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Longoria, Salazar seek Smithsonian Latino museum
By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press
WASHINGTON, DC, May 5, 2011 (AP): A presidential commission called Thursday for the creation of a national museum devoted to American Latino history and culture next to the Capitol as part of the Smithsonian Institution, drawing strong endorsements from the top ranks of government.
The commission, which included Eva Longoria from TV's "Desperate Housewives" and producer Emilio Estefan, spent a year hearing comments from more than 100,000 people on the need for such a museum. They returned with a lengthy report that lays out the contributions of Latinos and said a museum would represent Latinos where their heritage has been absent at the Smithsonian.
"Being a ninth generation American, growing up in south Texas on land that was given to us from the Spanish around the 1600s, I'm living proof that Latinos have been in America for a very long time," Longoria said at the Capitol.
The nation's increasing diversity and dramatic growth of the Latino population makes the Smithsonian American Latino Museum an urgent priority, commission chairman Henry R. Muñoz III said.
"More than any other place in this country, the National Mall is the space that tells the story of America, and today that story isn't complete," he said. "We ask not to be treated differently than any other museum that has been created in partnership with the Smithsonian."
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis endorsed the commission's recommendations.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Salazar said such a building on the Capitol's grounds would be in keeping with the National Park Service's plan for the National Mall, which calls for overhauling the nearby reflecting pool as a civic square. Many contributions of Latinos, dating back to before the nation's founding, have never been recognized, he said.
"My own view is America's strength in the future is dependent upon the United States being inclusive of all of its people," Salazar said. "In the United States today, we have about 50 million-plus Americans who are of Latino descent."
A 1994 Smithsonian report entitled "Willful Neglect" found Latinos were the only major contributor to US-American civilization not permanently recognized at the museum complex. That led to creation of the Smithsonian Latino Center to devise new programs.
A Latino museum would join the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American-Indian and its planned National Museum of African-American History and Culture, slated to open in four years. There has been some hesitance in Congress to add more ethnic museums for fear that they appeal to segregated audiences.
The commission tried to head off such arguments from the start.
"This is not a museum for Latinos. This is a museum that more fully describes what the American story is," Muñoz said. "The historical myth of the United States begins with 1776 and the Mayflower, totally ignoring the fact that we were here well before then and have been contributors to the development of this country in every single way."
Democratic California Rep. Xavier Becerra, who drafted legislation to form the museum commission, said he hasn't heard any direct opposition in Congress to creating the museum, though all budget matters will draw attention. It's an opportunity to "rectify what the Smithsonian will admit was a wrong," he said.
Becerra, who serves on the Smithsonian Board of Regents, said the board will want to make sure the museum complex will have the resources to handle any new responsibilities and create a high-quality space.
Republican California Rep. Devin Nuñes, who is co-chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, would be more inclined to support a museum that's inclusive of all U.S. immigrants, spokesman Andrew House said. Nuñes isn't opposed to a Latino museum but doesn't think it should be funded by taxpayers, due to federal deficits.
Muñoz said he envisions a lively, interactive space with performances, food from various Latino traditions and perhaps a plaza that allows programs to spill out onto the Capitol grounds.
The report lays out a case for retracing 500 years of Latino history in Mexico and the present-day United States. It notes Spanish explorers were first to land in Florida decades before English settlers founded Jamestown, and early expeditions led to the founding of San Francisco and Santa Fe, N.M. It details Latinos' contributions to the military, the economy and the arts.
At the same time, many groups want to add museums on the National Mall, including efforts to recognize the histories of women, gays and immigration.
"The history of all peoples has got to be told across America," Salazar said. "We can't deal with the whole world right now, but I think the time is now to do something like this."
Visitors at the National Museum of American History on Thursday had a variety of views.
"We're so multicultural now. You live around it, why not learn about it?" said Jennifer Frisch, a fifth-grade teacher who brought her class from Henrico County, Va.
Bob Rivet of San Jose, Calif., was visiting the museum with his wife, Anna. They said it might be better to have one museum devoted to various cultures but that a precedent was set with the American Indian museum, which they enjoyed visiting.
"It's almost like unfortunate in a way that they're all separate in a way," Bob Rivet said.
Federal budget constraints could be the biggest hurdle. The commission calls for building a $600 million museum with Congress providing half the funds and private donations covering the remainder. It's the same model as the African American museum project.
Salazar, one of the highest ranking Latinos in government, pledged to help raise millions of dollars to privately fund the construction. He said organizers may need to raise more than half the funds if the federal budget is a roadblock.
