Chicago History Museum "Aqui En Chicago" exhibit highlights city's Latino history
A new exhibit at the Chicago History Museum highlights the history of the city's Latino population.
The exhibit, called "Aqui en Chicago," has been in the making for six years after students from Pilsen's Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy visited the museum in 2019.
"They didn't find anything relating to the Latine third of the city here in 'Chicago: Crossroads of America,' which is our flagship exhibit," said Elena Gonzalez, curator of civic engagement and social justice for the museum.
Gonzalez said the museum pushed for more representation and that led to the creation of this new exhibit.
"Really bringing the History Museum to task on how we could integrate this third of the city into the way we talk about Chicago history," she said. "This exhibition is a look at 150 years or so of Latine presence in the Chicago area."
The exhibit is set to open on Oct. 25 and includes everything from textiles to treasures to photographs and records of oral histories.
"Lots of different types of material and lots of different stories," Gonzalez said.
The exhibit highlights the community's cultural contributions, triumphs and challenges.
Curators say the exhibit's history can hold lessons for the present.
"It feels very relevant because it feels like a history that's in the process of being repeated today," Gonzalez said.
The exhibit runs through November 2026 and museum leaders hope it inspires new perspectives about Chicago's Latino population.