The “National Museum of the American Latino”, scheduled to open in 10 or 12 years from now, on the National Mall, in Washington, has its first permanent director, the Cuban descendant Jorge Zamanillo, who will take the position on May 2nd this year.

The museum is a new branch institution from the Smithsonian. The construction was authorized by the US Congress in late 2020, under the 22 years of experience of Zamanillo, who now serves as the chief executive of a Miami history museum.

In order to present a comprehensive view of the various Latin communities in their history and specificities, “the project comes at a time when museums are discussing how to prioritize narratives that have historically been excluded from accounts of the nation’s history. There had been disagreement over whether the best remedy was to integrate the history of Latinos into existing Smithsonian museums or to dedicate a separate museum to the representation and recognition of the achievements of 60 million Americans”, according to “The New York Times.

Jorge Zamanillo holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Florida State University and a Master's in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester, England. According to him, under his leadership, “the exhibitions and events at the new museum won’t serve only to celebrate the accomplishments and resiliency of Latinos, he said. The programming will examine the whole story of the arrival of Latinos in what would become the United States, discrimination, lynching, stereotypes and the ongoing struggle for inclusion”.

“I saw firsthand that museums have the power to change lives”, […] “They can be transformational in the way they engage communities”, according to Zamanillo for The New York.