CLEVELAND — Black-and-white photos, government documents and historic maps line the walls of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, which is hosting the first exhibition of its kind in Cleveland.
What You Need To Know
- The Latin American Historical Society of Cleveland (LAHSO) is sharing its findings on the city’s founding Latin American populations at its new exhibit
- The exhibit is located at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, and will remain open until November 24
- Working alongside historians and genealogists, LAHSO has identified the city’s first Mexican and Puerto Rican residents
The Latin American Historical Society of Cleveland is a grassroots initiative that aims to document and uplift the experiences of Cleveland’s first Latin American populations. The group’s Co-Lead, Gladys Santiago, said the exhibit’s title, “Cleveland with Love: A Historical Society of Cleveland, Ohio,” refers to the first Puerto Rican born in Cleveland, who was named “Amor” or “Love.”
“So we have a wealth of data records here for the first Mexicanos and, of course, the first Puerto Riqueños with pictures and census records and high school records and death records. It’s all in here,” she said.
It’s the first time these records are on display, Santiago said. LAHSO is partnering with a local genealogist and historians to identify the first Puerto Rican, Jose Gacia, and the first Mexican, Jose Fernando Ortiz Arizaga, who arrived in the city during the early 1900s…