The first thing you notice about Manos Sagrados — even if you just know a little bit of Spanish — is its name.
Technically speaking, manos is a feminine word in Spanish, and the traditional pronunciation of the recently-opened event venue’s moniker would be manos sagradas — with an “a” instead of an “o” in the second word, which translates into English as sacred hands.
But its founder and manager, Alicia “Bruce” Trujillo, wanted to make a point and send out a signal right from the start. Manos Sagrados is a place to party, make art, hear music, do yoga, meet friends, dance. But it is not a place where traditional ideas about people and their gender are all that important.
The reason she opened the downtown Aurora space was to provide a place where everyone, but especially folks who identify non-traditionally, could perform or produce public events.
Trujillo is a veteran of the local concert and culture scene. She is known locally for her work in radio and as a talent buyer for regional music promoters. She identifies as “a queer Chicana,” and said she noticed a lack of opportunity for many performers in her work.
“I was seeing a lot of inequality in booking, specifically for BIPOC, femme, queer and disabled artists,” she said. “So I wanted to create a space by and for that community.” (Helpful note to readers: the descriptive words Trujillo uses here may not be familiar to everyone, but they are largely self-explanatory.)
She also wanted to contribute to the vibrancy of her neighborhood. The venue is located in the city’s main commercial strip on Colfax Avenue and is part of yet another renaissance of that area, which has seen ups and downs over the decades.
Manos Sagrados is right next door to The People’s Building, the very democratic theater and art space that was started a few years ago by the city of Aurora, and a few doors down from Bánh & Butter Bakery Café, the Asian sandwich restaurant that has gotten positive critical reviews.
Along the nearby blocks are a few fledgling breweries, a wine bar and soon a new coffee shop. Across the street is the Aurora Fox Arts Center and, on some evenings, the zone can get quite busy these days. One reason for that: There’s plenty of parking and public transportation.
Trujillo’s storefront venue, which opened with a party last New Year’s Eve, has the flexibility to accommodate a lot of different public events, which makes it a decent space for its mission. The main room, with a capacity for 100, works well as an intimate concert theater, lecture hall and potential wedding venue. The building formerly housed a church, which had already installed a stage and a lighting booth.
Trujillo finished out the structure herself for the latest reincarnation. She’s a muralist, with a number of public commissions on her résumé, and she covered the walls with a soft pink cloudscape. The bar was built by her domestic partner, local artist and musician Diego Florez-Arroyo. ( I reviewed his last major exhibit at the Union Hall gallery in November.)
The calendar on the venue’s website shows how activities are shaping up. The list includes film screenings, open mic nights, comedy events, DJ sets, experimental theater, concerts and Cumbia dance parties. Audiences are often encouraged to be part of the action, bringing instruments for jam sessions or getting up on stage to tell jokes.
Manos Sagrados is also partnering to host events by the theater company Control Group Productions and off-site events offered by the outdoor venue Levitt Pavilion.
“And if folks have ideas for different types of activations, we’re open to it,” said Trujillo. “ It’s not a huge venue, so it’s a perfect testing ground.”
The venue has plans to use its upstairs as a yoga and dance studio and will offer different kinds of movement classes as time goes on, including, perhaps, a slow-motion meditation class on Sunday mornings.
As for the building’s downstairs, that is also designed to meet a pressing need for local creatives. It has been converted into low-cost studios for visual artists. Already the lower-level is hosting shared work spaces for painters, fashion-makers and other artists. Trujillo is going to let that part of the building shape itself as she grows to understand how artists can make it work together.
The studios are a little under-booked at the moment, but Trujillo is doing what she can to market the model to artists.
Manos Sagrados has the feel of a non-profit operation, but it is a business, and Trujillo has invested both time and money. Getting the space open was a challenge, Trujillo said, as she navigated the build-out and the city’s permitting processes. She had planned to open months earlier but there were a few complications with licenses. Much of that is squared away now.
Mostly, her work is about finessing the programming, and presenting opportunities that people want. She is listening, she said, and two recently-added monthly events are in response to requests: an “open deck” night, where fledgling DJs can try out their skills, and a “sober open mic night” for QTBIPOC performers (I’ll save many of you from looking that one up — it’s an acronym for queer, trans, Black, Indigenous people of color.)
Trujillo is experimenting, and trying to let the community know that Manos Sagrados is open, active and inviting. “The challenge, at this point, is just getting the word out,” she said.
For info on Manos Sagrados, go to manossagrados.com
Ray Mark Rinaldi is a Denver-based freelance writer specializing in fine arts.