"What is left of the former Mexican American Community Services Agency facility in East San Jose will soon be demolished. While it had gone through its share of troubles over the past decade-plus, a devastating three-alarm fire last month reduced it to rubble. Now, neighborhood organizers are demanding a say in the future of the beloved center, which was long a vibrant community hub for the city's diverse Alum Rock and Mayfair neighborhoods."
"This building means community, it means identity, it means culture, it means changing lives, said Victor Vasquez, co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair, who watched and wept as the building burned. It is weaved into the identity of Mayfair and San Jose. It is a cultural asset and part of our cultural (history). It is meant to be passed down. The MACSA center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)"
"For months before the Aug. 29 fire, community organizers with SOMOS Mayfair, the Mexican Heritage Plaza and the Si Se Puede Collective had been lobbying the Alum Rock School District to partner with them to reopen and rehabilitate the abandoned youth center. They had hoped to preserve the colorful indigenous Mexican and Meso-American murals and architecture, which adorned the building's halls and told stories of Latino culture and history."
The former Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) facility in East San Jose suffered a devastating three-alarm fire on Aug. 29 that reduced much of the building to rubble. The district-owned site is slated for demolition while neighborhood organizers with SOMOS Mayfair, Mexican Heritage Plaza and Si Se Puede Collective demand a role in decisions about redevelopment. Organizers sought to reopen and rehabilitate the abandoned youth center, preserve indigenous Mexican and Mesoamerican murals and architecture, and revive traditions like indoor-soccer rivalries and youth hangouts. The Alum Rock School District will provide status updates at upcoming board meetings as stakeholders formulate plans for a potential one-stop children-and-families center.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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