museumpadawan

[museumpadawan]

Mural Progress Pics

Pictures of 2Alas’s mural progress in the south building lobby. 

South wall:

North wall:

Empty east wall behind the desk:

What is now behind the desk:

Julia Tuttle and (I think) Seminole people. 

and

Henry Flagler

The mural should be done in time for Art Basel Miami Beach. That’s this week! Unfortunately, I’m missing Art Basel, and the Miami Street Photography Festival this week. I’ll be at The Society for Ethnomusicology’s (SEM) annual conference in Austin, TX! I’m chairing the brand new Disability and Deaf Studies Special Interest Group (thanks to fellow co-founders Alex and Felicia for their help!) and presenting. 

My presentation will be live streamed so watch me here on Friday, December 4. The panel starts at 8:30 AM and I should be presenting around 10 AM. The stream will also be archived, so you can watch it later. Go here for more information on SEM’s streams.

Thanks for reading and look out for pictures from SEM, and follow my SEM tweets, @starwarselyse. BYE!

[museumpadawan]

Operation Pedro Pan

For this post, I’m featuring one of HistoryMiami Museum’s current exhibits, Operation Pedro Pan. This exhibit features the experience of “Pedro Panners,” Cuban children who immigrated to the United States during 1960-1962. Approximately 14,000 children, mostly teenage boys, traveled to the United States under political asylum from the Castro Regime. 

The exhibit really focuses on the experiences of Pedro Panners associated with the group Operation Pedro Pan Group, Inc. Many Pedro Panners had experiences that were very different from those who are associated with Operation Pedro Pan (also known as Operation Peter Pan). I make this distinction in order to honor the stories that are not told (both bad and good) and to also acknowledge the oral histories of a particular set of Pedro Panners. 

The exhibit is moving yet very controversial due to its extreme bias against the Castro regime and it’s portrayal of Cuba as a white, upper middle class, Catholic society. (Hey I’m no Castro supporter but to say the child exodus was needed, or happened due to the kindness of the U.S., or that many Pedro Panners and their families were in extreme danger in 1960s Cuba, is a one-sided interpretation of OPP and Cuban-US relations during the 60s.) We have to remember that not many poor, non-Catholic, and non-white Cuban children were part of OPP.

Although I find this exhibit problematic, I come to terms with the narrative because this is the story of a particular group of Pedro Panners - you can’t take their lived experiences away from them. In addition, I can’t imagine leaving my home and my parents at such a young age to a new country all by myself. We have to remember, Miami, where most Pedro Panners stayed their entire lives, was not predominately Cuban or Latin@ until after the Cuban Revolution and the 1960s - 1980s Cuban exiles. These children traveled to a new country not knowing English, wondering who will take care of them, and not knowing if they will stay in Miami with other Cuban children.

Knowing this background, here are pictures of each area of the exhibit along with closeups on artifacts I think you will find interesting.

The beginning of the exhibit: recreating the Cuban Catholic classroom before Castro.

A statue of the Virgin from a classroom. When Castro came into power, all religious schools were closed and converted into public schools. Religious officials were exiled and religious objects were banned. A nun gave this artifact, wrapped in a blanket, to a Pedro Pan child, to take home and save from Castro’s soldiers.

A picture of Camilo Cienfuegos. A popular Cuban Revolutionary leader. He died in 1959 when his plan disappeared in the ocean. Many suspect Castro ordered his death.

Artifacts of documents intended for children after Castro’s “Year of Education.” The nation’s literacy rate increased after the regime’s focus on educating all people throughout the country. This positive aspect to come out of Castro’s revolution is one of the things Operation Pedro Pan Group, Inc. would not like me to mention during my tours.

A table featuring artifacts of magazines, comics, food ration cards, and other common documents from 1960s Cuba.

“La Pecera” (The Fishbowl). This area recreates the glass wall where many children said goodbye to their parents before boarding planes to Miami. This is also the area where guards checked bags for “approved items.” Children were not allowed to bring anything made out of leather, any jewelry, money, or anything else considered valuable. Often objects were confiscated. Children were allowed to bring two changes of clothes, a toy (or a personal item), and a few toiletries.

