Latino leaders urge Denver council to restore $50 million for Denver Zoo Latin American experience

Rosemary Rodriguez, co-founder of Cafecito Denver, asked the City Council on July 21 to restore the Denver Zoo’s Latin American experience funding to $50,000,000 as recommended by the Bond Executive Committee. Rodriguez said the exhibit would be “the first permanent space at any tier 1 cultural institution in Denver dedicated to Latin American culture and biodiversity” and argued that it is not merely symbolic for a city where more than half of Denver Public Schools students identify as Latino. Rachel Garcia, executive director of the Mexican Cultural Center, said the zoo has invested more than $30,000,000 and completed the project’s first phase and that the zoo “is ready to match every bond dollar with private funds at a 100% match.” Garcia said the project grew from more than 4,700 community voices and annually offers events such as the center’s Dia de Niño celebration that bring Latino children and families to the zoo. These speakers urged restoring the Bond Executive Committee’s $50,000,000 recommendation to allow the zoo to move forward with the next construction phase, describing the exhibit as delivering educational, cultural and economic returns. The public comment session does not itself change bond allocations or city budgets; any change would require council action in a later formal agenda, ordinance or bond authorization process.