Beyond Colorado • 2015
Beyond Colorado— a collaborative effort between myself, urban planner Remy de La Peza, writer Sophia Rivera, and educator Alfredo Resendiz— was created from a spontaneous, mutual grassroots interest in sharing some of Dena’s treasures and histories, especially in connection with communities of color, at an event with regional audience. We had met or reconnected at a talk organized by Alfredo Resindez earlier in 2015 and came together out of shared interest when we noticed that the CicLAvia route highlighted narratives that were already well-known in Pasadena along Colorado Boulevard and Lake Avenue.
Centered in the Playhouse District in the entryway of Cliff’s Books, a longstanding used bookstore that had recently gone out of business, our presentation included the Beyond Colorado map documenting community landmarks past and present from our collective memories with an invitation to add more through typing stories, Dena’s Sidewalk Cafe selling coffee along the route outside of First United Methodist Church, posters with archival photos sourced from the Pasadena Museum of History Archive highlighting Pasadena’s past-era Black, Chinese and LGBTQ+ serving businesses near where we stood on Colorado between Los Robles and Lake, and a performance by the current generation of the legendary John Muir Drum Corps. Painted banners for feeder rides were made by John Muir High School students.
