Denver's Museo de las Americas

IN THE HEART OF DENVER’S ART DISTRICT:
MUSEO DE LAS AMERICAS EXPLORES THE LATINIDAD EXPERIENCE.

 

Museo de las Americas, begun in 1992 as one room in a cabinet shop,

now occupies a 12,000 sq. ft. building in the heart of Denver's Santa

Fe Art District. Dedicated to the arts and cultures of the Latinidad

in the Americas, the Museo maintains a permanent collection of more

than 3,000 objects, including textiles, ceramics, masks, jewelry,

basketry, paintings, pre-Columbian figures and contemporary art pieces

of mixed media.


Its current exhibit, Pachucos y Sirenas, examines the

Pachuco era of the late 1930s and 40s, when Mexican-American youth

adopted highly stylized identifiers, including the zoot suit, as a way

of expressing cultural pride.  On view through Aug. 18, Pachucos y

Sirenas highlights the impact that the Pachucho legacy had on the

American experience.  Maruca Salazar, Chief Curator of the Museo,

said, “The Pachuco of the 1940s introduced a tribalism and style that

presupposed eminent cultural upheavals that would change the American

cultural landscape. This prelude of the Chicano Movimiento in the

1960s was cleverly disguised through fashion, dance, music, and

language. Delivering a fresh hybrid identity with a tribal flair that

spread like wildfire among the youth.”

 

MUSEUM PARTICULARS:

Museo de las Americas in located at 861 Santa FeDrive in Denver, Colorado. For information about museum hours and events, visit museo.org or call 303-571-4401. Pachucos Y Sirenas is on view through Aug. 18.

 

ARTISTS OPEN THEIR DOORS: FIRST FRIDAY ART WALKS IN DENVER’S ART

DISTRICT ON SANTA FE.

Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe (ADSF)

encompasses hundreds of artists, galleries, studios, theaters, and

creative businesses along Santa Fe Dr. where First Friday Art Walks

attract thousands, year-round, rain or shine, from 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Every third Friday, the Art District offers Collector Preview Events,

a more intimate version of First Friday with an opportunity for

patrons to see the art and meet the artists and owners without the

large First Friday crowds.

 

 

AND REMEMBER:

To paint... to travel... to combine the two... is to celebrate life. (Jack R. Brouwer)

 

Susan Cohn is a member of the North American Travel Journalists

Association, Bay Area Travel Writers, and the International Food, Wine

& Travel Writers Association. She may be reached at

susan@smdailyjournal.com. More of her stories may be found at

http://ifwtwa.org/author/susan-cohn.