BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s Latin American community is filled with cultures from around the world, and for many, the word CIELO translates to ‘sky’ in Spanish.
For Yesenia Mejia ‘CIELO’ stands for Creative, Immigrant Educators of Latin American Origin.
WJZ sat down with Mejia inside Creative Alliance’s Patterson Building, where they host many events and gallery exhibitions such as “Walk on By”.
“It is becoming a group where we share and honor our traditions and learn from each other,” said Yesenia Mejia, the director of CIELO Creative Alliance at The Patterson.
Since 2019, they’ve taken off spreading their knowledge of Latin American arts and culture.
“The beauty of this was that there were a lot of people with different backgrounds enjoying the flavor, the music, the dances– the art,” said Mejia. “Everybody is welcome to join, celebrate and honor together.”
For nearly a decade, Mejia has worked with her assistant Lily Mancia on several events and programs throughout the year:
“Dios de Los Muertos, which is the day of the dead celebration festival and parade,” explained Mejia. “We want to bring and celebrate our loved ones who are not with us anymore.”
“I knew very little even about my own culture but here I learned more about Mexican culture and Ecuadorian,” said Lily Mancia, an assistant working at CIELO. “I never really realized what’s the power of the art that we do in our countries.”
“I remember my grandfather cutting the flowers. I remember my grandma, my mom cooking tamales in the kitchen and arroz con leche,” said Mejia.
They take the memories and traditions of their family and teach each other.
“When you’re an immigrant and you are far from home you don’t see your loved ones so it is a representation of our loved ones that are not here with us but you are able to connect with them,” explained Mejia.
“Me siento orgullosa. I feel proud,” said Mancia. “I am proud of the team because we share, preserve Latin American culture. I have a daughter and I would like her to connect with our Latin American culture through this organization and what we do.”
To learn more about CIELO, you can visit their website here.