Our Story
Born from Resilience,
and a love of beauty.
Some organizations are born from strategy. De Colores Arts Collective was born from a Cuban exile family's unbroken relationship with beauty.
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 name honors the legacy of her parents, Juan and Maria Poblete, who came to the US as teenagers, settling in California and Ohio, then ultimately in Miami. As young adults, they met at finishing school, became proud Americans, got married, and kicked off the 70's by having two kids who would grow up very American, but also innately connected to their Cuban roots.
Juan served as staff photographer for Ideal Magazine from 1974 to 1977 (you can see an archive here), a Miami based publication which celebrated the Cuban exile new American life and their profound connection to faith and family.He worked in the auto parts industry for the remainder of his life. He passed away in 2013 from COPD.
Maria was a stay at home mom who returned to the workforce starting out as a receptionist at the beauty school she ultimately ended up running until she passed away in 1999 with complications from cancer.
De colores, de colores se visten los campos en la primavera
Claudia is an ideas person who brings 35 years in marketing, communications, and design to the Collective, along with her own practice as a photographer and mixed-media artist. But the mission isn't about what she has done in the past; it's about what she is doing with it now. It's about building a bridge between cultures through creativity, giving Hispanic artists in Shelby County and beyond a place to be seen, and creating something the community ...and her parents... would be proud of.
With close to 190,000 Hispanics in Indianapolis and surrounding areas, she saw a way to create a bridge between cultures - art, food, music - creativity. This is not just a tribute to her parent's or the artists in my life who taught me to view the world through a different pair of eyes. This is a way to bring our cultural colors and heritage to curious and inspired minds. When you support De Colores, you're choosing the real over the artificial: real culture, real connection, real people.
Historical Record
Note from the Founder
Since 1972
Photographer, Mixed Media Artist
Claudia Heidelberger
Growing up in an era long before the Internet was a household commodity, my days were wasted away with tv, reading, and creativity. I have always worked well with my hands and love the act of putting things together(or sometimes taking them apart).
Over the course of my life, I’ve practiced art in every medium imaginable: leather, wood, ceramics, bookbinding, decoupage, silk screening, drawing, painting, jewelry design, polymer clay, cooking, photography, web development, sewing, and crocheting.
Preferred Medium: Watercolors
Current obsession: Gel Plate Printing
In addition to ALL THIS, I'm a licensed Realtor, and a Notary Public. Previously, I worked for the State of Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and Whiteland Community High School. I love helping people, I love my community, and I look forward to meeting you.
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 Hispanic artists in Shelby County and beyond.
A Message from Our founder
Looking towards the future
"When my family moved to Shelbyville, I saw an opportunity to be part of its 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 and creativity. There is value in disconnecting from the artificial world, and re-connecting with each other. My ultimate goal is to build something both the community, and my parents would be proud of."