TEPEYAC COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER

Denver

News: Masa madness swept the Denver Art Museum’s Sturm Grand Pavilion when 12 community leaders vied for the title of Tortilla Titan at the 27th Tortillas for Tepeyac fundraiser.

Annie Lee, president and chief executive officer of Colorado Access, took home the coveted title – and a commemorative rolling pin embellished with bright colors by Denver artist Daniel Luna.

Judges Patricia Baca, Patricia Barela Rivera and Adeeb Khan named attorney and medical doctor Joe Ramos the winner of the Picasso Wanna-Be award for a tortilla whose shape was anything but tortilla-shaped. They also picked Denver Water chief Alan Salazar as the Most Spirited Roller.

The People’s Choice award, based on the number of $1 votes that were cast electronically, went to Curtis Esquibel, senior director of communications and community engagement for the Boettcher Foundation.

Other hopefuls in the luncheon event chaired by Yolanda Ortega and Jesse Ogas were Noah Atencio, CEO of Philanthropy Colorado; Brad Buchanan, CEO of the National Western Center; Denver Art Museum director Christoph Heinrich; 9News anchor Kyle Clark; Denver7 meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo; CBS News Colorado anchor Michelle Griego; Rico Leon, the star of Rico to the Rescue; and Tony Salazar, vice president of outreach and engagement for the University of Colorado.

Jim Garcia, who in 1994 founded what was then Clinica Tepeyac in a tiny house on Kalamath Street, told the 400-plus guests that it was only fitting to be holding this year’s benefit in the Sturm Grand Pavilion because it was an exhibit centered on the Miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Denver Art Museum that inspired him to name the fledgling medical center Clinica Tepeyac, the hill where a vision of the blessed virgin Mary was seen by Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Christianity who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

“The past 18 months have been a period of incredible growth at Tepeyac,” Garcia said, adding that the move to its state-of-the-art facility at 4101 E. 48th St. has brought expanded services for an even greater number of patients. “We’ve more than doubled our number of dental patients,” he said. “We’ve also added a pharmacy so that prescriptions can be filled on site, making it so much easier for those without access to transportation.

“And we’re just getting started.”

Among those cheering the tortilla rollers on were Crisanta Duran, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives; former Denver mayoral candidate Kelly Brough, who is now vice president of strategic partnerships at Colorado Mesa University; Rosemary Rodriguez, whose career in public service includes serving as U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s state director from 2009-2017, chairing the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and serving on the Denver City Council from 2003-2007; former state Rep. Adrienne Benavidez; and Travis Leiker, an assistant dean of external relations for the Colorado School of Public Health on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

About the organization: Tepeyac Community Health, 2101 E. 48th Ave., provides affordable and accessible medical, behavioral and dental care to over 17,000 individuals per year, the majority of whom are uninsured or underinsured, thus saving the health care system some $6 million annually.

Website: tepeyachealth.org

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