Cultura Latina !

A permanent Place at the Table

In the last several years, the Smithsonian Latino Center has been promoting a more Latino-inclusive program for the entire Smithsonian.  The center has made the museum community in Washington more reflective of the American population and has been at the core of the organization of several important national traveling exhibitions.  After 10 years, however, the center is still making do with an annual budget of roughly $1 million; a minute fraction of the Smithsonian’s annual $2 billion budget.

Yet, the success of the center is evidence that there is a need and a vast constituency for more Latino-inclusive exhibits in the nation’s capital.  Still, the center’s success will continue to depend on the willingness of the other institutions in Washington to add Latino-inclusive exhibitions to their agendas.  A permanent museum, however, would ensure inclusion without depending on annual lobbying of the various directors of the many museums in the Washington area.

A national Latino museum would provide a permanent space for Latino-related exhibits and also radiate its influence and support into the other museums in Washington and throughout the nation.

Below are links to regional and local Latino museums across the country: