La Peña Cultural Center is the main Chilean-American culture center in the United States. It opened in 1975 and has been operated by the same two expats since in the Ashby neighborhood in Berkeley, California.[1][2] The center on Shattuck Avenue was a center of the opposition in exile to dictator Augusto Pinochet during his dictatorship, and later evolved into a community gathering place, artist center, entertainment venue, retail store, and left-leaning meeting and dialoguing place.
A restaurant was added in the 1980s, Café Valparaíso, that has added itself to the neighborhood's Gourmet Ghetto and is award winning. The cafe also sells endemic Chilean foodstuffs and novelties. Valpo's menu focuses heavily on Chilean empanadas. The center is an annual gathering place for the Chilean diaspora, with meetings and celebrations for Chilean independence, Christmas, and the anniversary of the coup d'état.
La Peña is a registered 501 c 3 charity with tax exempt status that focuses on promoting the arts, and the building's façade is covered in a Nueva Canción inspired mural. The center teaches lessons on traditional Chilean music, art, etc. and also branches out into other Latin American and Spanish language fields with a focus on things South American. The space is also used as a fund-raising venue for local causes such as supporting the KPFA radio station.[3][4][5]
In 2010 La Peña hosted the Mano a Mano benefit for the victims of the 2010 Chile earthquake that hoped to generate $US10,000 in donations.[6]