¡Presente!
La Horchata, the arts publication featuring creatives from the Central American diaspora and from Central America and created by Technical Instructor in Photography Veronica Melendez will be featured in the inaugural exhibition presented by the National Museum of the American Latino.
¡Presente! A Latinx History of the United States offers an introduction to the important ideas, moments, and people that shine a light on the many ways the Latinx community shaped the nation.
Along with fellow artist Kimberly Benavides, Melendez has been self-producing and printing La Horchata (named after a sweet traditional drink) since 2017. Featuring Central American art, this platform has been Melendez and Benavides’ response to the lack of visibility Central American artists face.
“Taking up space in a national museum of American history in this way is something I couldn’t have imagined for my zine,” said Melendez. “I feel really honored to represent the Central American community in this way. And I encourage anyone passing through D.C. to check this exhibit out—it’s quite lovely!”
The exhibit will be in the Molina Family Latino Gallery at National Museum of American History, which is part of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The Molina Family Latino Gallery is the first physical presence of the National Museum of the American Latino. Exhibitions in the Latino Gallery will present bilingual stories for multigenerational and cross-cultural audiences featuring multimedia, physical objects, and first-person voices.
The exhibit opened June 18, 2022.