We were in Denver recently visiting my brother. Edgar and I were. It was the first time we had both been in that city since my brother moved there a couple of years ago. I’ll tell you more about that trip in another blog post, but one of the places I definitely wanted to check out while in Denver was the Museo de las Americas. Mainly because for years now the museum has been sending me email updates about its exhibitions and events.
They always sounded so interesting, and since it’s usually Latin American art it’s right up my alley.
We were surprised that the museum itself was pretty small, especially because we had heard the Latino art scene in Denver was pretty huge. However, what it lacked in size it more than made up for in its punch. The exhibition we got to explore, which was closing a day or two after our visit, was Pachucos y Sirenas.
I think it was the perfect exhibition for me and Edgar to walk through and discuss together.
He’s grown up pretty far removed from the low rider scene, and granted I wasn’t ever all that close to it myself. But my brother did own a low rider at one point that he would drive us in to school. I did grow up in the barrio and I guess what some might consider the hood.
As soon as we walked in I was acting all excited and proud of my pachuco knowledge. Edgar thought it was silly at first, but then got into it and even posed for me in front of the piñata low rider that was a centerpiece of the exhibition. Later we stopped in front of the painting by Antonia Fernandez and I asked him, “who does that remind you of?” Without skipping a beat he responded, “mom.”
We both nodded and smiled at the painting.
