In 1961, Father Jerald Merrill, a Catholic priest, was assigned to the “Our Lady of Guadalupe” Mission on the West side of Salt Lake City, Utah. With the mission having recently received a new building, all adults of the parish were invited to monthly meetings of the Guadalupana Society—a group which met to discuss problems pertaining to their mission. A few months after his arrival, Father Merrill created a branch of the Guadalupana Society that focused on social programs meant to solve the Hispanic community’s problems. In a rented room underneath the Rio Grande Hotel, Merrill and other members founded the precursor to the Guadalupe Center. Later, in 1966 and under the direction of Manuel G. Martinez and Oliver Ulibarri, volunteers helped to open a larger version of the center on 346 West 100 South with faith that the center would become a focal point for local Hispanics.
\nAfter its opening, the center focused on projects for the economic and professional development and well-being of the Hispanic community. The Westside Catholic Credit Union focused on helping local members of the community to build capital. The Voluntary Improvement Program taught English and other valuable skills. A cooperative store was opened to serve poorer families in the area. Additionally, the Utah Nonprofit Housing Corporation collaborated with multiple churches and cooperative associations in the area to rehabilitate houses in the inner city region. The Guadalupe Center served as a clearinghouse for information on these and other services and coordinated support for the city’s Hispanic population. The center was also the birthplace for Hispanic activist group SOCIO, which helped pave the way for Latino civil rights throughout Utah.
\nTo create capital that could be reinvested into these programs, leaders decided to open La Morena Café as part of the center. Started just six months after the opening of the Guadalupe Center, La Morena proved immensely valuable. In addition to the profit it eventually generated, enough to support many of the Center’s programs, it also unified a diverse set of people—both hispanic and non-hispanic—in the community through its warm atmosphere and authentic Mexican cuisine. La Morena became a welcoming place for all and encapsulated the vision of Father Merrill through its ability to unify the community.
\nIn 1986, after their rented lot was bought to build the Triad center, the original Guadalupe Center closed its doors. However, the center’s aims extended into the Guadalupe School which continues to operate today. The school provides personalized education for children with a focus on those in the Latinx community. For Latinx adults the center provides English classes, citizenship classes, and career planning. Since its inception, the spirit of the Guadalupe Center and those who founded it continue to better the lives and welfare of members of the Utah Latinx community.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"In 1966, on 346 West 100 South in Salt Lake City, UT, the Guadalupe Center opened its doors to the public. Started by Father Jerald H. Merrill, this center was a haven for the Hispanic population of Salt Lake.","website":"","related_resources":["Iber, Jorge. Hispanics in the Mormon Zion, 1912-1999. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2000.","McDonald, Amy. “Whatever Happened to…La Morena Cafe (aka Guadalupe Center Cafe).” The Salt Lake Tribune. April 14, 2015. https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=2347621&itype=CMSID (accessed Feb 7, 2022). ","Merrill, Jerald H. “Fifty Years with a Future: Salt Lake’s Guadalupe Mission and Parish.” Utah Historical Quarterly 40, no. 3 (1972): 242-264.","Merrill, Jerald. Father Jerald Merrill, Salt Lake City, Utah: An Interview by Vincent Mayer, November 5 and 29 and December 31, 1971. Transcript of an oral history conducted 1971 by Vicente Mayer, University of Utah Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 2015, 47-77 pp. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6h43g65","Solórzano, Armando. We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe: Latinos in Utah. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2014. "],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/2c2175e6d7758e3defd53960ca070a96.jpg":{"id":2811,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Guadalupe Center","description":"“Guadalupe Center, Salt Lake City, Utah p. 1.” 08273, We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe: Latinos in Utah Exhibit collection (MSS C 1976). https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6th8vpg
","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/2c2175e6d7758e3defd53960ca070a96.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/2deb2d5cdb796b871e914b5fc8091f8e.jpg":{"id":2812,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"La Morena Cafe","description":"A restaurant known for its quality, this café doubled as successful revenue for the Guadalupe Center.“Former Moad Man Honored in Salt Lake.” Times Independent. May 13, 1976, pp. 2.
https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6t73vkg/20488678