Commemorative Initiatives: Photo Exhibitions and Education Guide
El Diario/La Prensa‘s rich history of covering the New York Latino community and its unique collection of photos are at the center of two monumental projects aimed at engaging New Yorkers in the journey and impact of the Hispanic community.
In partnership with major New York City institutions, El Diario will preserve and share its large archive of historic photos and introduce a school guide based on the paper’s journalistic legacy.
More than 5,000 photos will be digitized and made available to the public as a result of an agreement made with the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University.
Segments of this collection are currently on display in a series of narrative exhibitions called “In the Headlines: Latino New Yorkers 19802001.”
The main exhibition is open at the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center (53 Washington Square South) of New York University. Two others are located in Upper Manhattan, at the Russ Berrie Medical Pavilion (1150 St. Nicholas Ave.) and the Mary Woodard Lasker Building at Columbia University’s Medical Center (3960 Broadway). The fourth one is at Hostos Community College in The Bronx (500 Grand Concourse).
“It presents the Hispanic contribution to the rebirth and revitalization of New York,” said Javier Gomez, coordinator of El Diario/La Prensa’s centennial, about the main exhibition. “The exhibit also shows the expansion of the Latino community, from the Puerto Rican and Caribbean influence to the rainbow that it now is.”
The school guide was developed in collaboration with City College of New York and produced by graduate students in a multicultural studies class, supervised by a professor.
Groups of students analyzed how El Diario/La Prensa depicted different aspects of Hispanic life and challenges in the city during the past 100 years. Based on this, they developed a teaching guide for intermediate and high school teachers, with an emphasis on social studies and English as a second language. Students and teachers at the Gregorio Luperon High School participated in a pilot implementation.
“City College’s multicultural class created a unit with the potential to impact teachers and students from every origin so they understand the obstacles and successes that the Latino community has experienced,” said Tatyana Klein, the supervising professor. “Participating in this has been an honor.”
The guide will be available for download at eldiariony.com/100, as of October 17.
