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Join us for a presentation centered on international solidarity, featuring Dayanis Garcia Farinas a representative of the Martin Luther King Center in Cuba.
Suggested Donation to attend
Get tickets here!
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. In Polinización Cruzada, the Beehive Collective will lead a popular education event using visual art as a tool for preserving and sharing historical memory. The Beehive Collective is a volunteer-led artistic and activist collective that creates collaborative, copyright-free images as tools for community education and organizing. You can learn more about them here: https://beehivecollective.org/
This event is made possible with support from CRLN, Alma de Izote, CEIBA, and the 18th St Casa de Cultura.
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. La Palabra is a conversation and panel discussion led by CEIBA Colectiva about today’s social movements in Central America, including first-hand experience on solidarity delegations and more.
About ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!
This September, CRLN and 18th Street Casa de Cultura are glad to partner with Alma de Izote and CEIBA Colectiva for a month of events exploring Central American resistance.
As we enter the month when Central American independence is celebrated, we invite people to look beyond the traditional narratives of nation-states, independence, and colonial history—and to explore how people across the isthmus have resisted and continue to resist colonialism, neocolonialism, exploitation, and state violence through art, music, language, culture, and the work of social movements.
Gráficas de Resistencia:
Salvadoran Posters of Rebellion and Resistance
September 10, 2026 · 6:00 PM
18th Street Casa de Cultura
2057 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL 60608
Join us for the opening of an exhibition featuring posters from the private collection of Ramiro E. Ochoa, Salvadoran artist, graphic designer, and propagandist. The collection brings together political posters from the 1970s and 1980s, offering a glimpse into the art, ideas, and historic memory that profoundly shaped shaped a generation and invite us to think about what those histories can teach us today.
The evening will feature a conversation between Ramiro E. Ochoa and Nicaraguan artist Carlos Barberena, moderated by Jhonathan Gómez of CRLN.
More Than Art
These posters are part of a history of people organizing, resisting, and imagining a different future. During a month when Central American independence is celebrated, ¡Mesoamérica Resiste! invites us to look beyond official histories and remember generations of people who have fought for justice, dignity, and liberation.
Come see the exhibition. Come hear the conversation. Come be part of the discussion.
Throughout September
September 12 – 12PM
Son Chiquitos: Nawat and Maya K’iche’, Música y Arte
A signature program of 18th Street Casa de Cultura for children exploring Nawat, an indigenous language form El Salvador and Maya K’iche’, an indigenous language from Guatemala through music and art.
September 15 – 6PM
La Palabra: Panel Discussion on Central American Social Movements
A conversation and panel discussion lead by CEIBA Colectiva about today’s social movements in Central American.
September 20 – 6PM
Polinización Cruzada: Storytelling + Discussion with the Beehive Collective
A volunteer-led artistic and activist collective that creates collaborative, copyright-free images as tools for community education and organizing.
September 21 – 6PM
Forbidden Tongues: Workshop on How We See Indigenous Language in Everyday Culture
Taller Lingüístico / A linguistic workshop, will explore Nawat, an indigenous language form El Salvador and Maya K’iche’, an indigenous language from Guatemala and how they are presented in everyday culture.
September 27 – 4PM
La Peña: Market and Music + Closing of Art Exhibit
An evening of music, vendors, community, and a closing celebration of the art exhibition.
Throughout the month, we’ll come together to remember, reflect, and question the official stories of independence and the power of the state, while celebrating the people and communities who continue to fight every day for human rights, dignity, and self-determination.
Join us as we celebrate how the people of Mesoamérica continue to shape their own history.
📍 18th Street Casa de Cultura
2057 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL 60608
¡Mesoamérica Resiste!
¡Mesoamérica Resiste!
A month of celebrating and exploring Central American resistance
This September, CRLN and 18th Street Casa de Cultura are glad to partner with Alma de Izote and CEIBA Colectiva for a month of events exploring Central American resistance.
As we enter the month when Central American independence is celebrated, we invite people to look beyond the traditional narratives of nation-states, independence, and colonial history—and to explore how people across the isthmus have resisted and continue to resist colonialism, neocolonialism, exploitation, and state violence through art, music, language, culture, and the work of social movements.
SEPTEMBER 10
Gráficas de Resistencia: Posters of Rebellion
Exhibition Opening • 6 PM
Our inaugural event is a powerful opportunity to connect art, resistance and historic memory.
Gráficas de Resistencia: Posters of Rebellion features the private archives of Salvadoran artist and propagandist Ramiro E. Ochoa, including revolutionary posters from the 1980s and 1990s by various artists alongside Ramiro’s own work.
