Arts in Corrections / Arte en las correccionales

These feature reports are a segment of the series Arts in Corrections, sponsored by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts – ACTA – with funding from the California Arts Council. ACTA has worked for the past twenty years to help cultural traditions thrive around the state. ACTA’s programs help people connect with their heritage and make their traditions being central part in their lives. Arts in Corrections is one of those programs that teaches inmates the art of telling their stories through traditional arts and music.

For this series, reporters Tena Rubio and Rubén Tapia went inside several state prisons in California to document the sounds of arts workshops and talk to participant inmates about their experience.

(Español) Galería de la Raza, legado artístico que resistirá al desalojo de La Misión II

11 May, 2019

This entry is only available in Español.

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Prominent L.A. Musicians Share Talent and Hope with Prisoners

28 December, 2018

At Ironwood State Prison, and thanks to an award-winning Tex-Mex musician and a young trio and mariachi singer, a group of inmates are finding their long sentences more bearable.

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Afro-Colombian Drum Classes Motivate Inmates and Inspire Teachers

21 December, 2018

A group of inmates at a medium-security prison in the city of Norco in Riverside County say that taking Afro-Caribbean drum lessons has helped to alleviate the racial tensions common in prisons.

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In Jarana Classes, Prisoners Learn about History and Racial Prejudice

14 December, 2018

For a group of inmates at the Norco prison, weekends are special. At this facility, located near Los Angeles, some inmates leave their cells for three hours to take classes on jarana.

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Drumming in Corrections

12 December, 2018

Abdullatif Bell Tounkara, a master musician and teacher, is leading a group of men behind bars in a drum circle. Radio Bilingue’s Tena Rubio reports from Avenal.

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Singing in Corrections

11 December, 2018

At 79, the Mexican-American singer Carmencristina Moreno is taking center stage inside a makeshift classroom — performing and teaching in front of an unlikely crowd — Men serving time at Avenal State Prison. Radio Bilingue’s Tena Rubio has more.

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Storytelling in Corrections

10 December, 2018

By the time Luis J. Rodriguez was twelve years old, he was already a veteran gangbanger in East Los Angeles. At 18, he was hooked on heroine and had been in jail nearly a dozen times.

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Radio Bilingüe Reporters

For this series, reporters Tena Rubio and Rubén Tapia went inside several state prisons in California to document the sounds of arts workshops and talk to participant interns about their experience.