Our Story
Born of resilience
and a love of creative expression.
Some organizations are born from strategy. De Colores Arts Collective was born from a Cuban exile family's unbroken relationship with freedom and creativity.
De Colores takes its name from the beloved Spanish folk song, woven into the fabric of Hispanic culture, and one that founder Claudia Heidelberger has been singing since childhood. The Collective was founded in honor of her parents, Juan and Maria Poblete, who raised two American kids deeply connected to their Cuban roots. Juan and Maria met as young adults while attending night school at Miami High were married in 1966, and they kicked off the 70s by having two kids. Jason, a human rights attorney and photographer, and Claudia. From 1974-1977, Juan owned a small tire service and served as a photographer for Ideal Magazine, a Miami based publication which celebrated the Cuban exile community's new American life and their profound connection to heritage, culture, family, faith, and community. Maria was a stay at home mom until the kids began school. She started working as a receptionist at a beauty school, and by the time she passed away in 1999, she ran the place.
Every culture deserves a stage. In rural communities, ours is long overdue.
Claudia lived in the northeast with her husband and daughter until 2014 when they relocated to Indiana. in 2025, the family moved to Shelbyville and Claudia joined Shelby Art Guild Association where she taught a monoprinting class this past Spring. When the spring classes were over, she contemplated which direction to steer her creative contributions at the guild and to the community, and came up with the idea of expanding SAGA’s reach to offer space for Hispanic artists in Shelbyville and beyond.
With close to 200,000 Hispanics in Indianapolis and surrounding areas, she saw a way to create a bridge between cultures - art, food, music - creativity. De Colores Arts Collective is her answer. It is not just a tribute to her father's legacy, it is a way to bring our cultural colors to curious and inspired minds.
Historical Record
Founder's Website
Since 2013
Photographer, Mixed Media Artist
Claudia Heidelberger
Claudia brings over 35 years of experience in marketing, communications, and design combined with her creative skills to De Colores Arts Collective. She is a licensed Realtor with Carpenter Realtors, plus a Notary Public. She previously worked for the State of Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Whiteland Community High School.
Our mission.
De Colores promotes, celebrates, and advances Hispanic cultural arts, crafts, music, performance, and culinary arts in central Indiana — building community, honoring heritage, and creating opportunity for artists in Shelby County and beyond.
Our founder
Looking towards the future
"When my family moved to Shelbyville, I saw an opportunity to be part of its future growth. With AI being crammed down our throats at an alarming rate, and the threat of a data center looming over our heads, De Colores Arts Collective is a way of preserving things that are still very real, like culture, art, creativity, and community. There is great value in disconnecting from the artificial world, and re-connecting with each other. The ultimate goal is to build something both the community, and my parents would be proud of, and to leave behind a legacy that ties humanity together."