A Message from Our CEO: A Summer of Culture, a Fall of Possibility at IBA

Hola IBA community,

This summer was one for the books. Here's a message from our CEO:

I feel immense joy and pride in seeing all that happened this summer, as we opened the doors of La CASA to our City and the region. La CASA is not just a building, it is a home to bring IBA’s long-held community development vision come fully alive. Throughout the summer, La CASA’s Jean and Tom Yawkey Hall and community spaces, our treasured Plaza Betances and parks across Boston were filled with music, art, movement building and community connections.

At the 53rd Festival Betances, generations gathered to celebrate the enduring legacy of Boston’s Puerto Rican community. Through the Tito Puente Latin Music Series, music and dance brought people together across neighborhoods for the 20th year in a row. And at Baila Por Venezuela, artists and community members filled La CASA in a powerful expression of solidarity.

These moments remind us that culture is not separate from community building. It is how we preserve places and history, affirm identity, practice solidarity, and build opportunities for the next generation.

That spirit continues this fall. From films and gallery programs to live music and special collaborations with Embrace Boston, the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture and the Museum of Fine Arts, there are many opportunities to gather, learn, and celebrate together. Meanwhile, our Early Education Program continues its year-round work of giving Boston’s youngest learners a strong, bilingual foundation.

We are also calling on our community to stand with 13 young people whose Youth Development Program positions are at risk. I hope you will take a moment to hear their stories and help us protect the opportunities that allow them to learn, earn, and build toward their futures.

Thank you for continuing to show up for IBA, for one another, and for the future we are building together.

With pride and gratitude, 
Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D. 
Chief Executive Officer

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