American Latino Museum

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American Latino Museum

Fighting for a museum in our nation’s capital to respect and understand the richness and diversity of A project The Raben Group.
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American Latinos are inextricably woven into the fabric of the United States and have contributed mightily to the development of our great nation. For the benefit of all Americans, and to ensure our country’s future vitality, there is a compelling need to better tell this story. Through an exhaustive process, the Commission has determined that a national museum focused on American Latino history, art, and culture is not only viable but essential to America’s interests.

10/22/2026

Our history is worth telling, and the next generation is helping make sure it isn’t forgotten.

Earlier this month, we celebrated the winners of the Raíces National Essay Contest, which invited students from across the country to explore the Hispanic people, places, and traditions that have helped shape American history.

Through their essays, these young storytellers reminded us that Hispanic history isn’t separate from American history. It’s an essential part of it.

We’re proud to have partnered with Embassy of Spain in the U.S. and Vista Higher Learning on this initiative, helping bring these stories to light.

10/21/2026

Today, we’re celebrating the birthday of the one and only Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa!

Born in Havana, Cuba, Celia came to the United States in 1961 and became one of the most influential voices in Latin music. In New York City, she helped popularize salsa alongside legends like Tito Puente and Johnny Pacheco, bringing Afro-Caribbean rhythms to audiences across the country.

As one of the few women to break through in the male-dominated salsa scene, Celia went on to earn multiple Grammy Awards, receive the National Medal of Arts, and become an international icon, all while proudly singing in Spanish and celebrating her Cuban roots.

Her career is a reminder of just how deeply Latino artists have shaped American music and culture.

Happy birthday to the Queen of Salsa!

📸 Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (1962).

10/14/2026

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we thank the Hispanic and Latino veterans who have served our country and the families who have supported them.

More than 500,000 Latinos served in the U.S. military during World War II. That tradition of service continues: Hispanic and Latino Americans made up about one in five active-duty service members in 2024, and about 1.55 million U.S. veterans identified as Hispanic or Latino in 2025.

Their memories of military life, the people they served alongside and coming home help us understand what service has meant across generations. Their families have stories to tell, too.

To the Hispanic and Latino veterans in our community and the families beside them: thank you.

Sources:
• The National WWII Museum — Latino service during World War II.
• Department of Defense, 2024 Demographics Profile — active-duty representation.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 veteran data — veteran population.

Pictured, in order:
1) World War II: The “Fighting Medinas,” seven brothers from Río Grande, Puerto Rico, and Brooklyn, New York, who served during the war. Photo courtesy of Stars and Stripes, via The National WWII Museum.
2) Korean War: 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez leads Marines over the seawall at Inchon on September 15, 1950. Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 96876, via Wikimedia Commons.
3) Vietnam War: Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez, pictured wearing his Medal of Honor. Credit: U.S. Army.
4) World War II: Sgt. Jose Mendoza Lopez, photographed in uniform. Source: The National WWII Museum.

10/12/2026

There’s no single Latino story. On Día de la Raza, we recognize the Indigenous peoples whose cultures have shaped our communities, even as centuries of colonization sought to erase their histories.

In Puerto Rico, Taíno descendants continue to preserve and reclaim their heritage, from cultural ceremonies to traditions passed down through generations.

These stories are part of American history and deserve to be told. At FRIENDS, we’re working toward a National Museum of the American Latino that reflects the full breadth of our history, including the Indigenous communities that continue to shape it today.

Photo: Members of the Concilio Taíno Guatu-Ma-cu a Boriken perform a traditional Taíno dance ceremony (areito) in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, March 2017. Photo by Teresita González-Crespo, courtesy of the photographer.

10/05/2026

This past weekend, we celebrated the next generation of Latino storytellers.

FRIENDS joined Embassy of Spain in the U.S., , Fundación Gomaespuma and The Pulsera Project at the Spanish Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. for the 2026 Raíces Awards Ceremony.

Raíces is a national essay contest that asks young people to explore their Hispanic heritage and share, in their own words, the people, traditions, experiences and histories that have shaped them.

This year’s ceremony honored the first prize winner and 15 national finalists, whose essays explored family, language, identity, culture and what their heritage means to them today.

And that’s really what makes Raíces special: giving young people the space to look at where they come from and tell those stories for themselves.

For FRIENDS, celebrating those voices goes hand in hand with our work to make sure Latino history and culture have the place they deserve in our nation’s story.

Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees. 👏🏽 We were proud to celebrate with you.

Thank you Embassy of Spain in the U.S., , Fundación Gomaespuma and The Pulsera Project for helping bring Raíces to life.

10/02/2026

Tonight on PBS!

Earlier this month, some of the biggest names in Latino music, culture and public service came together in Minneapolis for the 39th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards hosted by Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Tonight, you can catch the celebration on PBS.

