ErLinda C. Tórres, President and CEO for ALAC Leads to Preserve the Arts in our Community

ErLinda C. Tórres, President and CEO for the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center~Galeria 147 (ALAC)

By: Cindy G. Castillo

Linda C. Tórres, President and CEO of the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center ~Galeria 147, (ALAC) has six generations behind her to trace the roots of her commitment to the community.

Her family is a blend of Mexican and Irish culture, and she remembers there was always a sense of leadership and motivation to serve others among them.

“The motivation really is to be there and fill in the needs; to leave a legacy for generations to come,” she said.

Tórres has devoted 35 years to higher education, and it was her love for dance that led her to become a teacher and choreographer of Mexican Folklorico dance for 18 years.

After retiring from ASU, she felt that there was an area in our community that needed to be promoted and preserved the most: the Latino, Chicano, Indigenous and Mexican Arts and Culture, especially for current generations.

“That was more than anything else. Arts and culture really took to the heart; it’s the soul for our community,” she said.

Today, Linda C. Torres serves as the Founding President CEO of ALAC, but also dedicated over 18 years as an Executive Director/Choreographer/Dancer

Thus, ALAC was founded in December 2009 thanks to a core group of 43 artists, activists and community leaders that came together for the same purpose: to create a cultural center where artists could show their talents.

This upcoming December, ALAC will proudly celebrate five years since it was founded, and at the time, it was the board of directors, with the leadership of Board ChairLinda Tórres’ ultimate responsibility for the center’s doors to open.

“Abriendo Puertas Para Nuestra Arte y Cultura,” Tórres said.

Today, Linda C. Tórres serves as the Founding President CEO of ALAC, and also dedicated over 18 years as an Executive Director/Choreographer/Dancer

“The City of Phoenix was supportive and the experience and process was wonderful,” to establish the first cultural center for our artists and community,” as she recalls.

The focus for ALAC is education and serving the needs of the community. The group of leaders behind ALAC now share their combined decades of experience, knowledge and expertise within their respective classes, visitors and community.

“We’re blessed to have good people. We’re blessed to have a good board of directors and staff and incredibly talented artistas.” The dedication and passion is what inspires us each day,  Tórres said.

This September, ALAC is proud to expand their curriculum. They will be offering a wider variety of classes to include visual, digital, performing and acting classes.

“The ideal situation for ALAC is for us to continue to be self-sufficient, for us to sustain the service that we promised to our community, our students and to the artists,” she said.

In the future, Torres hopes for ALAC to become not only a larger visual arts gallery, but also to expand into creating a performing arts center.

“There is an opportunity there for ALAC,  it’s coming soon, and we’re very excited just to embrace it,” she said.

To learn more about the Arizona Latinos Arts and Cultural Center~Galeria 147 (ALAC) and to support their ultimate commitment for the arts community, contact directly at 602.254.9817 or visit  alacaz.org

Collage photo includes, leaders, founding artists, board & staff Members:
Raúl Yzaguirre, Francisco Gutiérrez, Jim Covarrubias, Artist, Mario Mendia, Jose Cardenas, Linda Tórres, Consul Victor Trevino; and former board members, Roberto Reveles, William James Fisher. Celebrating at ALAC with Edward James Olmos, Actor/Executive Producer. Currently, serving at ALAC are three co-founders; Francisco X. Gutiérrez, ALAC Board Chairman, José Andrés Girón, Artist/Curator and ALAC President CEO, Linda Tórres.