COLLECTION
Community Voices: La Alma, Auraria and North Side
Explore La Alma, Auraria and North Side, three neighborhoods in Denver, through the voices of eight storytellers deeply connected to these communities.
Created and curated by Lia Musante, this oral-history project brings together stories about murals, Chicana/o/x activism, community control, displacement, neighborhood change, intergenerational knowledge, and ways of remembering.
Explore the Stories ›
Mural Stories in Denver
Learn about some of the early murals painted in Denver by Chicana/o/x artists.
The West Side’s Chicana/o/x Activism
Hear storytellers describe their experiences of the Chicana/o/x Movement in the 1960s and 70s
Community Control as Resistance and Resilience
Learn how residents of La Alma and Auraria built their own systems for sharing power and exercising control within their communities.
Casa Mayan’s History in Auraria
North of La Alma, Auraria residents experienced mass displacement in the 1960s and 70s. Listen to stories of Casa Mayan, a community gathering place and Mexican restaurant that thrived for decades before Auraria’s displacement and redevelopment.
Ties to Space and Neighbors Amidst Gentrification
Hear long-time residents describe their experiences of and responses to changes in Denver’s West Side caused by urban development and gentrification.
Sharing Knowledge and Power with Young People
Storytellers share lessons from their activism with young people, carrying knowledge and connections to La Alma and Auraria across generations.
Ways of Remembering
How should the histories of the Chicana/o/x Movement and community organizing in La Alma and Auraria be represented and kept alive?
Explore Lia Musante’s project zine
Meet the Storytellers
Helen
Giron-Mushfiq
Andy
Mendoza
Gregorio
González Alcaro
Lucha
Martínez de Luna
Emanuel
Martínez
Karma
Leigh
Desiree Maestas
and Cathy Prieto
About This Project
My name is Lia, and from November 2021 until April 2022 I worked with a handful of long-time residents of La Alma and Auraria for this oral history project, where they discuss their experiences as a part of the neighborhoods, their past and current community organizing, as well as their desires and hopes for the future.
Above are descriptions and examples of what I and the residents see as major takeaways of the oral histories. La Alma and Auraria have a long and multi-layered history of residents connecting with one another in order to make-real their wants and hopes for the neighborhoods. Each storyteller’s unique experience and way of recollecting shed light on the multiplicity of histories surrounding La Alma and Auraria, but simultaneously, many stories share sentiments despite differences across generations and particular focuses in the communities.
This project was part of my undergraduate thesis in Sociology and Revolutions, with the goal of it being useful to ongoing community organizing in Denver. As an uninvited White settler, I grew up on Susquehannock, Piscataway, and Nentego (Nanticoke) land on the East coast and lived on Ute and Cheyenne land at the time of this project. In many respects I am not from the communities highlighted here, and I sought to account for how this work and my
perspective can perpetuate oppressive power structures, and I hope to leverage my privilege toward storytellers’ goals for the neighborhoods. As someone passionate about local community organizing, I have a great deal to learn from these storytellers and want to be intentional in making space for complexity in their stories and perspectives.
This project was made possible by the eight storytellers who trusted me with their lived experience and knowledge, as well as their insight on the direction of this work. I am grateful for their compassion and willingness to share and guide me. I am also thankful that this project can live on here and be put in conversation with Colorado’s Chicana/o/x mural movement!
To hear the stories and sentiments highlighted, listen along with this playlist of audio clips from the oral histories collected for this project:
Listen to the
Oral Histories
Oral histories conducted by Lia Musante in Denver, Colorado, 2021–2022. Part of Emanuel Project’s Mural Memory Archive.
Shared for public access and educational use. For reuse, contact Emanuel Project.
References
City of Denver Community Planning and Development. “Proposed La Alma-Lincoln Park Historic District.” City of Denver. Retrieved and adapted
May 3, 2022.
Fairhill & Co.. 2019. “La Alma Lincoln Park.” Denver, CO: Historic Denver, Inc.