The event is an exhibition of art and a conversation between Ramiro E. Ochoa and Nicaraguan graphic artist Carlos Barberena, moderated by CRLN Co-Director Jhonathan F. Gomez.
This exhibition invites us to consider the role of art in revolutionary movements—and to ask whose histories, struggles, and visions are remembered when we celebrate independence.
This event is made possible with support from 18th St. Casa de Cultura, Alma de Izote and CEIBA Colectiva.
Throughout September
September 12 – 12PM
Son Chiquitos: Nawat and Maya K’iche’, Música y Arte1
A signature program of 18th Street Casa de Cultura for children exploring Nawat, an indigenous language form El Salvador and Maya K’iche’, an indigenous language from Guatemala through music and art. Register Here
September 15 – 6PM
La Palabra: Panel Discussion on Central American Social Movements
A conversation and panel discussion lead by CEIBA Colectiva about today’s social movements in Central American. Register Here
September 20 – 6PM
Polinización Cruzada: Storytelling + Discussion with the Beehive Collective
A volunteer-led artistic and activist collective that creates collaborative, copyright-free images as tools for community education and organizing. Register Here
September 21 – 6PM
Forbidden Tongues: Workshop on How We See Indigenous Language in Everyday Culture
Taller Lingüístico / A linguistic workshop, will explore Nawat, an indigenous language form El Salvador and Maya K’iche’, an indigenous language from Guatemala and how they are presented in everyday culture. Register Here
September 27 – 4PM
La Peña: Market and Music + Closing of Art Exhibit
An evening of music, vendors, community, and a closing celebration of the art exhibition. Register Here
Throughout the month, we’ll come together to remember, reflect, and question the official stories of independence and the power of the state, while celebrating the people and communities who continue to fight every day for human rights, dignity, and self-determination.
Join us as we celebrate how the people of Mesoamérica continue to shape their own history.
📍 18th Street Casa de Cultura
2057 W. 18th St., Chicago, IL 60608
¡Mesoamérica Resiste!
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. Bring a friend and let loose at La Peña: Market and Music, our end-of-month pachanga bringing everyone together for one last baile of the month. You will find merch from local vendors, solidarity organizations, and more.
This event is made possible with support from CRLN, Alma de Izote, CEIBA, and the 18th St. Casa de Cultura.
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. Forbidden Tongues: Intro to Nawat and Maya K’iche will give you a crash course in two of the most important indigenous languages of Central America. Activities will be led by Alma Lindgren of Alma de Izote and Omar Mejia.
This event is made possible with support from CRLN, Alma de Izote, Ceiba, and the 18th St. Casa de Cultura.
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. Bring your little one to Son Chiquitos: Nawat and Maya K’iche for Kids for an afternoon of songs and activities in the indigenous languages of Central America. Activities will be led by Alma Lindgren of Alma de Izote, and Omar Mejia.
This event is made possible with support from CRLN, Alma de Izote, CEIBA, and the 18th St. Casa de Cultura.
Join us for ¡Mesoamérica Resiste!, a month of programs celebrating revolutionary culture in Central America. Graficas de Resistencia: Posters of Rebellion Exhibition Launch is our inaugural event featuring artist and propagandist Ramiro E. Ochoa. The exhibition will feature revolutionary posters from the 80s and 90s, as well as new works by Ramiro. Join us for the exhibit and a conversation between Ramiro and Nicaraguan graphic artist Carlos Barberena, moderated by CRLN Director Jhonathan F. Gomez.
This event is made possible with support from CRLN, Alma de Izote, CEIBA, and the 18th St. Casa de Cultura.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF COLOMBIA AFTER THE ELECTIONS
June 24, 2026
CRLN stands in unwavering solidarity with the people of Colombia at a critical moment. We stand with communities across Colombia and the diaspora defending life, dignity, peace, and democracy in the face of violence, disinformation, and political intervention.
We stand with Colombia because its democratic future is rooted in the struggles of its people—from Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities to workers, women, youth, and human rights defenders—who have long fought for justice.
Recent gains for peace, democracy, and social justice remain fragile amid threats of renewed militarization, oligarchical control, and political violence.
The defeat of progressive candidate Iván Cepeda, committed to continuing the reform agenda of President Gustavo Petro, marks a setback for progressive forces and reflects a broader regional trend of rising neo-authoritarian, far-right, fascist political currents across Latin America.
