SU Professor displays his 40 year-old Mexican art collection at the Community Folk Arts Center on East Genesee Street.
What began as hobby for Dr. Alejandro Garcia has become an entire gallery full of vibrant photography and Mexican folk art.
Garcia, professor of social work at Syracuse University, has collected Mexican masks, clothing and pottery for the past 40 years. As a child growing up in Texas, he was told that Mexicans lacked culture. Garcia knew that this couldn’t be true. In his youth he made his first trip to Mexico, where he bought his first piece of art while serving in the military.
In tough economic times, Vera House gets support from student interns.
Vera House, like many nonprofit organizations, is facing massive budget and funding cuts because of the economy. But there is one valuable resource that will not be cut - SU student interns.
"Having the students here is a really big help to the work that we're doing," said Randi Bregman, the Executive Director of Vera House. By her estimate, the organization has lost about 5 percent of its budget because of funding cuts and has had to implement a hiring freeze. Because of this, she said, having interns decreases the pressure on staff members who have had to take on more work.