University of Colorado Denver Regent Nolbert Chavez, right, and Rita Gomez talk after a ceremony to bless the house where Gomez lived growing up, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
State Sen. Julie Gonzalez, D-Denver, listens alongside others during a ceremony to bless a house, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
A crane completes construction as afternoon sunlight hits the house, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, after a ceremonial blessing to mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Other houses are reflected in the window of a house in Denver’s oldest neighborhood, which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Framed door hinges from Rita Gomez’s childhood home and a family picture, gifted to her by University of Colorado Denver Regent Nolbert Chavez, are shown after a ceremony to bless the house where Gomez partially grew up, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Rita Gomez gets emotional as she looks at framed door hinges from her childhood home and family picture, gifted to her by University of Colorado Denver Regent Nolbert Chavez, during a ceremony to bless the house where Gomez partially grew up, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
University of Colorado Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks speaks as Rita Gomez, center right, listens alongside family members Jenny Estrada and Kimberlee Sandoval Gomez, curandero Christina Sigala, and CU Denver Regent Nolbert Chavez, in the back, during a ceremony to bless the house in which Rita Gomez partially grew up, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood, located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Christina Sigala, a Lakota curandero, or traditional healer, tells people she loves them as she walks around the house during a ceremony to bless it, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Christina Sigala, a Lakota curandero, or traditional healer, gets emotional as she holds her eagle feather fan and listens during a ceremony to bless the house pictured, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
People touch the house during a ceremony to bless it, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
Jaylynn Martinez, Edgar Torres, and their six-month-old baby Vanessa Torres, walk inside what used to be their family’s home after a ceremony to bless a house, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
A campus-related sign is seen on a door of the house, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, after a ceremony to bless it and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022 in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
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University of Colorado Denver Regent Nolbert Chavez, right, and Rita Gomez talk after a ceremony to bless the house where Gomez lived growing up, a part of Denver’s oldest neighborhood which is located in what is now the Auraria Campus, and mark the beginning of its renovations on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, in Denver. When the campus was built, the working-class, mostly Latino families that lived there were displaced. The University of Colorado Denver, a part of the campus, plans to make the home into a gathering space for displaced Aurarians and their families. (Eli Imadali/Special to The Denver Post)
ExpandBy Elizabeth Hernandez | ehernandez@denverpost.com | The Denver Post
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Getting your player ready...
The event was a ceremonial blessing to mark the beginning of CU Denver's renovation of the historic home, one of few left standing after a vibrant, largely Latino neighborhood was demolished by the city to build the Auraria campus in the early 1970s.
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