This year marks the 35th anniversary of the National Council of La Raza‘s annual conference, and for the first time ever it will take place in Austin — at the Austin Convention Center, July 12-15. In addition to conferences, workshops, a five-kilometer “diabetes dash” to raise awareness, and the like, the conference features a star-studded cast of political personalities, including Spanish President José Maria Aznar, U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Workshops, town hall meetings, and the Latino Expo USA exhibition are free to the public; other events require a fee. La Raza is the largest national Hispanic civil rights organization in the U.S.
Artists with ideas for transforming the South Congress streetscape should attend a city Art in Public Places information meeting Tuesday, July 15, at 5:30pm, at Texas Folklife Resources, 1317 S. Congress. The AIPP project will be part of the city’s larger South Congress urban-design project, for which the city is currently selecting a consultant; the chosen artist is expected to work with the community and can make proposals for lighting, surface materials, street furniture, graphic way-finding, and other streetscape elements. To find out more, call 397-1455 or e-mail aipp@ci.austin.tx.us.
This article appears in Lost Austin II.