CALA Alliance is mending wounds through the arts CROSSING BORDERS Our humble publication is not political by nature. But we do believe in diversity and its importance to our community, which is the theme this month as we look at those in the Valley who are working toward a more inclusive, integrated society. It’s hard to talk about the topic in 2019 without acknowledging the political environment we find ourselves in. And it’s even harder to champion the cause of diversity when the focus on our physical and human barriers is more profound than ever. So, imagine the task in front of Casandra Hernández Faham. She’s the executive director of the CALA Alliance — Celebración Artística de las Américas — a Phoenix-based organization with the mission of connecting Arizona, Mexico and Latin America through collaborations involving the arts. The organization’s goal is to unite our cultures, and to remind Arizonans of their integrated place in the Americas and the fact that we’re practically part of Latin America ourselves. Casandra Hernández Faham, the executive director of CALA Alliance, works to create a greater connection between Arizona, Mexico and Latin America. 26 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | SEPTEMBER 2019 NEXT DOORS {ahead of the curve} Tom Evans | Contributing Editor

“It’s about putting these two cities, which are becoming very important places in terms of contemporary art, in dialogue with one another.” At its core, it’s simply an arts organization that provides public programming, artist commissions, artist residencies and cultural exchanges to support Latino arts and culture. Sounds simple enough. Let’s focus on that for a minute. CALA started in 2010 as a Latino arts festival, which was the extent of its activities for its first five years. Hernández Faham joined the organization as its first executive director in 2016 with the goal of making CALA more than just an event. “At that time, the board was looking to transition from being a festival into being a multidisciplinary organization presenting a diversity of programs,” she said. “So we’ve been in that space of creating brand-new programs, changing our mission and vision so that we have a new offering than it was before.” CALA is working with contemporary artists in Arizona, Mexico and Latin America to promote Latino culture and art. Its programs include Crossfade LAB, where they bring Latino and Latin American artists to the Valley for a conversation series on art. The idea is fueled by the concept of a crossfade switch on a DJ’s turntable, where artists from differing genres may collaborate in ways they’ve never done before. They also support an artist-in-residency program where an Arizona artist visits Guadalajara, Mexico, and an artist from Guadalajara comes to Arizona for several weeks. The current resident visiting Arizona is visual artist Karian Amaya, who will present talks and workshops free of charge and open to the public through Oct. 12. “It’s about putting these two cities, which are becoming very important places in terms of contemporary art, in dialogue with one another,” Hernández Faham said. CALA also has a partnership with the Arizona State University Art Museum, which boasts a large collection of Latin American art. And their major fundraising event is their Sabor dinner, where a Phoenix chef — this year it’s Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Café — collaborates with a chef from Mexico to celebrate Latin cuisine. Photo by Lamp Left Media SEPTEMBER 2019 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 27