The Grande Kinara

The Grande Kinara: A Cultural Landmark of Denver’s Kwanzaa Celebration

 

The Grande Kinara is a 12-foot Kwanzaa Kinara that stands each year in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood as a central fixture of the city’s Kwanzaa observance. Located directly beside the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library (2401 Welton St., Denver, CO 80205), it serves as the official site for nightly candlelightings throughout the seven days of Kwanzaa.

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From December 26 through January 1, the community gathers at the Kinara each evening from 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM to honor the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. These celebrations bring out community figures, organizations, neighbors, and families to celebrate this rich tradition. Guests will even hear the talents of local singing and music artists as we hear a unique live performance each night of the Black National Anthem, 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'. The Grande Kinara functions as both a cultural anchor and a public gathering space, ensuring that Kwanzaa is celebrated in an accessible, visible, and community-centered way in the heart of Denver.

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This installation was originally conceived and brought to life by Opalanga D. Pugh, whose contributions to African storytelling, arts, and cultural preservation continue to influence our city's Kwanzaa traditions.

In Tribute to Opalanga D. Pugh

1952–2010

 

Before the Kinara towered above the streets of Denver, it lived in the breath of a storyteller. Opalanga D. Pugh was a griot in the truest, fullest, and most expansive sense. She was a true keeper of ancestry, a traveler of continents, and a witness to the beating heart of Black life, both here in Denver and across the African diaspora.

Born on Denver soil and shaped by global wind, Opalanga carried stories from West Africa to the Caribbean, from Five Points to European villages, from classrooms to festivals, from children’s laps to elders’ feet.

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She was a Denver daughter. East High School educated, University of Wisconsin trained, but her voice belonged to many lands. NBC named her one of the 10 African-American Living Legends in 1992. Denver honored her twice with the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. But perhaps her greatest honor is this: a community that still speaks her name with warmth, reverence, and recognition. Opalanga did not simply tell stories; she built sacred places for them to live. The Grande Kinara is one of those places.

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A Vision That Did Not End Where Her Life Did

Though Opalanga left this earth on June 5, 2010, her voice continues to rise in Welton Street sunsets, in the laughter of children circling the Kinara, in the ancestral whispers that return each December to witness us remember who we are. The Grande Kinara’s flame is not just heat or color; it is her drumbeat, her proverb, her passport stamped with nations and neighborhoods, her devotion to the Black story told well and with dignity.

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We do not gather around the Grande Kinara merely to mark days. We gather to honor a rich cultural tradition and a woman who believed that heritage must be visible, that culture must be high enough for our children to see it, and bright enough that even those who forgot their way home could still find it.

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A Light That Keeps Lighting

Every candle lit on that twelve-foot Kinara is a call to continue:

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Umoja, stay unified
Kujichagulia, name yourself
Ujima, repair together
Ujamaa, build and circulate our own
Nia, live on purpose
Kuumba, create from soul
Imani, believe beyond what is seen

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Opalanga D. Pugh, Ase! May her name be spoken with gratitude, may her legacy be lifted with son, and may her light keep lighting. As long as the Grande Kinara stands,
Opalanga stands. Beyond memory, her essence remains in flame. In the community. In the living, breathing story of Black Denver.