Photo by Armando Chavez
Audio By Carbonatix
When Javier Quinones moved to Pueblo 11 years ago, his new neighbors were quick to warn him not to visit the East Side of town.
“That was the bad neighborhood. Nothing but gangs over there, people told me,” he recalls.
So the native Chicagoan decided to start his nonprofit work in that area by organizing skateboard competitions. Then, he began hosting free graffiti writing and breakdancing classes for local youth through his organization, Mad Fresh Productions, and the breaking offerings took hold.
Now it’s part of a free hip-hop festival he organizes every year.
“The reason why breaking is so powerful in Pueblo is because it allows kids to move,” Quinones says. “Kids have all this extra energy, and they don’t have anywhere to put it. They sit all day long on video games; they’re online. They have nowhere to put their energy.
“When we introduced a way for them to creatively move their bodies and express themselves they can release some of that energy,” he continues.
Quinones recruited longtime Denver b-boy (aka break-boy) Kid Cuba to help with programming and coaching a few years ago, and its only grown since. More importantly than teaching kids the ins and outs of break dancing, is putting them on the right path to be better people, according to Quinones.
“We want them to be top tier human beings. We want them to learn to have the confidence to be leaders in their community. To have the courage to say no to a bully or turn their back on someone handing them drugs or influencing them to be part of a gang,” Cuba explains, adding that each class starts with affirmations and mantras such as “Today’s a great day,” “I love myself” and “It’s cool to be kind.”
“We want them to build the self-esteem, confidence and the community to not have to go those routes,” he adds. “So that’s what we want to provide for the Pueblo community, a positive outlet. We want them to know it’s okay to bring your feelings.”
For the past four years, one of those outlets has been the free summer hip-hop festival.
Summer Hip-Hop Festival returns
The Summer Hip-Hop Festival returns to Pueblo at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, at Mineral Palace Park. The event features breaking and emcee battles, graffiti and scratching workshops, and overall exposure to hip-hop culture.
Courtesy Armando Chavez
“At the festival you get a taste of all the different elements,” says Cuba, who once again is serving as one of the breaking competition judges and MCs. “There is literally something for everybody.”
As a lifelong MC and hip-hop head, Quinones wants to pay it forward in his new home and provide the alternative activities he found solace in growing up.
“I was an MC of 20 years. That’s how I escaped trouble,” he shares. “That was the element that I fell in love with, and that’s how I could express myself.
“Breakdancing on cardboard boxes and trying to be one with the culture that was so prominent in our lives,” Quinones continues. “It’s always been a dream of mine to bring all the elements together.”
Making Pueblo a hub for Colorado hip-hop means there’s more for young people to do, too, especially if Mad Fresh continues to receive more funding and support.
“It’s only the beginning. I want to have a DJ school, graffiti school, MC school,” Quinones says. He’s also held a free annual multi-cultural festival for the past eight years, which is now held every October.
“Flip side of not just hip-hop, we also periodically run indigenous plant medicine programs. We run various art programs, origami and different cultures of art,” he adds. “When the funding comes, we want to explore and open these doors for the youth so they can get closer to their indigenous roots or ethnicities.”
The Pueblo Summer Hip-Hop Festival begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 18, Mineral Palace Park, 1600 N. Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo. Attendance is free for all ages.
