Building in downtown Half Moon Bay will host arts programs
By Sebastian Miño-Bucheli
Oct 24, 2024
Updated Oct 24, 2024

Ayudando Latinos a Soñar has purchased a building at 507 Purissima St. that will become a new community arts center just two blocks away from the non-profit’s “Yellow House” headquarters.
ALAS is calling the new space the ALAS Community Arts Center, which will be a home for community-based arts and cultural programs that will serve Latino children, youth, families and seniors.
The founder and executive director of ALAS, Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, said the building is a game changer for the organization because she won’t have to worry about a landlord selling the building or raising the rent.
“We can plan for the long term, building the first Latino Cultural Arts Center on the coast,” Hernandez-Arriaga said. “This is especially significant given the history of Latinos in California, where our contributions to coastal areas have often been overlooked, even though we’ve been part of this landscape for centuries.”
ALAS will also use the new space to consolidate current office spaces and will use the existing Yellow House to continue providing social services, hosting outreach programs and running a food pantry for anyone seeking assistance
Performing arts, such as the youth mariachi and baile folklórico programs, and art classes will be found at the new arts center, alongside entrepreneurship workshops and healing retreats. Looking ahead, ALAS plans to expand the afterschool art program and to host more cultural events on weekends with the building acquisition.
“Today, with the purchase of this building, ALAS takes a monumental step toward fulfilling its long-held dream of establishing a permanent Latino Cultural Arts Center that will inspire creativity, healing and community-building for generations to come,” Lilli Rey, president of the ALAS board, said.
The new art center will complement other cultural institutions in Half Moon Bay, such as the Portuguese Society of the Divine Holy Spirit, also known as I.D.E.S., which holds events in its hall on Main Street.
On Nov. 2, ALAS will host a Día de los Muertos event at the new center and Mac Dutra Park, with performances and other activities, including an Aztec dance troupe, Mariachi Media Luna, Ballet Folklórico Tonantzin, community altars and sugar skull decoration. The Saturday event will run from 3-9 p.m.
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