UPCOMING
Cursillo’s ‘Cena de Colores’ supports weekend retreats
By Joyce Coronel | April 16, 2009 | The Catholic Sun
Springtime in Arizona is famous for fundraisers and benefit dinners, but there’s only one event in town that bills itself as a “party for God.”
The Seventh Annual Cena de Colores will be held April 25 at the Mount Claret Retreat Center to raise funds for the Cursillo movement. But organizers say there’s another reason to gather.
Manny Yrique, who is helping plan the annual evening of food and entertainment under the stars, said the event also offers a chance for people to get together and celebrate the Cursillo experience.
“Anyone is welcome to attend the Cena,” Yrique said. “It’s a great way to expose potential Cursillistas to the Cursillo spirit.”
Yrique, whose parents got him involved with Cursillo 45 years ago, said the Cena de Colores is a good introduction to the spiritual renewal movement.
“During the Cena, a person will experience a joy and fellowship like maybe nothing they’ve experienced in their Catholic faith before,” he said. “Once they’ve experienced the joy of the Cena, almost always they’ll want more.”
This year’s dinner will feature steak and chicken fajitas, strolling mariachis and a silent auction. Tickets are $50 per person with proceeds helping to offset the cost of putting on the 12 Cursillo weekends held annually in the diocese.
Last year’s Cena de Colores drew 500 people who bid on some 150 items, including a big screen TV and a portrait of a Diamondbacks player by local, well-known artist Steve Voita.
“It’s a great way to renew old friendships and rededicate ourselves to the movement,” Yrique said.
Jean Polando, who is helping organize the event, said the Cena is all about sharing the love of God.
“People should come because it’s an awesome way to see Christ in action. It’s all these people shedding Jesus’ love,” Polando said.
The Cursillo movement originated in Spain in the 1940s and spread to the United States in the 1950s. Cursillo weekends are given in more than 60 countries around the world and more than 30,000 people in the Diocese of Phoenix have experienced a Cursillo.
