Our goal is to create a safe and welcoming place for anyone interested in the Latinx culture, and to provide opportunities for students to learn about the richness of the Hispanic traditions, language and people. We also strive to assist with the retention of Latinx and multicultural students at FLC.
All are welcome at El Centro regardless of their background, race, ethnicity, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We hope you'll come visit!
El Centro de Muchos Colores was first established at Fort Lewis College in 1988, under the presidency of Dr. Joel Jones. The original facility was opened in the CUB student memorial lounge, next it was moved to the married housing unit, then to Berndt Hall, and finally in 2011 it found its permanent home on the ground floor of the Student Union, directly across from the bookstore!
The current state-of-the-art facility includes a dance floor (where Ballet Folklorico de Durango practices), a full commercial kitchen, lounge space, computer lab and more for all student to find their "Home away from Home" at El Centro de Muchos Colores.
In 2005, a 20-hour part-time staff position was created to spearhead El Centro de Muchos Colores and make the organization more visible throughout campus and the larger community. In 2007 the coordinator position was made full-time and eventually it became an Assistant Director position within the Diversity Collaborative in 2020.
We educate students and our FLC community about the Latinx culture through Spanish conversation hours, National Hispanic Heritage Month events, dance classes, guest speakers, live performances, food workshops, Ballet Folklorico de Durango, and an in-house cultural library.