Community Connections

Embracing diversity, bringing community together

Brightly colored pennants invite us to celebrate with and to explore different cultures.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, several of us enjoyed supporting a children’s craft activity at a carnival sponsored by ENLACE, a cross-cultural community group in Salem. The project was for “Día de los Muertos”, a day to remember loved ones with an “altar de muerto.” The children created their own miniature projects in between performing folk dances, making tortillas, listening to stories and eating favorite traditional foods. What a grand day! Learn about an Altar de Muerto.

Altar de muerto: a place to remember a loved one with some of their favorite things

The ENLACE Cross-Cultural Community Building Project is a beautiful fruit of Mexican culture. Amador Aguilar, the founder and energy at Enlace, has poured decades of vision and determination into supporting a brighter future for families and especially their children. Visit the ENLACE website. 

Aguilar knows confidence can come from pride in one's heritage. ENLACE programs provide such experiences in music, dance, culture and more. Believing in yourself can empower a person to achieve goals never before imagined.  The ENLACE project also strives to build connections with communities in Marion and Polk counties to help newcomers find their place in the community. In doing so, it opens the door for valuable cross cultural learning for everyone. Each culture develops its own wisdom and ways of living. When we are open to learning about and sharing these rich cultural gems, we build stronger communities for everyone.

We envision a future where all young people have the opportunity to explore and appreciate diverse cultures and artistic expressions and where they are empowered to use their creativity to positively impact their communities and the world around them. ~ ENLACE website

Jalisco Dancers (this is a generic image to protect local communities).

In my years as a Spanish teacher and school liaison, my Latino friends taught me much about how a community works. It’s people sharing, contributing, celebrating together or helping each other through the difficult times. And everyone watches out for all the children in the neighborhood. Everyone feels responsible. And I learned that when planning a community activity, the first consideration is not about the budget. It’s always about the people. True, these qualities are not exclusive to the Latino community. And hopefully, you experience these too. We may already have a lot in common with other people—more than we realize—such as a shared vision for our communities. Making new connections across cultures enriches and strengthens all of us. Let’s build a more inclusive and stronger community. --Pamela

Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land.. ~ Baha'i Teachings