I Love: Aztlan Theater
Here in Denver, a music fan is spoiled for choice. There are huge, special venues like Red Rocks Ampitheatre or the recently-inaugurated Project 70: Under the Bridge. There’s also really cool smaller ones like The Gothic or Bluebird Theater. But the Aztlan is my favorite venue in the state, maybe even the world. It’s got a lot of history, I think it was taken over by Timeo Correa in the 1970’s as a place to deliberately celebrate Mexican heritage. They’ve hosted lots of famous musicians, notably Run-DMC, AFI, Selena, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica, to name just a handful. (Notably, Correa has been and still is operating the theatre today, in his 80’s!)
It’s fallen on hard times, in 2023 the city doubled its tax rate and the venue has landed in near-constant danger of going out of business. I’m unsure when this started, but there’s this group, Caracol Productions that has been using the space recently to host experimental music shows, and I had the great honor of attending two of those shows this year.
The first I attended out of the sheer luck that Jan Jelinek, a glitch artist who made an album I love, was performing there. When you walk up to the building you’re struck by its unique architecture, gigantic letters on a brick background in a shape that feels distinctly Aztec in homage to its heritage. This is very deliberate as Aztlan is the name of the ancestral home of the Aztec people. And it’s part of the broader landscape of the Santa Fe Arts District, which exists as an important area of Denver that celebrates Hispanic and Latino culture and history.
What I’m really struck by is the interior setup. On either side of the auditorium there’s standard rows of theater seatings. But then, in one corner there’s a bunch of couches and in the very middle there are metal chairs that seemed to be set up differently every time I went. For the Jan Jelinek/Andrew Pekkler set, they were set up in a circle around the artists’ table where they mixed live. I went a second time for Laraaji, who’s an ambient artist, and the chairs were more in neat rows. What I want to emphasize here is how close you are to the performers sometimes, for the Jelinek set I was sitting maybe 3 feet away from him watching him work live. This was also true of the opener for Laraaji, Golden Brown, an ambient, experimental guitarist whose set I really loved and who, after I told him this, gave me his setlist, which I have framed on my wall.
Many reasons I love this venue, besides the radically accessible open-concept seating, the rich historical background and the radically accessible seating setup. They also bring in catering that is very inclusive, the second time I went there was this wonderful all-vegan catering team whose name I tragically forget. I do remember that the food was really delicious and it was very affordable. I appreciate a deliberately-designed experience, and caracol really nailed it both times I went. The future is unclear for the Aztlan, while the Vibrant Denver bond passed guaranteeing funding for the Santa Fe Arts district, it’s unclear to me how much of this will go to the theatre vs “new industry” (luxuy apartments most people can’t afford).
In the meantime, my intention is to be at every show happening at Aztlan, and more broadly at the events Caracol puts on as I think they’re wonderful hosts. Check it out sometimes, it would feel good to support a historic institution and hear cool music in that pursuit!