Our Vision

Spanish

To build a world-class, Pan-Latino multi-arts facility to house and share the art, food, and the rich cultural diversity of more that 600 million Latinos worldwide

The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago

Punto de Encuentro

Introduction

The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (the Center) is a Pan-Latino, nonprofit multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to developing, promoting and increasing awareness of Latino cultures among Latinos and other communities by presenting a wide variety of art forms and education including film, music, dance, visual arts, comedy and theater.  The Center prides itself with its outstanding multidisciplinary and multinational cultural programming, which spans Latin America, Spain, Portugal and the United States. We encompass the many different art forms that are produced by international and local Latino talent.

Furthermore, the Center is working to build the nation’s first state-of-the-art Pan-Latino cultural facility. While we are working to obtain our own facility, year-round events are presented in mainstream venues including museums, movie theaters, galleries, nightclubs and restaurants, as well as at community centers, auditoriums and of schools, colleges and universities. Imperative to our mission is that programs take place in venues that are easily accessible by a majority of the population. The Center differs from other Latino arts organizations in the city in that others are located within neighborhoods and primarily focus on the contributions of one country’s culture or use a single cultural expression.  While these organizations prove beneficial to the constituencies they serve, their programming does not encompass the multi-nationality of all the Latino cultures.

The Center has been at the forefront of the movement to increase cultural opportunities for the entire Latino community and bring Latinos and non-Latinos together to share common cross-cultural experiences.  For two decades, ILCC has promoted the richness and great diversity found in more than 20 Ibero-American nations.

This year, more than 30,000 moviegoers, 100 international filmmakers, actors and journalists attended the 23rd Chicago Latino film Festival. According to Hispanic Magazine, “The Chicago Latino Film Festival is the largest, best and most organized Latino Film Festival in the U. S.”

The Chicago Latino Film Festival is only one of Center's major events. In the last five years, we have presented more than 50 other cultural events, and in the process have established beneficial relationships with many other organizations with which we have partnered to present a great number of other cultural events.

Center’s Overview

The Festival has accomplished what few people imagined possible 20 years ago -its audience has grown from 500 to more than 30,000 and the budget from $10,000 to over one (1) million.  The increased demand for the organization’s services is also a tangible demonstration of the need for quality Latino arts and cultural events.  Perhaps more significant is the diversity of ILCC's audience, which is 60% Latino, representing every one of our countries, and 40% non-Latino.  Few other institutions have achieved the important goal of bringing Latinos and non-Latinos together to share common cultural experiences.

Film as well as every other cultural expression is a powerful medium with which we can share our life experiences. The creativity, ingenuity, struggles and successes of our filmmakers and other artists have inspired us to think of a brighter future for the Latinos of Chicago. The opportunity is here and now for us to go beyond limiting ourselves to share our culture through film only. Film has empowered us to use every other cultural expression (music, theater, dance, comedy, literature, visual arts and much more) to simply say, “This is who we are.”

Building upon the success of the Film Festival and to meet the demand of the ever-growing audience for cultural programming, the Center began producing multidisciplinary events on a year-round basis since 1997. In 1999, in order to more accurately depict the multinational and multi-arts programming of the organization, Chicago Latino Cinema, changed its name to the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC).

The Need

The Latino population is growing at an unprecedented rate; Latinos are now the largest minority (nearly 50 million of the total USA population) and by 2020 the U.S. Census Bureau predicts that one in every six people in the United States will be Latino.  Chicagoland is the third largest Latino populated area in the country with nearly 2 million Latinos and is the fastest growing population segment. Unfortunately, a rapid increase in the Latino population disproportionate to that of cultural programming can lead to lack of awareness and negative relations amongst Latinos themselves and other Americans.

We recognize these issues to be severe societal problems stemming from a lack of opportunities of self-exploration within the Latino community, and misconceptions about the Latino cultures by non-Latinos.  In order to address these problems, the Center provides a more realistic portrayal of Latino communities in order to develop, promote and increase awareness of the multinational Latino cultures among Latinos and other communities through art and cultural education. 

The need for diverse Latino programming reaches beyond cultural education and understanding. The Latinos represent a significant percentage of Chicago’s metro area population (more than 20%); therefore, it is imperative to support, create, and continue programming quality cultural events addressing the needs of these groups and promoting positive images of Latinos. 

Despite local, national, and international recognition and support the absence of a facility makes it increasingly difficult to maintain programs, let alone, meet the needs of a rapidly growing audience.  Nowadays, some 50,000 people attend the events presented by the Center each year; the Center works with a budget of nearly two (2) million.

The Opportunity

While we are focusing on increased innovation, flexibility and adaptability to keep up with the high level of demand for quality Latino cultural offerings, we know that future success will depend upon the active support and advocacy of individuals, corporations and other organizations. We invite everyone to get to know the economic potential of the Latino market in Chicago. Become a household name with the Center by endorsing the contributions and presence of the Latino population in the United States.

The public support will allow us to continue to work hard until our dream becomes a reality --to build, in Chicago, a world-class facility to house and share the multinational culture that represents more than 600 million Latinos worldwide.

Our Vision:

To build a world-class, Pan-Latino multi-arts facility in Chicago to house and share the art, food and the great cultural diversity of the more than 600 million Latinos worldwide.

We are expecting to raise the $50 million plus that will cost the Center’s facility as follows:

City of Chicago: $10 to $15 million (piece of land & cash)

Cook County: $10,000 million

State of Illinois: $10 to $15 million

Federal Government: $20 million

A Capital Campaign to raise $15 million from Corporations, Foundations, Individuals, and from the Latin American countries and Spain

The Center will consist of the following components, it can be part of a much larger complex: The Ibero-American Tower (condos & offices)