El Centro was a punk run youth centre in Pomona it only lasted for correct me if I'm wrong but I think about a year before the city ordered the building torn down. There was a lot of controversy arounf it but what it really came down to is the city of Pomona doesn't like the citizens organising a youth centre or any other form of political activism without their complete control.
The Bastards condemned the place and burned it down for fire fighter practice.
They did many shows and many of the kids that organised it are now part of Pomona Pyrate Punks chapter 25 and continue to do shows and partake in political activism.
This is the only video I got, unfortunatly.
Prior to the first shows hosted there, "El Centro" offered tutoring assistance and was an outlet of community service for Cal Poly students. Contrasting views with the coordinator influenced their departure though. This was before Pomona's PP chapter started booking shows there. Up until there El Centro's schedule reflected the one below:
ReplyDeleteMonday - Think Tank (open mic discussions)
Tuesday - Art
Wednesday - Self Defence/citizen rights awareness
Thursday- weekly meetings
Friday - movie nights (if no shows were booked)
Saturday - shows
Sunday - gardening morning
Other meetings were held there. Some events on the schedule weren't as consistent as others.
The building however was in too poor of a state to have been kept. Counselors saw it more beneficial to build a community center from scratch as apposed to keeping an old building that demanded continuous fiscal investment/repairs. Numerous discussions have steered towards the idea of using the property for similar community center purposes but at a higher standard (referencing to the building itself). The lot, however, remains vacant to this day.