La Frontera del Norte
Sep 12, 2008 - Jan 11, 2009
La Frontera del Norte aims to draw the thread from the earliest Latino population—small and precarious on Mexico’s northern frontier—to today’s growing community. Through images, artifacts and accounts, La Frontera del Norte will explore the resilience and vibrancy of Latino heritage in Sonoma County, revealing that while today many look at the Latino community with an unwavering focus on recent immigration, there is a deeper legacy and a broader perspective that begs for greater understanding.
In the middle of the twentieth century, a new era for Sonoma County Latinos began as the first “Braceros” arrived to work on the ranches. The arrival of these contract workers in the 1940s sowed the seeds for significant changes in Sonoma County. In the coming years labor, increasing population, political activism and a growing sense of identity would redefine the Latino community.
Featured in conjunction with La Frontera are lectures by Sonoma State University Professor Dr. Francisco Vazquez and UCLA Professor David Hayes-Bautista. In 2009 the SCM plans to collect oral histories and to publish stories and oral histories, as well as an exhibit catalogue.
This exhibit was supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. Additional funding was provided by the Hugh Futrell Corporation, Kendall-Jackson Winery, the Stuppin Fund for the Arts, Kevin Konicek and Michelle Zyromski, Donna and Robert Endicott, Chelinos and Mi Burrito.
