Google is on to something with their new Latino Arts & Cultures in the US exhibit at the Getty in Los Angeles.
The internet giant teamed up with dozens of institutions—including the Smithsonian Latino Center and the California State Archives—to feature a large collection of important Latino figures from both the past and present. This is one of the biggest digital collections focused on Latino culture, art, and history since… ever.
Here we encounter old stories that are only now being told in full as well as contemporary artists and figures who have a lot to say about the Latino experience. You can dive deep into the lives of late Tejano musician Selena Quintanilla, baseball player Roberto Clemente, and activist Dolores Huerta.
You see what everyday life was like for laborers and farmworker activists in the early 20th Century.
You can also take a virtual tour of beautiful murals painted by Latino artists and take a closer look at Frida Kahlo’s wardrobe.
It seems Latino experiences are, for the first time, being formally accepted into the world of film, media, and history classes. While this Getty exhibit is just scratching the surface of their colorful and meaningful history, this first crack of the door is the beginning of what we believe are many openings into a society where everyone’s history is accessible.
Feature photo: Hiyuxa, Owner of fishes, Wiwa culture, Colombia by Antonio Briceño, 2004. Borrowed from Google Arts & Culture.
