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Photo: Aztlan interior | By Elle Naef & Alexis Kikoen, Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting System (RMPBS) | The Aztlan Theatre celebrates a 50-year legacy of movies, music and mutual aid. Walking in to the Aztlan Theatre off Santa Fe feels like stepping out of a time machine. Classic black and white floor tiling, stacks of CD cases, and walls packed with flyers and photos from various eras fill the space.

Look closer at the collages on the wall, and a story unfolds. A story of activism, love, family and community. Large paintings of Aurora (the Aztlan’s bartender and owner’s wife) in her youth, glamorous and glowing; homages to both Italian and Mexican heritage; flyers from bands that played there that now sell out stadiums; a memorial photo of a woman with a lovingly scrawled post-it note that simply says, “My Sister.”

Ask Timeo or Aurora Correa about any one of the images, and you’re taken on a journey through Denver’s history from the lens of one small, yet significant, theater — one that has been open for half a century.

A lifetime of activism
Timothy “Timeo” Correa bought the Aztlan Theatre on his birthday in 1972. But before that, he was a young activist, proud of his half-Mexican-half-Italian heritage, on a mission to help people find justice.

It seems the desire to “right every wrong” ran through Correa’s blood, and some of his biggest accomplishments occurred as early as high school.

“I went to West High and then, you know, they always say the grass is greener on the other side. So we had to move back to the East side,” Correa recalled. “We moved back to the East side and the grass wasn’t greener.”

As a student at Manual High, Correa witnessed many disparities.

“They had what they call a well, and it was an opening on the second floor where you can see all the students walking by to their classes. The water was leaking,” he said. “And when you went to your class, you’d get the water on your neck and on your head. Then the city was posting a bond to do maintenance on schools. And lo and behold, Manual was left out.”

Correa took action, and gathered a group of student to speak up. “I got a Hispanic student and I got a Black student and we went down to the board meeting. They were very nervous. They didn’t want to speak. I said, ‘I’ll do the speaking’. For some reason I wasn’t scared.”
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https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/rocky-mountain-pbs/the-aztlan-theatre-celebrates-an-unmatchable-50-year-legacy/

Elle Naef is a digital media producer at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at ellenaef@rmpbs.org.

Alexis Kikoen is the senior producer at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org.

https://www.facebook.com/people/Aztlan-Theater/100068670218601/

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