programming is “good vibes.” That includes a youth breakdancing crew and youth mariachi, live graffiti art, DJs, music from Los Mocochetes and food – including a taco eating contest – from Chivis Tacos.
“La Raza Park Day is for everybody, not just Chicanos,” Chavez said. “It is a community event that is for family and friends and fun.”
Why hold the event at La Raza Park?
La Raza means “the people” or “the community.”
La Raza Park was “a staple in the Chicano movement during the Civil Rights movement,” Chavez explained.
But up until 2020, the park was only informally known as “La Raza”. Officially speaking, the park “was underneath the colonizer's name – Columbus Park,” Chavez said. “We fought for decades to have that name changed.”
Today, the renamed park serves as a reminder of Chicano culture on Denver’s Northside. It features a prominent kiosko (aka a garden pavilion), shaped like ceremonial areas atop Aztec and Mayan stepped pyramids, and a sculpture that pays tribute to the city’s Chicano activists. These elements remind longtime Northsiders, and those new to the neighborhood, that Chicano culture has, does and will continue to exist in the area.
The neighborhood has “changed multiple times with the demographic of individuals that live there,” Chavez continued. “But one thing that we're doing is we're pushing back against gentrification, saying, ‘Not all of us have left. Not all of us are priced out. We're still here — and our culture matters.’”
La Raza Park Day doesn’t have an official cruise. But…
That doesn’t mean no cruise.
What usually happens is, “after the day we're like, ‘Hey, let's go cruise.’ It's not formal,” Chavez explained.
“Hopefully we all end up in the same place. We usually hit Federal Boulevard and end up at Grandpa's Burger Haven, and some folks may split off and go somewhere else. But usually, Grandpa's is pretty jumping down on South Federal. That's a staple in community where lowriders come together and families have fun and eat cheeseburgers and onion rings and all hang out with each other.”
Que viva la raza, y que viva la hamburguesa.