Online: http://americanlatinomuseum.org/
Brett Zongker can be reached at http://twitter.com/DCArtBeat
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Eva Longoria
Salazar avala plan para Museo Latino en EEUU
WASHINGTON, DC, 5 de mayo de 2011 (AP): La propuesta para construir un museo nacional dedicado al arte, la historia y la cultura de los latinos recibió un empujón del secretario del Interior de Estados Unidos.
Ken Salazar, uno de los hispanos con mayor rango en el gobierno, dijo que exhortará al Congreso a que apruebe la creación de un Museo Smithsoniano Latino, solicitado por una comisión federal. El funcionario habló en una entrevista con The Associated Press antes de la difusión del informe el jueves.
Dijo que un edificio de ese tipo estaría en consonancia con el plan del Servicio de Parques Nacionales para el National Mall, una explanada de jardines en el centro de la capital estadounidense frente al Capitolio, con monumentos nacionales y los museos Smithsonianos.
El plan contempla convertir un espejo de agua frente al Capitolio en una plaza cívica.
Salazar dijo que muchas de las contribuciones de los latinos a la nación, que datan de antes de la fundación de Estados Unidos, nunca han sido reconocidas y merecen un espacio en el National Mall, entre las principales atracciones culturales del país.
``Mi propia opinión es que la futura fuerza de Estados Unidos dependerá de que Estados Unidos sea incluyente con todos los de su pueblo'', dijo. ``En el Estados Unidos de hoy, tenemos más de 50 millones de estadounidenses que son de ascendencia latina''.
Como secretario del Interior, Salazar dirige la oficina que supervisa los recursos naturales y el ambiente del país, incluso parques nacionales y perforación submarina. Su puesto no corresponde con el del ministerio del Interior que se usa en otros países.
Emilio Estefan
Una copia del informe de la comisión obtenido por The Associated Press dice que el museo representaría el patrimonio de los latinos que ha estado ausente en el Smithsoniano.
``El Mall, más que cualquier otro espacio público en nuestro país, relata en efecto la historia de Estados Unidos, y sin embargo, esa historia no está completa'', escribió el presidente de la comisión, Henry R. Muñoz III.
Un informe del Smithsoniano que data de 1994, titulado ``Willful Neglect'' (Negligencia deliberada), descubrió que los hispanos en Estados Unidos eran los únicos contribuyentes importantes para la civilización estadounidense que no eran reconocidos permanentemente en el complejo de museos.
El Museo Latino se uniría al Museo Nacional Smithsoniano del Indigena Estadounidense y al futuro Museo Nacional de Historia y Cultura Afroestadounidense, que se prevé sea inaugurado en cuatro años. Ha habido cierta reticencia en el Congreso a añadir más museos étnicos por temor a que puedan tener un atractivo enfocado a una minoría.
La comisión trató de contrarrestar tales argumentos desde el principio.
``No se trata de un museo para los latinos. Este es un museo que describe con más detalle lo que es la historia de Estados Unidos'', dijo Muñoz en una entrevista.
``El mito histórico de que Estados Unidos comienza con 1776 y el Mayflower, obvia totalmente el hecho de que estábamos aquí desde mucho antes y que hemos contribuido al desarrollo de este país en todos los sentidos'', añadió.
El informe dice que hay que recordar unos cinco siglos de historia de los latinos en Estados Unidos, con raíces en Europa, Africa, Asia y los pueblos indígenas nativos.
Subrayó que los exploradores españoles fueron los primeros en llegar a la Florida, décadas antes de que colonos ingleses fundaran Jamestown y crearan puestos de avanzada que al final llevaron a la fundación de San Francisco y Santa Fe, en Nuevo México. Detalló la aportación de los latinos a la milicia, la economía y las artes del país.
Al mismo tiempo, muchos grupos quieren añadir otros museos al National Mall que reconozcan a las mujeres, los homosexuales y los inmigrantes.
``La historia de todos los pueblos tiene que contarse en todo Estados Unidos'', dijo Salazar, pero la propuesta para el Museo Latino, agregó, fue ``un plan definitivo que aborda la historia de un sexto de la población''.
Las limitaciones de presupuesto federal podrían ser el mayor obstáculo para el nuevo museo. La comisión aboga por la construcción de un museo de 600 millones de dólares, de los cuales la mitad serían provistos por el Congreso y la otra mitad por donaciones privadas.
Cuando era presidente, George W. Bush firmó una iniciativa para establecer la comisión para el museo latino en el 2008. El presidente Barack Obama, junto con líderes del Congreso, designó una comisión de 23 miembros que incluye a la actriz de televisión Eva Longoria, al productor musical Emilio Estefan y a otros por su experiencia en museos, recaudación de fondos y la cultura latina.
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