On Saturday, June 29, La Peña Cultural Center invited the community to present its new executive director, Kristen Sbrogna. Around 15 people attended the meeting, held in Berkeley at 3105 Shattuck Ave.
“(It’s about) honoring our past and also staying current and being able to change with the times and be flexible,” said Sbrogna about the changes happening at La Peña. Sbrogna’s background includes nine years of work in Ashkenaz, a music and dance community center.
Her interest in Latin America started when she was a student in Quito, as well as her subsequent trips to Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.
“This past January I was outside (of) Quito in a farm teaching about organic food, production and sustainable living,” she said.
Part of the plans announced by the new director is creating a new mural at La Peña’s exterior facade, which is currently 75 percent completed and will be exhibited this summer. There will also be masonry work, and a new café will be opened on July 12.
Because of these changes, the Cafe Valparaíso will move to Solano Street in Albany. Pablo Valenzuela, owner of the cafe, shares memories of the 12 years he spent at La Peña. “It was a really nice experience,” he said while remembering the visit of two Chilean presidents to the restaurant.
“These years have been (comprised) of hard work and sharing with the family,” said Valenzuela. Although he said it was difficult to leave at first; now “we have the opportunity to expand the restaurant business.”
In a second phase, projected for January, several renovations are planned. The inner wall will be removed to further integrate the space. Also the front of the Cafe will be opened to create an outdoor dining space that is at the ground level.
“We will make physical changes to allow more exchange, more relation between the cultural center and the Cafe,” said Eric Leensen, former interim director at La Peña.
“What we are doing in La Peña (is to) open to new generations. Here we are 40 years later, and it’s time for a generational change. And Kristen is part of that,” added Leensen.
Board member Ellen Salazar commented that this transition has brought controversy. “It would be a lie to say that we all agree. In the details there is always a lot of polemic,” said Salazar, laughing.
Alex Leensen, a board member and part of the second generation in La Peña said there have been many changes and that the controversy that erupted “was a communication problem. We did not do a good job in that sense.”
In reference to the controversies, Salazar added: “What unites us is our love for this space and for what it has brought to our life despite any difference.”