When Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción's arts center opens, it will host concerts, youth arts programming, workshops and maybe a quinceañera (a traditional 15th birthday celebration for Latinas).

The big picture: La Casa, a $33 million project, will be the largest Latino arts center in New England.

• La Casa — or the Center for Arts, Self‑determination, and Activism — will also be a community hub for residents of IBA's Villa Victoria community and other Bostonians, says Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, IBA's CEO.

Driving the news: The four-story, 27,000-square-foot building opens May 15 with a concert featuring Eguie Castrillo, a musician and Berklee Latin percussion instructor.

• The center will host its open house, including a dance party, that weekend.
• The building will host public concerts and events, but it will also be home to IBA's wraparound services for residents, staff offices, teen arts programming and other Villa Victoria events.

What they're saying: The Puerto Rican founders who launched IBA in 1968 saw art as a tool to unite residents, foster trust and show that their culture and history matter, Calderón-Rosado told Axios.

• "We have continued that legacy, and with La Casa, this will continue for generations to come," she said.

Flashback: IBA planned to renovate an existing church building on West Newton Street in 2017, but the building was so dilapidated that the city condemned it.

• IBA reemerged with a plan in 2019 to build a new community and arts center.

Today, preserved elements of the church appear throughout the building, from terra cotta tiles on the second floor to the church's original stained-glass windows adorning a basement lobby.

Zoom in: The hallmark of the center is the Jean and Tom Yawkey Hall, a 200-seat performance venue.

• The seats are attached to risers that fold in, allowing up to 400 people to fit in the space.
• The other floors have meeting rooms, office space and community programming space, as well as a second-floor terrace overlooking the "casitas" that are part of IBA's housing portfolio.

The intrigue: The center features works from contemporary Puerto Rican artists, including Antonio Martorell's paintings over fabric and Alvin Acóma Colón's mural in La Casa's lobby.

• Colón's mural, made with acrylic paint and spray paint, details a group of 1968 protesters in the corner, alongside residents playing dominoes and hugging, the cuatro, bongos and imagery referencing Taíno culture.

What's next: Martorell will visit La Casa to run arts workshops and celebrate the center's opening.

Tell an arts enthusiast

Fresh off a landslide win at the Mass. Republican Convention, candidate for governor Mike Minogue hits the airwaves this week.

Why it matters: It's the former biotech CEO's first big chance to introduce himself to general election voters.

• The ad doesn't mention Gov. Maura Healey, President Trump or the cost-of-living concerns that are sure to dominate campaign debate.

Instead, it shows clips from news coverage of Minogue's win at the GOP convention, has him name-drop several large cities and towns and ends with a promise to "shake up the political establishment," with "a new kind of governor."

Zoom in: The 30-second spot titled "Momentum" is the first major paid media push from the GOP side going into the general election cycle.

• It's a mid-six-figure ad buy, according to his campaign, and will air in the Boston and Springfield markets.

Between the lines: It won't be the only ad featuring Minogue on the air.

• Massachusetts Democrats launched their own $100,000 digital campaign just days ago under the tagline "Too MAGA for Massachusetts."
• Dems are trying to tie Minogue to Trump's tariffs, ICE enforcement actions and abortion restrictions.

What's next: Minogue faces venture capitalist and former MBTA manager Brian Shortsleeve in the GOP primary Sept. 1

Spread the word

🌳 Mayor Michelle Wu unveiled a five-year climate-change plan that includes "thermal" systems that could pull heat from local waterways, "green jobs" for young residents and more trees. (UniversalHub)

• The plan is part of Boston's efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 (so far, city emissions are down 26.7%).
• Other plans include securing permanent funding for fare-free bus routes and studying the prospect of imposing parking fees and congestion pricing.

❌ The upcoming closures of Anna Maria College in Paxton and Hampshire College in Amherst, announced last week, will result in nearly 350 workers getting laid off. (CBS Boston)

A Suffolk County sheriff's deputy was arraigned yesterday on charges that he trafficked and raped a 15-year-old boy, allegedly paying him for sex. (CBS Boston)

• Richard Kielczweski, 41, of Hanson, pleaded not guilty.
• His attorney declined to comment, saying he hadn't had a chance to review the police report.

Boston organizers reversed course on tailgating restrictions for World Cup games this summer in Foxborough, a Boston '26 spokesperson said.

Why it matters: Fans bristled at the initial ban on tailgating at Gillette Stadium, which will be referred to as "Boston Stadium" during the tournament.

Catch up quick: The Boston host committee said earlier this month that World Cup games in Massachusetts wouldn't allow tailgating, claiming it was a tournament-wide rule imposed by FIFA.

• The organization, however, said it doesn't have a formal policy, leaving it up to each host city to decide.

The latest: A committee spokesperson said Monday that tailgating will now be allowed "as there are no venue restrictions or local public safety restrictions in place that would prohibit it."

• Monday's announcement comes nearly a week after Mike Loynd, president and CEO of the Boston host committee, said organizers mistakenly believed FIFA had a tournament-wide tailgating ban and that they would seek clarification from FIFA.

Yesterday, we asked you to guess Townie's whereabouts.

• As some of you quickly guessed, she was outside a Southie staple, the Clock Tower Tavern on West Broadway.

Kudos to reader Shane D., who got it first.