The above map with strings show the migration paths of Pedro Panners. The map is incomplete and does not locate all of the cities children were sent.

Flags from the Florida City Camp. Children who stayed in Miami and who did not reunite with family members upon arrival, lived in camps run by the Catholic Welfare Bureau (CWB). The CWB is responsible for coordinating Operation Pedro Pan and for placing children throughout the United States.

The pictures above show artifacts and documents of life for children in the camps. The CWB made sure children lived structured and normal lives despite the children not living with their families. At the camps children created their own newsletters, made their own toys, and were encouraged to write letters back home.

The above is artwork, reflecting on the experiences of Pedro Panners, is by local artist, Mano. He arrived to the U.S. during Operation Pedro Pan. The white bags are from his art project, “La Maleta Project” (The Luggage Project). These are vintage bags painted white and signed by Pedro Panners.

If you want to read more about Operation Pedro Pan check these out:

The Miami Herald’s “Network for Operation Pedro Pan”

NPR, “Children of Cuba Remember Their Flight to America” by Greg Allen

Latino USA’s, “The Lost Children of Cuba: Operation Pedro Pan”

The Library of Congress’s Webcasts on Operation Pedro Pan.

As I walk through this gallery, give tours, and interact with patrons I think about this exodus in terms of past/current refugee crises. We’re living at a time with many people “afraid” of both child and adult refugees. 

Even among Cubans in Miami there is discrimination if you arrived from Cuba to the U.S. after the 1960s or even today. I have witnessed Pedro Panners say racist and xenophobic statements about their own people and other refugees around the world. Yet, they want to align their story and history with the plight of other past and current refugees who have experienced immense suffering and uncertainty. I don’t understand the hypocrisy and as a Cuban/Puerto Rican, I wish more Cubans who arrived here in the 1960s understood their privileged status in the United States. Scratch that. They are well aware of their privileged status - the problem is they believe they deserve it more than anyone else.

Operation Pedro Pan, the exhibit and history, leaves me conflicted. Growing up half Cuban in Miami you hear all the reasons why Castro is a horrible person; why Cubans deserve asylum while other refugees do not; why wearing a Che shirt is not a fashion statement; plans of returning to Cuba once ALL the Castros are gone; taking back land that people who stayed in Cuba now live and work in; and how the embargo needs to stay. This is not a black or white issue - it never was. 

In the end I think the people who live in Cuba, who have been hurt due to all the politics, are the last ones anyone cares about. I’m thankful for the end of the embargo and opening relations between Cuba and the U.S. (thanks, Obama!). But just hear me out on this. If you plan on visiting Cuba because it’s so “vintage” and because you want to see old cars and hear “authentic” Cuban music before Cuba becomes “commercial” or whatever. Don’t go. I worry too about the soon-to-be gentrification of Cuba, but not for the same reasons as you.

Thanks for reading.

[museumpadawan]

Soundscape

Every weekday morning behind the museum, across the street from the Government Center metrorail station, you can hear the sounds of a very passionate man expressing his Christian beliefs. Most people find him annoying, ignore him, or are so used to his presence they don’t notice him anymore. 

I am the complete opposite. 

I love the sound of his voice and how he sways his body while pacing the sidewalk behind HistoryMiami. He is a black man, about my height, with a white beard, wears sunglasses, and uses a walking cane. For some reason he feels the need to express his beliefs every morning for hours to the public. He knows most people won’t listen or even care. Yet, he is compelled to speak his truth. For some reason, listening to him every morning I head to the museum, just moves me. I want to talk to him but I am shy to just walk up to a stranger. Plus, I don’t want to interrupt him. 

