The Mexican Heritage Plaza, at 1700 Alum Rock Ave., sits in the heart of East San Jose's Mayfair neighborhood. The plaza describes Mayfair as home to a mostly Mexican American community since the mid-20th century.
Built on a piece of Chavez history
According to the Hewlett Foundation, Cesar Chavez grew up in the neighborhood. The land under the plaza was once a Safeway store, where he organized the first protest of the farmworker boycotts he led in the 1960s. Wikipedia says the plaza opened in 1999, funded by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and partly by the Mexican Heritage Corporation, which had pushed for it since 1988.
A reset
Hewlett writes that early backers imagined a "Latino Lincoln Center" with big touring acts. But many neighbors came to see its tall walls as "a fortress raised against them rather than a place for them." The plaza's own history says community members started planning a new direction in 2007, and the San Jose City Council unanimously approved the change in 2010. The School of Arts and Culture at MHP became a nonprofit in 2011 and took over running the plaza in 2013.
What to see
Wikipedia says the plaza has a 500-seat theater, gardens, classrooms and meeting spaces. It also has the Corazón y Espíritu de Mayfair mural, painted in 2004 by Precita Eyes Muralists. Near the northwestern entrance, a row of mosaic tributes honors Chicano and Mexican American artists, including Carlos Santana, Los Tigres del Norte, Luis Valdez and Linda Ronstadt.
Check the School of Arts and Culture's website for classes and events. Alum Rock Park is farther up Alum Rock Avenue if you want to make a day of it on the East Side.