Saturday, March 5, 2011

Latina at Work and Play: A Pasadena Story

Most Pasadenans appreciate our library system: the last bond in support of our libraries passed by 78%.
The Centennial Room in our Central Library holds volumes that are particularly delicate or are specific to Pasadena can be found in this wing.

"Latinas at Work and Play: Pasadena Stories" exhibit will be in the room through March 31st. The exhibit shares the changing roles of Latinas in Pasadena in the 1940s through the 1960s. Their experiences reflected the larger communities in Southern California and those unique to Pasadena.

In this picture you see smaller images of the Pasadena (Mexican) Settlement, members of the Xochimilco Club at Pasadena Junior College, and movie great Ricardo Montalban crowning Miss Churrubusco.

It's my good fortune to work with folks like Ed and Rita Almanza as well as Liz Espinoza who bring historical facts from two dimensional ideas to three dimensional expressions of experience and history. I get to work and play and share stories that add to a fuller story of the city we live in. Not too shabby, and yes, that is a part of the reason why I'm smiling.

4 comments:

  1. It's my favorite room there! (That and Jan Sanders's office.)

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  2. There is soo much history in the Centennial Room. In addition to all of the volumes that directly relate to the city, and copies of many, many City commission and department documents, there are the wonderful clippings notebooks. Invaluable resources for research.

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  3. You look like the best part of the exhibit!

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  4. The huipil is mine: never used it. I thought it was funny to see my Olmeca head in the case.

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