October 20, 2008 World of culture found at Center for Latino Art Play video

(NECN: Ally Donnelly) - From Latin drums to poetry to performing arts. The Center for Latino Art brings children in Boston’s South End to a world of culture that for many hits close to home.

Warming up for class at the center for Latino arts Raymond Valentin has come a long way.

At first, the 13-year-old was nervous embarrassed swaying his hips with a bunch of kids from the neighborhood, but then.

Raymond Valentin: I was just like -- I don't care I'm just gonna dance cuz...it's fun.

The center for Latino arts...or CLA...is a non-profit encouraging kids to dip their toes in everything from dance and theater to poetry and visual arts.

Widermy Baez: Everywhere that they put kids is like so boring...and they just lecture you and lecture you -- *here* you learn and you have fun too, so it's cool.

The center seems a real touchstone in the community. Tucked into Boston’s south end, it largely serves kids in the heavily-Latino public housing complex villa Victoria.

Javier Torres/Director: A lot of these low income housing communities there's turf violence, there's issues with violence in the home or lack of education or just lack of access to resources.

15-year-old Jasmine Ayala lives in an apartment with two brothers, her aunt, a nephew and her out of work single mother. She says the center is the calm in what is often the storm of the streets.

Jasmine: other people from other gangs will come up and ask you where

Raymond: If I didn't have this place, then probably I'd be on the streets doing something wrong or something like that.

Latinos are the fastest-growing population in much of the country -- certainly here in Boston. So these programs aren't just to provide a safe haven for kids, but to teach them about how they fit in -- about their own cultural relevance.

Vanessa/CEO: If you don't know where coming from, it's harder for you to figure out where you want to go to

The CLA's mission is to preserve and promote Latino art and culture.

People these days grow up often not necessarily knowing what their heritage is//a lot of people feel struggle in communities, but don't know who fought for them or how hard they needed to fight to get where they are.

Program director Javier Torres says the center tries to bridge the gap between old world culture and new world realities -- finding the beauty and importance in each.

Javier: As Latinos, we love color, we love things that are vibrant//20 we want to make it representative of who we are so we love yellows and reds and oranges and blues... 15:00:45 we get to showcase all of it and find commonalities, but also be able to show the differences and show people that we're many, many different things.

Raymond: Nobody taught me about being Latino or anything and then in cacique they teach you a lot.

It doesn't let you forget where you came from. Even though you're moving forward you still have where you came from.

18-year-old Widermy Baez says before coming to the CLA, she took being Latina for granted, but through programs like dance and drums and drawing she's rediscovering her identity.

CEO Vanessa Calderon Rosado says the programs are designed to help the kids gain self confidence and self esteem --- in hopes they will do better in school and in life.

Vanessa/CEO: To the extent that we can open another window of opportunity for them to be successful...that is wonderful.

And if *these* kids are any indication...mission accomplished.