SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s been eight years since the Brazilian Center for Cultural Exchange of Sacramento moved into Midtown’s CLARA Studios — a space envisioned as a permanent home.
During that time, the center spent tens of thousands of dollars renovating the rented space to become a hub of Latino culture. Handmade headdresses, figurines and costumes immediately welcome members arriving for their weekly dancing, drumming and Portuguese lessons. On the weekends, visitors enjoy Brazilian feijoada and fried yucca being cooked in the nearby kitchen.
“It’s become a home for all Latinos,” Center CEO Saara Burga said.
That home will likely be relocated in the next 15 days.
CLARA Studios informed the Brazilian Center on May 31 that its lease would not be renewed. The 30-day notice came as a surprise to Burga, who has invested more than $80,000 of her family’s money in renovations since 2015.
Burga said CLARA Studios’ decision not only betrays her but also the Sacramento community.
“With all the money that we have spent there, under the false pretense, it was going to be the permanent home of the Brazilian Center, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to find the location,” Burga said.
In its notice, CLARA Studios’ board cited a need to convert the space into a short-term rental for other community groups. Megan Wygant, CLARA Studios Executive Director, said the organization has been facing a revenue gap furthered by inflation and rising operating costs in recent years. The Brazilian Center pays $2,500 in monthly rent.
“It’s not something we took lightly,” Wygant said. “But when I think to myself of where the potential is for supporting a larger community. That’s what is helping me get through this very difficult rough patch.”
Bad Timing
The decision to not renew follows weeks of tension between CLARA Studios and the Brazilian center, according to Burga and members.
One day before receiving the non-renewal notice, Burga said she and another female member were harassed and intimidated by a man in the CLARA Studios parking lot. She headed to the Sacramento City Council chambers that same day to voice her concerns. Burga received a lease notice of termination the next day.
Wygant said the CLARA Studios board came to its decision after “at least a few months” of discussion, but recognized the timing was “problematic.”
“I know that the timing does not look good, but the fact is that those are two independent issues,” Wygant said.
Wygant also said CLARA Studios is open to working with the center to offer some flexibility to the lease deadline, but need to hear a “counteroffer.”
“We’re hearing the problem, but not directly from them,” she said.
On Tuesday, more than a dozen center members took their protests to outside City Hall. They spent the late afternoon dancing, drumming and pleading with the City Council to intervene. Though the city is in a sublease agreement with CLARA Studios, it has no right or obligation to intervene in CLARA’s relationships with its tenants.
“I apologize there isn’t more we can do at this stage in the process, but I do want to reiterate our commitment to try to figure out what we can,” said councilwoman Katie Valenzuela at the meeting.
‘Culture will be with us’
Members gave no indication of the Brazilian Center’s uncertain tenancy late Wednesday afternoon. They gathered in the middle of the ballroom floor for an hour session of samba and West African drumming.
Among the dancers was Sacramento native Javana Abrussezze, who was wearing a dress modeled after the Brazilian flag.
She began coming to center in 2016 to better connect with her culture through food, dance and language. Today, she relishes taking her children to the center so they can keep on the family’s traditions.
“We’re not in our country so to be here is like home,” Abrussezze said.
That feeling of home is not singular, even to members with no previous connection to Latino culture.
Caitlin O’Neil joined the center in 2017 to further her Portuguese language skills and capoeira practice, an Afro-Brazilian martial art that contains elements of dance, music and acrobatics. The center offered affordable classes for both and the members quickly became like family, she said.
“It is truly a second home, and a space for cultural exchange,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil and Abrussezze point to Burga as the reason for the center’s success and community focus. Nearly all the classes are charged at a nominal fee and youth can enroll for free if unable to afford classes.
Burga founded the Brazilian center in 2006, with the intent of spreading South American culture. Over the years, the center has expanded its outreach to cultures spanning Latin America and Africa. It also has a social mission, which focuses on supporting kids, connecting people with legal services and fundraising for several community causes.
On Wednesday, Burga encouraged members as they exited with sweat on their foreheads from dancing.
“Wherever we go, I know we are going to be together,” Burga said. “We have united so many cultures over the last eight years, wherever we go that culture will be with us.”