Listen to some audio of that morning. You can hear him at the beginning and as I walk closer to him he is most clear around the 30 second mark. Notice how he shouts, “I’m gonna tell it!”, “Some folks don’t want me to tell you,” and how he mentions a time he was called a nuisance. (If the soundcloud embedded player doesn’t show, click here)

Last week Monday, I arrived to the museum earlier than usual. I rode the metro expecting the usual sights and sounds I encounter: people moving quickly with their backpacks, bicycles, strollers, briefcases, and purses. The musical alarm of a train arriving and of the electronic turnstiles. A newspaper/cafecito/pastelito/phonecard vendor attending customers. Security guards ensuring our safety and that riders use one metro pass per person. Signs in English, Spanish, and Kreyol telling us to report illegal dumping. The signs also inform me of paid medical trials and events around town.

Today, though I heard music. Live music. As I walked towards the station’s exit I saw a singer, guitarist, and violinist. 

I decided to stay and listen to a song and of course record. The performers weren’t street performers, which you don’t typically see in this metro station. They are part of a public arts program called Wake up Miami! brought to us by the local arts organization, PAXy. Every Monday morning at the Government Center Station, Wake Up Miami! features local performers being awesome. I got some of their info and the singer’s name is Glenda Fernandez-Vega. Listen and enjoy! (sorry for the shakiness!)

Just a quick note, if I haven’t posted in a while it’s because I’m busy working, writing my dissertation, or taking over the world. I am always documenting my experiences, so you will see updates at some point. Thanks for reading! 

[museumpadawan]

From left to right: a lighthouse Fresnel lens and the PBS crew.

I wanted to share with you three interesting things currently happening in the museum: PBS’s filming of Genealogy Roadshow; a mural in process by 2Alas; and our current artist-in-residence, Nancy Billings.

On Saturday, PBS used our space to film one-on-one segments with local residents and genealogists. It was really interesting watching how a crew sets up for a shot and the amount of work they do just to get perfect lighting. Below are a few shots of what we call the “mural room”. This room is one of our most interesting areas in the museum and features a “Miami postcard” mural and a Henry Flagler mural by 2Alas.

The “mural room” featuring the “Miami postcard” with tables set up for genealogists and patrons, and lighting for filming.

Another view of the room with the Whitman Family Gallery in the back.

HistoryMiami Museum is now featuring a recent collaboration with local urban artists, 2Alas. The duo, comprised of Andrew Antonaccio and Filio Galvez, create black and white linear portraits with hints of geometric colors in each portrait. During the past two weeks I have had the chance of watching their process, which is mix of digital projection, tracing, and painting. The duo is using photos housed in our archives that document important moments in Miami’s history. I’ll post more pictures of the mural’s progress.

This wall, still unfinished, features from left to right Miami’s “Tent City” after the Mariel Cuban Exodus, President Kennedy during the Bay of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis, and Cuban migrants.

On this wall you can see a 1940′s Miami street with a trolley. Last I checked this wall the right side features the Freedom Tower and a modern-day train.

2Alas’s murals are in our second building’s (the “South building”) lobby. The blank middle wall will also feature a mural.

Finally, our museum’s Folklife Center is hosting the textile artist, Nancy Billings. Nancy creates Jewish textiles and creates other textile arts showcasing her craft and artistry. Her pieces are on view now in our Folklife Gallery. If you’re in town, I recommend visiting her workshop events at the museum.

A recreation of her studio.

My favorite piece: Raggedy’s Rainbow, 1991. From the info label: “Nancy created this art quilt using a mandala design taken from a sundial. She designed this piece by dividing a circle into segments, although the segments are difficult to recognize because of the varying fabric patterns and divisions within each pie segment. Nancy’s inspiration for this quilt, which took her many months to finish, was the idea that each piece of fabric came together to complete the circle’s 360 degrees.”

A close up of the fabrics used.

In the Folklife Gallery we have an interactive “knot wall” allowing patrons to create a collaborative textile piece. 

A shot of the Folklife Gallery with Nancy’s pieces in the back.

That’s all for now!

[museumpadawan]

First Tour

Claudia, Monique, Aura (one of our lovely visitor services people), and Randall. I'm the crazy one at the bottom left.

