Hispanics make up just more than 10% of the population in Fort Collins, but their history stems back decades. For many, it started in a sugar beet field in the 1930s now named Sugar Beet Park. Now, community members are working to shed light on that history and culture.
Nonprofit raising funds through replicas of sculpture honoring beet field workers
Mujeres de Colores hopes to unveil the sculpture at Sugar Beet Park in October, before the end of Hispanic Heritage month. Author: Victoria De Leon Updated: 6:41 PM MDT May 23, 2021
FORT COLLINS, Colo. A $300,000 project to honor Hispanic and Mexican sugar beet field workers has been in the works for nearly a year. Project leader, and founder of Mujeres de Colores, Betty Aragon-Mitotes hopes a sculpture will bring a sense of pride to those who worked in the beet fields of Northern Colorado, as well as their families.
To help raise money for to pay for the completion of the sculpture, the nonprofit is giving miniature replicas of the sculpture for donations of at least $500.
The Living Her Legacy project all began with a wrong turn.
Patti Smith was leaving the Colorado Convention Center when she made a wrong turn and ended up happening upon 80 portraits of men and women. After a little investigating, Smith discovered the images were part of
Colorado Panorama, a project by artist Barbara Jo Revelle designed to showcase the state’s historic figures.
“And I thought, ‘If they can do that in Denver, why can t we do that in Fort Collins?’” Smith said.
Almost eight years later, Smith unveiled the first four portraits of the new Living Her Legacy project honoring historic Fort Collins women this week.
Meet the first 4 women to be featured in an art exhibit spotlighting Fort Collins women Erin Udell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Fort Collins first permanent public art exhibit dedicated to women s history took its latest step this weekend with an unveiling in Old Town on Sunday afternoon.
Living Her Legacy s public art exhibit a Fort Collins-born project aimed at honoring 48 of the city s notable women and educating the community about their contributions revealed a placard with a rendering of what the portraits of its first four honored women will look like.
This fall, the project plans to install renderings of the next four portraits. Eventually, permanent versions of the portraits which take 20 to 30 hours to create on weatherproof metal panels through a wood-cut reduction process will replace the renderings on the north-facing wall of windows of Coopersmith s Poolside, Living Her Legacy founder and director Patti Smith said. Once complete,
Hispanic Community Voices Share Join Rocky Mountain Public Media and AARP, along with Colorado community leaders, for a virtual film screening and conversation.
We are all deeply impacted by the pandemic, but members of our community have not had the resources to navigate the crisis. “Hispanic Community Voices” reveals the hidden impact the COVID19 crisis is having on essential workers. Meet Larimer County immigrant workers whose industries are hard hit economically, who do not have the privilege to work remotely, and who are left out of many critical forms of assistance.
We invite you to a virtual community conversation on