Adelante Alliance
Karla Quinonez-Ruggiero, Director
Adelante Alliance (Adelante) is dedicated to serving and empowering the Mexican and Latino community in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Established in 2004, its goal is to “help heal the wounds of distress and alienation that accompany immigration and support individuals and their families to address social inequalities.” Through its educational, cultural and other programs, Adelante develops community members as leaders and organizers.
Adelante’s educational programs build on Spanish-language skills as a foundation to learn English. “Learning Spanish through Arts,” an ongoing program for the elementary school children, introduces a fun, hands-on approach to encourage techniques, the program teaches Spanish and English reading and writing and Mexican history and culture. By learning to read and write in their native language, children deepen their capacity to learn English. Weekly adult literacy classes are based on the same model.
Adelante’s celebrations of important Mexican cultural holidays attract hundreds of people to enjoy traditional music, dance and food. Other programs, offered in Spanish, inform and educate the community about contemporary issues affecting their lives such as immigration law and the media’s portrayal of Latino immigrants, and seek to mobilize residents to make progressive social change.