The electoral victory of Abelardo De La Espriella must be understood in light of widespread concerns regarding foreign intervention, vote-buying allegations by third actors, and broader irregularities documented by political actors, observers, and civil society organizations. International human rights-based methodologies understand electoral integrity as encompassing not only procedural findings but also the political environment, foreign interference, and conditions under which democratic participation takes place. In this context, questions of legitimacy extend beyond the formal outcome to the conditions under which that outcome was produced.
What happens in Colombia reverberates across the continent.
WE DENOUNCE FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN THE STRONGEST TERMS
We denounce in the strongest terms the intervention of President Donald Trump and other U.S. political figures, including Senator Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida), who openly inserted themselves into Colombia’s electoral process. This reflects a long and ongoing history of U.S. interference in Latin America, where sovereign democratic processes are repeatedly subordinated to external political interests.
As Iván Cepeda stated:
“We denounce the open and improper foreign interference in Colombia’s internal affairs, particularly the interventions of the government of the United States and President Donald Trump in favor of a presidential candidacy.”
This interference is not symbolic—it shapes political conditions, deepens polarization, and undermines the autonomy of democratic decision-making.
A PATTERN OF STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY
This electoral moment cannot be separated from deeper structures of violence and historical impunity that continue to shape Colombia’s political life.
The political ascent and electoral victory of presidential candidate Abelardo De La Espriella, and his documented and widely reported ties to paramilitary networks, including the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), reflects a broader attempt to normalize political projects historically rooted in violence against social movements and popular sectors.
The AUC were responsible for some of the most severe atrocities of Colombia’s armed conflict, including massacres, forced disappearances, sexual violence, torture, and mass displacement. These crimes targeted Indigenous peoples, Afro-Colombian communities, campesinos, trade unionists, and human rights defenders, in direct alignment with the defense of elite political and economic interests.
These concerns are not abstract. As Iván Cepeda warned during his concession:
“We denounce that this campaign involved massive vote-buying operations and sophisticated strategies of manipulation, including the use of artificial intelligence technologies.”
“No electoral victory can be built on practices that degrade democracy. Not everything is permissible in the struggle for power.”
These warnings emphasize a reality of the current moment, legitimacy cannot be reduced to electoral outcome alone, but must be assessed in relation to the conditions under which power is contested, produced, and consolidated.
COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY
CRLN remains in solidarity with the people of Colombia as they continue defending democratic space under difficult conditions. We will continue accompanying social movements, victims’ organizations, and diaspora communities in their struggles for peace, truth, and justice.
Democracy belongs to the people—not to foreign powers, not to elites, and not to violence.
CRLN had international certified observers in Bogotá did not observe anything out of the normal, our team in Chicago witnessed voter intimidation and electioneering.
With respect to the voting of Colombians abroad, particularly in the United States, political actors have raised concerns regarding possible irregularities in the functioning of consular polling stations and alleged procedural or access-related problems during the electoral process. These claims have been interpreted within a broader political narrative questioning the integrity of the election and in the context of foreign intervention.
In its official reporting, the Misión de Observación Electoral (MOE) notes that the monitoring of overseas voting locations—including cities such as Miami, New York, and Houston—is integrated into its general electoral observation framework, which primarily records citizen reports and logistical or procedural incidents. Within this framework, the MOE has not identified evidence of systemic fraud or structural manipulation affecting the electoral outcome abroad.
MOE’s technical assessment of electoral irregularities contrasts with broader international observer frameworks, including the Progressive International and international human rights-based methodologies, which emphasize electoral integrity as encompassing not only procedural findings but also the political environment, foreign interference, and conditions under which democratic participation takes place.
CRLN raises serious concerns about the reports of the practice of vote buying which had allegedly been employed by De La Espriella’s supporters throughout Colombia and in the diaspora.
CRLN raises serious concerns about the political and mediatic environment in which the election took place with Abelardo De La Espriella and his supporters using violent rhetoric against supporters of the opposing candidate including a call to “disembowel the left” and nostalgia for right-wing paramilitaries responsible for the deaths of nearly 100,000 Colombians.
As an organization based in the United States, CRLN brings attention to the blatant interference of the Trump Administration in Colombia’s electoral process. This is public support by President Trump for De La Espriella constitutes political intervention, as well as and a smear campaign by congressional republicans and State Department officials against the supporters of Iván Cepeda.
Lastly, CRLN calls for the Department of Homeland Security to immediately release Beto Coral, a Colombian journalist and asylum seeker, who was arrested due to his political beliefs following a direct order from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He has allegedly been tortured while in detention and ordered to sign his own deportation. CRLN sees Coral’s arrest as an affront to free speech for all residents of the United States and calls on Congress to thoroughly investigate his detention.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Colombia.
We demand the release of Beto Coral.