In 2019, students from Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, Rudy Lozano Campus, in Pilsen, protested CHM for the lack of Latino/a/e representation. In doing so, they stood on the shoulders of past Latino/a/es and allies who fought against cultural erasure and systemic racism.
Resistance to the status quo can be overt, like protests for fair education and housing, while other acts are more subtle but just as powerful, like preserving family recipes, native languages, and spiritual practices. Chicago has been home to Latino/a/e communities since the 1800s. Their descendants have actively carried on and protected Latino/a/e cultural heritages and traditions. Today they stand firm in the face of systems and policies of oppression and remain Here in Chicago—Aquí en Chicago.
Through art, photographs, interviews, clothing, personal items, everyday objects, and historical treasures, Aquí en Chicago traces the lives of Latino/a/e communities that have maintained a persistent cultural presence and flourished in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
The exhibition is presented in both English and Spanish.
CHM Blogs and Research
- CHM Staff Spotlight: Elena Gonzales, CHM Curator of Civic Engagement and Social Justice
- CHM Staff Spotlight: Rebekah Coffman, CHM Curator of Religion and Community History
- Entangled Identities: Latin American Heritage in Unexpected Places
- Preparing the Digital Communities’ Scrapbook for Aquí en Chicago
- Hojarasca® Cookies: A Chicago Legend Reborn
- It Was a Rebellion: Chicago’s Puerto Rican Community in 1966
- Summer of ’69: Young Lords in Lincoln Park
- Rudy Lozano
Learn more
Aqui en Chicago – The Project
Aquí en Chicago has been years in the making. The project includes paid research internships, an oral history project, and a series of workshops around the city about collecting and preserving cultural heritage.
Learn more
Thank you to our sponsors
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Endowment for the Humanities
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Bank of America Foundation
Wintrust
Illinois Arts Council Agency
Contact Melinda at mccrary@chicagohistory.org to learn more about exhibition sponsorships
Highlights from the Exhibition
Curators and Contributors
Dr. Elena Gonzales is Curator of Civic Engagement & Social Justice at the Chicago History Museum. Her book Exhibitions for Social Justice (2019) was published in Routledge’s Museum Meanings Series. She is a contributing author of Seize the Moment: How Museums Can Prepare for the Post-Pandemic Age (Rowman & Littlefield and the American Association for State and Local History, 2022). Gonzales has curated exhibitions since 2006 and taught curatorial studies since 2010.
Jojo Galvan Mora is CHM’s Digital Humanities Fellow. He holds an MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois Chicago. He’s also a PhD Candidate in history at Northwestern University, where he writes about Latino Urban and Suburban History in the US. Apart from his work as a historian for the Museum, Jojo is also CHM’s dedicated Spanish-language translator, having translated exhibitions like City on Fire, Designing for Change, and, most recently, Dressed in History.
Rebekah Coffman is a historian, preservationist, and curator serving as Curator of Religion and Community History at the Chicago History Museum. At CHM, she leads the Chicago Sacred Initiative, which explores the way sacred and religious communities have shaped Chicago’s history and present. Her interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of religious identity and the built environment through place-based, community-centered approaches. At CHM, she most recently contributed to Back Home: Polish Chicago (May 2023 –June 2024).
INTERESTED IN GROUP TOURS?
Stories are always better when shared! Bring your group to the Chicago History Museum and walk in the footsteps of the city’s past on a private tour. Groups of ten or more adults receive a discount when reserving at least four weeks in advance.