Families, friends, and longtime residents reunited at Mestizo Curtis Park for the 4th Annual Eastside Family Reunion on Saturday, August 9, 2025. (Photo: Milo Marquez)
On Saturday, August 9, 2025, families, friends, and longtime residents reunited at Mestizo Curtis Park for the 4th Annual Eastside Family Reunion, a vibrant day of celebration, remembrance, and unity. The gathering honored the deep-rooted history of the Chicano and Latino communities who called Denver’s Eastside home for over a century, long before gentrification began to reshape the neighborhood.
Mestizo Curtis Park: A Historic Gathering Place
Situated in the heart of Denver’s historic Five Points and Curtis Park neighborhoods, Mestizo Curtis Park has always been more than a recreational space. For generations, it served as a cultural and political hub, a place where Chicano and Latino families built lives, found community, and organized for justice.
Before waves of gentrification displaced many longtime residents, the neighborhood was vibrant with culture. Families gathered in the park on weekends, children swam in the swimming pool, played on the soccer and football fields, and murals reflected both the struggles and pride of the community. The park served as a space for celebration, resistance, and the preservation of identity.
For many, it was also where major community milestones happened, cultural events, protest rallies, and countless Sunday cookouts. The park became a living archive of Eastside culture, where memories were made and values were passed down…