Paz-Cedillos: East San Jose stands strong in face of MACSA fire

Last Friday, fire tore through the long-vacant MACSA Youth and Family Center in East San Jose. In the quiet aftermath, two familiar sights remain: the MACSA sign and the twin pillars that for decades welcomed generations of youth to a place that was more than a building. Those pillars now stand as a reminder — and a challenge.

At an emergency meeting Saturday, the Alum Rock Union School District moved quickly to declare the site unsafe. That was the right first step. But speed cannot replace transparency. The community deserves to know the results of the investigation, assurances that the site will be secured and a clear path forward — one that does not erase MACSA’s history but honors it through thoughtful restoration and rebuilding.

For decades, MACSA — the Mexican American Community S