Free Cultural Arts & Storytelling for BIPOC youth in Santee, California — Un Mar de Colores

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

  • —School art programs in Santee School District / Grossmont Union High are underfunded — supplies are rationed and coastal themes never appear.
  • —You want art that returns to community — not portfolio pieces sold to tourists who never visit Santee.
  • —You want intergenerational participation — many art workshops exclude young kids or older relatives from Santee.

Lo que cambia cuando los jóvenes entran al agua

  • Free means free — no supply fees, no exhibition entry costs, no residency tuition.
  • Bilingual instruction and materials in English and Spanish — 17% households served fully.
  • Culturally grounded curriculum — Indigenous and Latino coastal narratives as foundation, not supplement.

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

Chicano and Latino surf culture history modules teach Santee youth about longboard traditions, barrio surf scenes, and coastal narratives excluded from Santee School District / Grossmont Union High textbooks.

Poetry and spoken word coastal workshops honor Santee barrio voice — ocean imagery from inland neighborhoods, immigration narratives, and Tijuana River memory.

Por qué Santee importa para nuestra misión

Santee's Spanish-speaking households (17%) get parent communications in both languages, every time. Coastal access fails when language is treated as an afterthought.

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."”

— Middle school student— Parent, One Ocean

Preguntas frecuentes — Cultural Arts & Storytelling en Santee

Can schools from Santee School District / Grossmont Union High book arts workshops?+

Yes — we partner with Title I schools for culturally grounded arts field experiences. Contact Un Mar to coordinate a Santee classroom or after-school arts session.

How does Kumeyaay culture appear in arts programming?+

Kumeyaay elders participate in coastal storytelling and living culture modules alongside visual arts — elders as teachers, not symbols. Santee Indigenous and Latino youth learn cultural depth commercial surf culture erases.

Are workshops bilingual in Santee?+

Yes — bilingual instruction and materials in English and Spanish. In Santee, where 17% of households are Spanish-speaking, artists and elders deliver workshops in both languages.

¿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?

Every Santee child deserves the ocean. Start with a single conversation — we'll handle the rest.

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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