Nashville Scene names Renata Soto Nashvillian of the Year
On the day our staff gathered to share a potluck to celebrate our first year at Casa Azafrán, copies of the weekly Nashville Scene were being delivered all over the city with a special anniversary gift for us on its cover: Renata Soto, co-founder and executive director of Conexión Américas, had been named Nashvillian of the Year “for her role in willing Casa Azafrán into existence, and for her leadership at its helm (…).”
“As 2013 winds to a close, Nashville finds itself in the throes of a construction boom. And of all the new buildings that were once just a dream in somebody’s head, one looms especially large. It holds the potential to transform not only the tract of land it occupies, but the very fabric of the city — or at least how the threads of that fabric are interwoven. It could spur unprecedented economic development. It has already started to draw new visitors to the city and showcase a side of Nashville that has rarely permeated the prevailing Music City lore.We’re speaking, of course, about Casa Azafrán, the community center on Nolensville Road that has become the unofficial gateway to Nashville’s most diverse corridor — and a template for what is possible when a vision meets a tireless advocate.”
Read the full story by Steve Haruch and photographer Eric England here.
Gracias, Nashville Scene, for celebrating with us Casa Azafrán, its first exciting year, and the promise it holds “as the anchor and beacon of Nashville’s de facto international district.”