WASHINGTON.— Latinos were already in these lands before the arrival of the first European settlers in 1607, and they gave logistical support to George Washington during the Revolution.
His story, and that of 60 million Hispanics will soon have a “home” in the first National Latino Museum
, which has garnered support in the Senate.
The Senate Rules Committee unanimously passed a House Bill on December 3 that advances the establishment of the museum, and now awaits its final vote in the full Senate.
The measure suffered a setback last Thursday because the Republican senator from Utah, Mike Lee
- from the ultra-conservative wing of his party - blocked his vote by voice, considering that Latinos do not need a separate museum and, in his opinion, that could create more divisions "in an already divided nation", which generated criticism from many spaces.
Writer and immigrant rights activist Julissa Arce responded on Twitter: "What divides us is not the desire for Latino stories and achievements to be told, but the continued denial of our existence."
When did the idea first come up?
The idea of creating a Latino museum in the US capital first emerged in 1994, when the influential Smithsonian Institution released a seminal report, entitled 'Deliberate
Neglect
' (
Willful Neglect
), in which it recognized that
Hispanics are the underrepresented minority. in all its 19 museums and galleries.
The project for the creation of the first Latino National Museum advances in the Senate, since its original proposal in 1994. This image is a representation of the type of content of the future museum.
(Photo courtesy of Christopher Paul for the Friends of the American Latino Museum) Christopher Paul / Friends of the American Latino Museum.
/ Telemundo News
Experts consulted by Noticias Telemundo agreed that, although paperwork is lacking and years before the first brick is laid,
the vote in Congress is a key boost
to faithfully telling the story of Latinos in the United States.
“Few people know that Latinos have been here since before the founding of the country, and it
is important that our young people know its history.
This museum would reflect the contributions of Hispanics in more than 500 years of history, ”explained Estuardo Rodríguez, president and CEO of the Friends of the National Latino Museum group, abbreviated in English as FRIENDS.
“We are very excited because we finally have a concrete vote, and we are moving forward.
We want a visible and proper place, because we deserve it, and it is timely now
that there is so much debate about racism "and also about the meaning of being 'American', he stressed.
Estuardo Rodríguez is president and CEO of the group that leads civic efforts to create the first National Latino Museum.
Photo courtesy of FRIENDS / Noticias Telemundo
According to Rodríguez, the effort has had the support of African-American leaders who have been “allies” in the counseling process, based on their experience with the creation of the National Museum of African American History, inaugurated by the then president, Barack Obama, in 2016 .
Currently, the number of Hispanics in the United States amounts to about 60 million, or 18.5% of the population, according to official data from the Census Bureau, and they make up the largest minority in the country, surpassing even African Americans .
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In that sense, Danny Vargas, president of the FRIENDS board of directors, said that
Latinos have enriched the country's cultural and political life,
have fought in all its wars, and have strengthened all areas of its economy, “and it is time that they have a space in their own museum ”.
“Contrary to what some may have us believe,
Latinos are not just a patch recently glued to the tapestry of the United States
;
we are a key foundational thread of that fabric, ”argued Vargas.
What is missing to make it a reality?
Time is short because, due to a shortened post-electoral legislative calendar,
the Senate would have to put it to a vote no later than next week, before starting the December recess
.
Senator Lee's blockade will not stop the promoters of the project, Rodríguez said.
If the Senate does not approve it before the end of the year, it would have to be presented again in the 116th legislative session that will begin on January 3.
The FRIENDS group has kept the White House abreast of the project from the beginning, and
although President Donald Trump has not spoken publicly about the museum, his advisers support him,
Vargas said.
The president-elect, Joe Biden, supports the management of the Latino museum and has included it among the priorities of his Latino agenda.
The project timeline: where it is
The bill for the museum was approved unanimously by the House of Representatives on July 27, and lands it with concrete tasks.
Thus,
the Smithsonian Institution will be in charge of an 18-month study to establish a “roadmap” for the project
, including the creation of the board of administrators that will supervise it, and its location, design and content.
A 2011 report presented the preliminary concept of the future National Latino Museum, although issues such as the team of architects that will design the building and its location remain to be resolved.
Photo courtesy of the 2011 commission report on the project / Telemundo News
Its ideal location, Rodríguez assured, would be in the 'Mall' of the American capital,
that esplanade that covers between the Capitol and the obelisk to Washington,
perhaps next to the African-American museum, the Native-American museum, or in the vicinity of the Capitol .
There is also the possibility, although more complicated, that its location will be negotiated in the imposing building that now occupies the Department of Agriculture.
The initiative calls for a public-private alliance to raise around $ 700 million for the project
, a figure that rose from the original goal of 650 million in 2011, due to inflation.
Half of the funds would come from the federal government, and the other from the private sector.
To garner political and financial support, the project draws on a growing number of Hispanic celebrities, including actors Eva Longoria, Diana Guerrero, and John Leguizamo, comedian Cristela Alonzo, producer Emilio Estefan, and union leader Dolores Huerta.
The union leader, Dolores Huerta, on the podium, is among those who promote the creation of the first National Latino Museum, whose approval is in the hands of the Senate.
Photo courtesy of the group Friends of the American Latino Museum, / Noticias Telemundo
There are also weighty political leaders, including Senators John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, and Bob Menéndez, Democrat of New Jersey, and former Republican Congresswoman from Florida, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, considered the "godmother" of the project.
Although the most realistic schedule for
a museum opening ceremony would be between 8 and 12 years
, both Rodríguez and Vargas agreed that the important thing is to move forward with the project as soon as possible.
The Untold Story of Hispanics
Until now, exhibitions at the Smithsonian related to the Hispanic world in the US have been sporadic and, with rare exceptions, temporary.
The nearly 30 million tourists, who before the COVID-19 pandemic flocked to Smithsonian museums each year, have had little chance to fully explore Latino culture.
Vargas listed some examples of the
"untold history"
of more than 500 years of Hispanics in the United States: the Spanish founded the first Latino city in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, and the Hispanics helped in the desegregation of public schools with the case 'Mendez v.
Westminster ', seven years before the ruling of' Brown v.
Board of Education 'of 1954.
Danny Vargas, on the podium, is chairman of the board of directors of the Friends of the American Latino Museum group, and has garnered growing support for the project.
Photo courtesy of the group Friends of the American Latino Museum, / Noticias Telemundo
Some of the figures that could be honored there include Roberto Clemente, who pioneered the recruitment of Hispanics to baseball, and Linda Carter, the actress who embodied the hit television series "Wonder Woman" in the 1970s, who is of Hispanic origin.
“As a war veteran, I want to see our contributions to the defense of the country.
General Washington could not have won the War of Independence without the help of the Spanish General, Bernardo de Gálvez, and the more than 11,000 Hispanic soldiers from Florida, Alabama, the Caribbean, and Central America, ”Vargas observed.
The museum would also help to unseat misconceptions about Latinos, which led to incidents such as the massacre of 23 people in El Paso (Texas) in August 2019.
“A crazy guy drove six hours, to go kill innocent men, women and children in cold blood outside a Walmart, because he thought they were invading us.
If I had had a sense of the history of the country, I would have known that
El Paso has had the same (Latino) face probably for hundreds of years, ”
Vargas said.