FRIENDS was proud to be a Medallion Sponsor of this year’s Awards, which honored Rep. Joaquin Castro, mon laferte, Ximena Sariñana, Eladio Carrion, Oscar D'León Oficial and the People of Minnesota. And, of course, there was plenty of music, with Los Tigres Del Norte, mon laferte, Ximena Sariñana and Eladio Carrion taking the stage.

We’re always proud to support moments like this that celebrate the breadth of the Latino experience and make sure our stories, our history and our contributions are seen and celebrated.

Tune in tonight at 9/8c on PBS!

09/28/2026

On this day in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into what is now San Diego Bay, leading the first recorded European expedition to reach the California coast. Cabrillo claimed the harbor for Spain and named it San Miguel.

His arrival marked the beginning of recorded European contact with California’s coastal Indigenous communities, who had lived in the region for thousands of years.

It was also an early moment in a much longer history that would see Spanish and later Mexican influence become deeply rooted across California and the American Southwest.

More than 480 years later, that history is still visible in the names of cities and landmarks, in language, architecture, food and traditions, and in the generations of Hispanic and Latino communities that continue to shape the region today.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re looking back at the moments that show just how deep those roots run in the American story.

📸 Photo: Encyclopaedia Britannica

09/25/2026

Hispanic Heritage Month isn’t over yet. 👀 There’s still plenty happening across the DMV.

A few events to have on your radar:

FIESTA DC FESTIVAL + PARADE OF NATIONS
Sept. 26–27 | Washington, D.C.
Music, food, dance, art and the annual Parade of Nations take over downtown D.C. this weekend.

IN CELEBRATION OF OUR HISPANIC HERITAGE
Sept. 27, 2–3 p.m. | National Portrait Gallery
A curator-led tour spotlighting Latino stories and contributions across the museum’s collection.

¡PURO RITMO! THE MUSICAL JOURNEY OF SALSA
On view now | National Museum of American History
Salsa takes center stage in this bilingual exhibition from the National Museum of the American Latino, tracing the music from its Afro-Cuban roots to its impact in the United States.

AFI LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
Through Oct. 7 | Silver Spring, Md.
Films from across Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, plus filmmaker conversations and special events.

QUINCEAÑERA EXPO
Oct. 3, 1 p.m. | Gaithersburg, Md.
A celebration of quinceañera traditions, culture and community.

LATINO HERITAGE FESTIVAL: QUINCEAÑERA TRADITIONS & COMING OF AGE IN AMERICA
Oct. 11, 2–8:30 p.m. | Glen Echo Park
Music. Dance. Fashion. And a community quince celebration hosted by the National Museum of the American Latino.

What did we miss? 👇 If your organization has a Hispanic Heritage Month event coming up in the DMV, drop it in the comments and help us spread the word.

📸 Photo/graphic credits: “Fiesta DC 2014” by S Pakhrin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; National Portrait Gallery photo by Bobak Ha’Eri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; ¡Puro Ritmo! illustration by Carlos Aponte for the National Museum of the American Latino, Smithsonian Institution; 2026 AFI Latin American Film Festival program guide courtesy of AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; “Quinceañera. Santa Fe” by Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Glen Echo Park photo by Bruce Douglas, National Park Service.

FRIENDS is not affiliated in any way with the Smithsonian Institution or the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino.

09/22/2026

Yesterday in New York City, we celebrated the power of language, culture and community.

FRIENDS was proud to join Embassy of Spain in the U.S. and Hispanic Heritage Foundation for Language, Legacy, and Leadership in Spanish: A Success Story in the Americas at El Museo del Barrio.

FRIENDS President and CEO Estuardo Rodriguez moderated a conversation on Hispanic leadership and entrepreneurship with Luis Fernández, Ana Valdez, Félix Contreras and Pilar O’Leary.

The afternoon also featured Gustavo Dudamel, Artistic and Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, and a conversation on Hispanic influence in America with Ambassador Ángeles Moreno Bau, , Maria Teresa Kumar, Nathalie Rayes and Carlos Eduardo Espina.

Held during Hispanic Heritage Month and in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the event celebrated the Spanish language, the contributions of Hispanic communities and the role both continue to play in shaping the American story.

Thank you to our partners, speakers and everyone who joined us for such a special afternoon.

El español es parte de nuestra historia, nuestra cultura y nuestro futuro.

09/18/2026

In September 1988, Dr. Lauro Cavazos was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Education, becoming the first Latino to serve in a presidential Cabinet.

The son of a foreman on the King Ranch in South Texas, Cavazos built a career in medicine and education. He taught anatomy, served as dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine and later returned to his alma mater, Texas Tech, where he became the university’s first Hispanic president.

Then came another first. President Ronald Reagan nominated Cavazos to lead the Department of Education, and on September 20, 1988, he was sworn in as the first Hispanic Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re remembering Dr. Cavazos and a moment that put Latino leadership at the Cabinet table for the first time.

📸 Diana Walker/Getty Images

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