
Un Mar de Colores · Santee, CA
Indigenous Coastal Storytelling — Free in Santee
Guest-artist workshops bring professional BIPOC creators to Santee cohorts across San Diego.
Un Mar de Colores ofrece cultural arts & storytelling gratuitas para jóvenes de Santee de All ages años, con transporte gratuito de 17 millas desde Santee a nuestras playas de enseñanza. Sirviendo a una comunidad del 38% BIPOC (58,895 residentes), nuestra instrucción se lleva a cabo en OB Pier (17 miles) y Coronado Central (16 miles), con entrenadores bilingües certificados y todo el equipo proporcionado. La inscripción prioritaria es para estudiantes de Hill Creek Elementary, Cajon Park Elementary.
Horario — programa en Santee
Quarterly workshops + summer artist residencies · Completamente gratis
Quizás sientes esto
- —Coastal culture in media shows white surf aesthetics — your Santee teen doesn't see Chicano or Indigenous stories.
- —Photography workshops assume expensive gear — your teen has a phone and a vision but no mentorship.
- —Museum trips to San Diego feel like visiting someone else's narrative — not creating your own coastal art.
Lo que cambia cuando los jóvenes entran al agua
- Free means free — no supply fees, no exhibition entry costs, no residency tuition.
- Visual arts: painting, mural, and photography workshops with exhibition-ready output.
- Film and documentary-making training — Santee teens tell their own stories with provided tools.
Por qué operamos este programa en Santee
Santee is an East County city home to Santee School District (approximately 6,000 students). Our Santee cohort travels 17 miles to OB Pier for water programming, making Santee one of our more transportation-intensive partnerships. Hill Creek and Cajon Park Elementary are our Title I partnership schools.
- Población
- 58,895
- Residentes BIPOC
- 38%
- Hogares hispanohablantes
- 17%
- Distancia a la playa
- 17 mi
Cultural Arts & Storytelling en Santee — Lo que debes saber
Free mural and photography workshops near OB Pier (17 miles) and Coronado Central (16 miles) give Santee teens tools to document watershed pollution, lineup culture, and neighborhood coastal memory — art as environmental justice.
Exhibition partnerships with local galleries and museums amplify Santee youth work — public visibility beyond school walls and social media.
Por qué Santee importa para nuestra misión
Safe, lifeguard-coordinated instruction is non-negotiable for Santee youth. Every water session runs inside flagged zones with certified coaches — parents shouldn't have to choose between access and safety.
When we say free for Santee youth, we mean wetsuits, soft-tops, rashguards, sunscreen, transportation, and instruction — the full stack commercial programs charge $50–$150 per session for.
Socios comunitarios locales en Santee
En asociación con el Santee School District / Grossmont Union High y organizaciones comunitarias locales, reclutamos jóvenes de 2+ escuelas Título I.
Distrito escolar y escuelas Título I
- Santee School District / Grossmont Union High
- •Hill Creek Elementary
- •Cajon Park Elementary
Socios comunitarios
- ◆Santee School District
- ◆Santee Library
- ◆Town Center Community Park
Currículo del programa
Cultural Arts & Storytelling at Un Mar de Colores is where the surf, the coast, and community narrative meet. Quarterly workshops and summer artist residencies bring together youth, professional artists, and Kumeyaay elders to create work that reflects the living cultural traditions of the California coast. Programs center Indigenous, Latino, and Chicano voices historically marginalized in coastal culture, and every workshop ends with a public exhibition, publication, or film screening that returns the art to the community that made it.
- →Coastal storytelling and oral tradition
- →Kumeyaay history and living culture
- →Latino and Chicano surf culture history
- →Visual arts (painting, mural, photography)
- →Poetry and spoken word
- →Film and documentary-making
Qué se incluye — Gratis para cada joven de Santee
- ✓All art supplies provided
- ✓Guest-artist workshops
- ✓Exhibition and publication opportunities
- ✓Bilingual instruction
- ✓Culturally grounded curriculum
- ✓Partnership with local galleries and museums
Por qué Un Mar de Colores
We do not charge families. Ever. That policy is structural — grants, donors, and shop revenue fund access so Santee youth are never waitlisted for inability to pay.
Lo que dice nuestra comunidad
“"He used to approach new activities with extreme anxiety — to the point where sometimes we couldn't even get out of the car. Now he goes much deeper into the water."”
Preguntas frecuentes — Cultural Arts & Storytelling en Santee
What art forms are included?+
Coastal storytelling and oral tradition, Kumeyaay history and living culture, Latino and Chicano surf culture history, visual arts (painting, mural, photography), poetry and spoken word, and film and documentary-making. Santee cohorts rotate through forms across quarterly workshops.
Do participants get exhibition opportunities?+
Yes — every workshop cycle aims toward public exhibition, publication, or film screening. Un Mar partners with local galleries and museums to return Santee youth art to the community — not sell it to tourists.
Can teens do film and documentary workshops?+
Yes — film and documentary-making workshops include camera access and editing mentorship. Santee teens document coastal stories, environmental justice, and neighborhood memory with professional guidance.
¿Los programas de Cultural Arts & Storytelling en Santee son realmente gratuitos?+
Sí. Todos los programas de Un Mar de Colores en Santee son 100% gratuitos. Proporcionamos trajes de neopreno 3/2mm, tablas de surf, transporte desde escuelas asociadas como Hill Creek Elementary, Cajon Park Elementary, e instrucción bilingüe certificada. El financiamiento proviene de la San Diego Foundation, subvenciones comunitarias y donantes individuales.
¿Dónde se realizan exactamente las lecciones en Santee?+
Los jóvenes de Santee viajan en nuestro transporte a OB Pier (17 miles), aproximadamente a 17 millas. Los componentes de aula ocurren en escuelas y bibliotecas asociadas dentro de Santee.
¿Qué edades son elegibles en Santee?+
Servimos a jóvenes de All ages años. Nuestra Beca One Ocean cubre las edades 6-12, Ocean Stewards After-School sirve a 13-17, y las Becas Atléticas de Surf están disponibles para jóvenes competitivos a través de nuestras asociaciones con Santee School District / Grossmont Union High.
¿Cómo inscribo a mi hijo/a?+
Contáctenos a través de nuestra página de contacto. La inscripción prioritaria se otorga a estudiantes de Hill Creek Elementary, Cajon Park Elementary y otras escuelas de Título I en Santee School District / Grossmont Union High. Los grupos de verano suelen llenarse con 3-4 semanas de anticipación.
¿Listo para entrar al agua?
Parents in Santee: bilingual staff, certified lifeguard-trained coaches, and zero cost. Sign up now.
Todos los programas de Un Mar de Colores son gratuitos para jóvenes de Santee. Contáctanos para inscribirte, hacer voluntariado, o apoyar el movimiento.
Un Mar de Colores es una organización sin fines de lucro 501(c)(3) liderada por personas BIPOC, basada en Oceanside, California. Ofrecemos programación gratuita de surf, océano y educación ambiental para jóvenes en San Diego y Tijuana — conectando culturas, costas y comunidades desde 2018.
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