Angela and I got to celebrate with the other Pura Belpré winners in 2016. She’s the fifth from the left.
I’m heading out on this soggy morning for two good reasons.
One, Angela Dominguez, who illustrated Mango Abuela and Me and is the illustrator behind the Lola Levine series by Monica Brown and several of her own award-winning titles, has moved to Richmond! We’re having a “welcome to RVA” lunch, which I hope is the beginning of lots of new adventures for her in our town.
Angela couldn’t have arrived at a better time, which brings me to reason number two for venturing out. This weekend marks the opening of LATINOS IN RICHMOND/ NUESTRAS HISTORIAS, a small but potent exhibit at the Valentine Museum.
My grandmother’s Virgen de la Caridad is on loan to the exhibit.
For about a year, I’ve volunteered as part of an advisory committee helping Wanda Hernandez and her colleagues at the Valentine curate this loving first peek at Latinos in our city. You’ll find artifacts and stories of how we began making our way here – dating back to colonial days. There is a little bit of everything, including a terrific graphic that shows the fairly recent political lift-off of Latinos here in the Commonwealth.
YAQUI DELGADO ‘s marked manuscript is on display
There’s food, music, and free admission today, so maybe I’ll see you. But if not, I hope you’ll take a minute to walk through in the coming months and read the stories of who is here in your neighborhood, why we got here, and what we offer.
Cariños,
Meg
Nuestras Historias/ Latinos in Richmond
July 27, 2017 thru April 15, 2018
The Valentine Museum
1015 E. Clay Street, Richmond, VA