Wow! Today was my first day leading a school group. Although this isn’t my first time teaching, it is my first time using the gallery space as a classroom and as lecture material. It’s wonderful! I get to use props and have students experience history first-hand through replicas and artifacts. Anyone who knows me from my teaching days at FSU knows I love props. I always took instruments from our world music room for my students to see and try out (I don’t think I was technically allowed to do that!).

We had about 125 students from the wonderful program 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project. This organization provides boys and male teenagers of color  (black and Latino) opportunities to escape the school to prison pipeline through mentorship and brotherhood. It’s an amazing program and I am honored to teach these kids. They kids are really cute and dress sharp wearing white dress shirts, black dress pants, and their signature red ties that symbolize their brotherhood with their peers and adult mentors. 

You can see the excitement in their faces when they arrive and when they get to see and interact with the objects in the museum. For many of these boys, this field trip was the first time they visited a location outside of their neighborhoods, let alone the first time they visited a museum. Miami, with all its amazingness, has one of the largest income inequality gaps, a dearth of affordable housing, and limited access and opportunities for marginalized communities. Basically, the most privileged in this town are the majority white, non-disabled, Cuban-Americans with a good majority of them having ties to what was once Cuba’s middle-class. Black Miamians, recent immigrants from the Caribbean and Central and South America, and disabled folks are often the members of our city who are the least privileged - and that’s A LOT of people. I am thankful for programs like 5000 Role Models and the work they do.

Another picture showing how nervous and pumped we are. Notice I’m still the crazy one.

Back to the museum. Today was also the first time leading a tour for my new colleagues Monique and Randall. Our lead educator, Claudia, did a great job guiding us padawans. She was totally grace under pressure when dividing up our groups, especially when we received more students than we were expecting!

I loved my group. I give my all when I teach and always feel spent after teaching. Today was no exception. The stamina and resilience you need for teaching 200 students in a large lecture hall was needed today. Thankfully, I got that down.

Highlights from today:

One of my students was super smart and knew everything about fossils and dinosaurs.

I got my students to cross-dress! I got them to try on Seminole women’s clothing; pioneer aprons and bonnets; and two boys dressed up at Julia Tuttle and Mrs. Flagler. I jump at any chance to get kids to challenge accepted gender norms!

I taught my students ASL signs inspired by objects in the areas of the gallery we visited. Some of the signs I taught were: ALLIGATOR, BOAT, CORN, HOUSE, HISTORY MUSEUM, FOSSIL, and TRAIN. They loved it and so did my fellow educators. I’m thinking of making a video demonstrating the signs for the educators.

After the tours were over, we cleaned up the gallery, put away our teaching objects, and debriefed. I think us padawans did a great job. I like working with Monique, Claudia, and Randall. I feel we all blend really well and learn from each other - we make a good group. Today was fun and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

I plan to post pictures of the galleries and focus on specific objects soon. For now, here is a picture of the outside of the museum, across the street from the downtown Government Center Metrorail stop, 

This weekend PBS’s Genealogy Roadshow will be at the museum. We’re expecting lots of folks from all over South Florida looking for insight on their own family histories. Hopefully I can get some pics of that event and share with you stories from patrons.

Until next time, bye!

[museumpadawan]

About a month ago I started a new job as a museum educator at HistoryMiami Museum. That means I work as a gallery aide, I lead gallery tours, and I also teach kids at the museum. The museum is my classroom and everyone can be my student. This job is the beginning of my career in museums.

Right now I am an apprentice, a padawan, learning the ways of the museum. I’ll share with you pictures, news, and stories from my time at HistoryMiami Museum and my life in Miami.

During the past month I have met so many new awesome colleagues, got a crash course in how museums operate, volunteered in the museum’s archives, and met Pedro Panners.

This week, I lead my first school group tour on South Florida history from the prehistoric to present day. My students will learn about the Miami Circle, European colonization, Florida Seminoles and Miccosukees, Miami’s pioneers, and Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler. I’ll update you on how that goes!