Proposal for Phoenix Latino Cultural Center

Phoenix City Council members Betty Guardado and Laura Pastor joined Horizonte to discuss the Phoenix Latino Cultural Center, which has been in planning for several years.

This November, Phoenix residents will be voting on a bond measure, with $22 million going to the Latino Cultural Center if approved.

“We know it is important to bring a Latino Cultural Center to life,” Guardado said. “Over 40% of people that live in Phoenix are Latino. We need to make sure we make this a reality for everyone that lives in the city. It’s something that the community has advocated for.”

Guardado said plans to construct the center started years ago, but the pandemic placed a halt on the proposal.

“With this bond money, it will help build and make the dream come alive for the Latino cultural center,” Pastor said. “Fourty-seven percent of people are Latino in the city of Phoenix. [It would be] a celebration of who we are and the diverse history of Latinos.”

According to Guardado, the center will be used as a tool to help educate future generations about rich Latino history. Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the country and the community has asked to have a center, Guardado said.

“It’s a huge need. We need this in order for this community to thrive and for us to have a lot of the programs that others states have,” Guardado said.

There are four proposals that need to be passed which address the Latino cultural center, economic development, infrastructure, and parks and water, Pastor said.

“This is what our community needs are, and we have listened and heard, and now its in their hands to vote. It’s in the best interest of our city voters to vote yes in order to get what we need and continue to grow at the pace that we are growing,” Pastor said.

If the proposals are passed, they are hoping to get the center built within the next five-years, Pastor said.

“Everything you see on the bond are things that people have been telling us for years. I feel very confident that the bond is going to pass,” Guardado said.