Culture

“Caminos” Latino History Exhibit Coming to Visalia

By Pedro Hernandez, The Ivanhoe Sol

Plans are underway for a “Caminos” Latino History exhibit which will cover Latino History from 1772  to present.

This event is organized by Arte Americas, the largest Latin American art museum in the San Joaquin Valley. The “Caminos” project began in 2019 and was a crowdsourced project, meaning the public was invited to collaborate and contribute content for display. This project was also guided by Dr. Alex Saragoza who was born in the San Joaquin Valley and is a UC Berkeley Historian.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the project was placed on hold but will now be relocated to the Mooney Grove Agricultural Museum in Visalia located at 27000 S Mooney Blvd. It will be open from June 25 – December 23, 2022.

This year will focus on history from Tualre and Kings Counties and will shift to Merced County in 2023.

Tulare County residents invited to contribute

There is also a website companion that is being developed.  Several Sunday “Platicas” are also being planned.  These “Platicas” are educational presentations by university professors, authors, and people who are knowledgeable about a particular topic.

Nancy Marquez is still seeking additional information and photos, if you have, or know, someone who has:

  •  Family history/photo related to early period, 1900s, especially The Mexican Revolution
  • Family photos with cars, or trucks, in the 1930s – 1950s periods
  • Photos/posters of music groups, theaters, dances, parades from the 1930 – 1980s
  • Photos or articles about KKK activities in Tulare region
  • Sports heroes from Tulare County
  • Organizations serving Latino Community
  • Identification of key Mexican restaurants and businesses in each of the towns in Tulare County
  • Artwork related to any of the periods (prints, paintings, 3-D)

According to event organizers, the focus on general community attendance will be from June through August, and then the focus for students will be from September – December.  There has also been mention that community organizations could host one of several Sunday “Platicas” events.

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Marquez, or Amy King whose contact information is below:

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