Caption by Ashmar Mandou

The International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC) announced Mateo Mulcahy as its new executive director. Following the announcement that Founder and Executive Director Pepe Vargas would be stepping down due to health issues last month, Mulcahy shared his vision for ILCC and how he hopes to propel the organization forward. Structuring the ILCC’s program around seven equal pillars —film, music, dance, theater, visual arts, literary arts, and the culinary arts— is one of Mulcahy’s goals for the organization. He also wants to create “more substantive partnerships with governmental agencies, community organizations, and universities” and create new strategies to attract new and younger audiences to the organization’s many events. A bilingual and bicultural native of Chicago of Mexican and Irish descent, Mulcahy’s advocacy for the arts began more than four decades ago in St. Louis, where he graduated from Washington University with a B.A. in Spanish and International Development. Since joining the ILCC in 2022, Mulcahy has doubled the programming, with special attention to music and dance, introducing the Chicago Latino Dance Festival in 2023, and the Levitt VIBE Chicago Music Series in 2024 among other initiatives.

Photo Credit: International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago