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Washington Offers Latino Culture

Latino history in Washington is being put on the map right now. All the major art and cultural institutions are pushing to enhance collections of Latino art and contributions to American culture, which the institutions admit is vastly underrepresented among their current works.

Meanwhile a thriving Latino community that sprang up in the Mt. Pleasant and Adams-Morgan neighborhoods during the 1980s serves as the backdrop to the city's most eclectic and bohemian nightlife area. The result is a Latino cultural scene that gets better every year.

It's possible in Washington to catch world-class exhibits of Latino art and cultural artifacts amid the formal elegance and grandeur of major museums--and then, at night, to enjoy the hip, festive surroundings of salsa dance clubs, restaurants and contemporary theater.

An amazing array of Latino cultural events takes place annually during Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15. Expect a continuous stream of exhibits, lectures, performances, and elaborate parties featuring international artists, writers, musicians politicians, and celebrities.

Here are some highlights of permanent collections in the area:

Art Museum of Americas, 201 18th St. NW, 202/458-6016. Open Tues.-Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free Admission.

A great example of the lofty decorum Washington museums can exude, this small gallery is housed in a Spanish colonial-style building that once was the residence for the secretary-general of the Organization of American States. It hosts changing exhibits highlighting 20th-century Latin American artists.

The museum regularly presents selections from its permanent collection, including works by Amelia Palaez, Joaquin Torres Garcia, Emilio Pettoruti, Candido Portinari, Maria Luisa Pacheco and others. The loggia behind the museum is decorated with richly colored tiles in patterns modeled after Aztec and Inca legends. The room offers a great view of the Aztec Garden, which features a statue of Xochipili, Aztec god of flowers.

On the other side of the Aztec Garden is the House of Americas, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, headquarters building of the Organization of American States. The interior features a patio adorned with a pre-Columbian-style fountain and tropical plants. Upstairs, the Hall of Flags and Heroes displays busts of generals and statesmen from OAS member countries, along with national flags.

Gala Hispanic Theatre, 1625 Park Road NW, 202/234-7174 or 202/234-0129. Open September to April. Times and admission price vary depending on performances.

The Gala is a small and critically acclaimed theater focusing on Latino-oriented plays. Housed in the back of a Catholic school, the theater focuses on subject matter that may be too mature for some younger kids, but the theater also targets some performances specifically for youth.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and 7th Street SW, 202/357-2700. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free Admission.

Twentieth-century modernism can be traced in the works of Spanish artists Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. Works by nearly 40 Latin American painters and sculptors are also in the Hirshhorn collection, including those of Rufino Tamayo of Mexico, Wifredo Lam of Cuba, Joaquin Torres-Garcia of Uruguay and Chilean-born Roberto Matta.

American-born artists include painter Arnaldo Roche-Rabell, sculptor Luis A. Jiminez of New Mexico, and Tim Rollins + K.O.S. (Kids of Survival). To find out what's currently on exhibit from the museum's permanent collection, go to http://www.si.edu/organiza/museums/hirsh/hrshcol.htm#hrshvu.

Mexican Cultural Institute, 2829 16th St. NW. 202/728-1628. Tues.-Sat. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free admission.

This former Mexican Embassy is a bit scruffy around the edges, but the 1911 Italianate house still can inspire awe. Roberto Cueva del Rio's bold and colorful mural depicting the history of Mexico is sufficient reason to visit. The mural winds around the brooding, dark-wooded staircase that leads to stately rooms with fraying furniture. Stop on the second floor and check out the sun-drenched back room with walls of exquisite Mexican tile.

The center's permanent collection of art includes works by Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Sigueros and Juan O'Gorman. It also hosts changing exhibits and offers memberships. Perks for members include discounts to lectures, recitals, concerts and guided tours of Mexican and Latin American art exhibits in the area.

National Air and Space Museum, Jefferson Drive at 6th Street SW. 202/357-2700. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free admission.

The most visited museum in the world has little to offer for Latino-seeking visitors. But, because everyone seems to come here at least once, here's what's available:

• The Early Flight Gallery features Albert Santos Dumont, a Brazilian-born aviation pioneer well-known for his airships and rigid aircraft. The gallery also highlights Spanish-born Cuban resident Domingo Rosillo and Cuban-born Agustin Parla. To visit the Early Flight Gallery online go to http://www.nasm.edu/GALLERIES/GAL107/gal107.html.

• In the Stars Gallery, the Aztec calendar and the ancient Mayan system of marking the seasons with horizon markers are explained. To visit the Star Gallery online, go to http://www.nasm.edu/GALLERIES/GAL111/gal111.html.

National Gallery of Art, Madison Drive and 4th Street NW, 202/737-4215. Free admission. Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The East and West buildings of this massive museum house one of the world's foremost collections--European collections, that is--of painting, sculpture and graphics. The domed West building covers the 13th through 19th centuries.

Gallery 52 features eight works by Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes, one of Spain's greatest painters during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The portraits of Spanish nobility adroitly cover Goya's changing artistic style throughout his career. His early portraits reflect his tendency for airy landscapes in the background and for shimmering pastel colors. As he matured, and particularly after he was going deaf, Goya favored darkness. His later works evoke somber psychological characterizations.

The West building also contains several works by El Greco, the Greek-born painter whose vivid, emotional style came to exemplify the passion of counter-Reformation Spain during the late 17th and 18th centuries. In the face of Protestant revolt, the Catholic Church sought to reform its practices and reinforce belief in its doctrines. El Greco, whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos, became the artistic vision of that movement. He developed a provocative mannerist style epitomized by his elongated human forms and often concentrated on themes emphasizing penance and other Catholic sacramental rites.

The East building showcases 20th-century art and a changing series of exhibitions. In the huge atrium, Spanish artist Joan Miro's massive hanging sculpture, "Woman," dominates. Another piece that is hard to miss is Salvador Dali's Last Supper, which greets escalator riders as they move between the two buildings.

National Museum of American Art, Eighth and G Streets NW. 202/357-2700. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free admission.

Housed in the Old Patent Office Building, the museum's permanent collection of American Latino art is small but covers much cultural ground. Outside the main entrance stands sculpture by Luis A. Jiminez-Vaquero, a 16-foot-tall work in fiberglass, resplendent with color. The sculpture celebrates the origins of the American cowboy. No, not the Marlboro Man, but, the Spanish-speaking vaquero of the Pampas of South America and the large ranches of Mexico.

The museum collection includes several examples of Santos artifacts-- the small portable religious images painted on animal hide or canvas. The technique was introduced to the Southwest by Franciscan friars beginning in the late 16th century. Other works in the collection include 20th-century paintings by Marisol, Nathan Oliveira, and Pedro Cervantez, as well as contemporary folk art by Felipe Benito Archuleta.

Two works by living Latino artists are particularly notable: Pepon Osorio's "El Chandelier" and Jesse Trevino's "Mis Hermanos" (My Brothers). Trevino's contribution is a photo-realistic portrayal of himself with his brothers.

Osorio's work shows the influence of the Puerto Rican barrios of New York City, where the chandelier is an object commonly found in the apartment complexes of Spanish Harlem and South Bronx. Swags of pearls, miniature Afro-Caribbean saints, dominoes, soccer balls and baby dolls are just a few of the plastic objects Osorio has mounted on his chandelier, which is quite a spectacle.

What's so jarring about works by Trevino and Osorio is that they unwittingly serve as reminders of how rare it is to see--in Washington--art that's rooted in contemporary Latino culture.

Connected to the National Museum of American Art is the National Portrait Gallery, at 8th and F Streets, which includes a portrait of Chicano activist Cesar Chavez in Gallery 217. Also included are portraits of Mexican-American dancer and choreographer Jose Limon, as well as baseball great Roberto Clemente, a native of Puerto Rico.

National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202/357-2700. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free admission.

If this museum is the nation's attic, then it must have a trunk reserved for Latino artifacts. Overall, the museum maintains approximately 1,500 objects of historical and modern Latino origin. These objects are related to daily life, religion, crafts, politics, textiles, music and anything else that helped shape the national character.

No permanent Latino exhibit in Washington seems to pack as much emotional wallop as "American Encounters," located on the Mall level of the museum near the Star Spangled Banner display. The adobe-styled room offers a multi-media glimpse into histories that are deeply intertwined: those of Native American, Latino and Anglo-American peoples in rural New Mexico. In 1598, Spanish King Philip II sent soldiers, settlers and Francisan friars into the area now known as New Mexico to conquer and convert the indigenous peoples. Things haven't been the same since.

More than 500 artifacts and graphics, as well as three short video presentations, illuminate the recurrent themes of resistance, intergration and affirmation that goes on between the cultures. Perhpas because many Americans grapple with issues of heritage and ethnicity in our diverse society, many visitors appear visibly moved by American Encounters. Or maybe this happens because the exhibit simply provides a peek at the timeless, rugged beauty of rural New Mexico.

Another piece of work connected with the American Encounters exhibit, but located in the Hall of Transportation, also provokes strong reaction. Dave's Dream, a 1969 Ford Ltd., is a lowrider once owned by Chicano David Jaramillo of El Portrero de Chimayo, N.M. A lowrider is a car modified in the Chicano tradition that transforms an automobile into a technicolor vehicle of Mexican-American street art, mixing a rich history of colorful folk art with the American Dream of owning a cool car. Dropped suspension, fat little tires, rich velour upholstery, maybe an airbrushed painting of a dead family member--this is lowrider art.

Many non-Latino adults openly express revulsion at the gaudiness of Dave's Dream. But their kids seem transfixed. The lowrider's multicultural hipness and it's brazen, streetwise declaration of independence evoke an aesthetic as contemporary as MTV. The American Encounters exhibit is featured online at http://www.si.edu/organiza/museums/nmah/docs/encount3.htm.

National Museum of Natural History, Tenth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 202/357-2700. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free admission.

Here, among one of the world's largest collections of natural history specimens and anthropological artifacts, are displays related to Latin America. Included is the assembled skeleton of an extinct giant sloth, excavated in Panama, and a variety of Latin American birds and mammals. Another permanent exhibition depicts four distinct ecological regions of South America and spans three different time periods--prehistoric, colonial and modern--showing how the environment of each region affects cultural development.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue NW. 202/783-5000. Mon-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun. noon to 5 p.m. Suggested donation is $3 for adults, $2 for students, senior citizens and children.

Any institution dedicated to promoting the work of women artists must have at least one work by Mexican artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo. And that's how many of her works--one--this museum houses in a splendidly restored 1907 Renaissance Revival building. It permanently owns Kahlo's "Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky." Feel her pain; admire her fierce beauty.

InterAmerican Development Bank, 1300 New York Ave. NW. 202-/623-3287. Open weekdays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission.

Founded in 1959, the bank finances economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The building contains a huge waterfall in the middle of a massive lobby. A small cultural center hosts changing exhibits of paintings, sculptures and artifacts from member countries.

The National Zoological Park, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. 8 a.m to 6 p.m. Oct. 16-April 14; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 15-Oct. 15. Free admission.

The National Zoo opened a permanent exhibit in 1992 about life in the Amazon basin of South America. The exhibit, called "Amazonia," is housed in a 15,000-square-foot glass domed building and includes nearly 500 species of living plants, as well as more than 100 kinds of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The Amazonia Science Gallery is online at
http://www.si.edu/organiza/museums/zoo/ zooview/exhibits/amazonia/scigall/backgrnd.htm.