Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albino Garcia is the founder and executive director of La Plazita Institute, a community organization in Albuquerque, NM, that engages young people and their families in a comprehensive, holistic approach to youth and community development. Designed around the vision of La Cultura Cura, meaning “culture cure,” the educational approaches of La Plazita guide young men and women, who are often gang-affiliated, to find a sense of identity, ownership and belonging in their local communities.
La Plazita offers youth and their families the opportunity to participate in educational, community service and professional activities that cultivate the capacity to understand, negotiate and engage in the multiple worlds of self-reflection, family, community and society. The programs engage youth and families in finding the aspects of their own roots that express core traditional values of respect, honor, love and family and support them to opt out of participating in violence and destructive activities.