The Berkeley Lab community is invited to a Zoom talk with Jorge Zamanillo, the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, who will talk about the U.S. Congress passing groundbreaking legislation to establish the museum within the Smithsonian in Washington, to bring attention to the contributions of Latinos to the art, history, and culture of the United States.

Zamanillo will discuss the importance of the museum – the Smithsonian’s newest museum – and how people can be involved and contribute to its development. He’ll also discuss possible locations for the new museum and comprehensive plans to preserve, document, display, interpret, and promote knowledge of U.S. Latino history, art and culture.

Previously, Zamanillo was the executive director and CEO of HistoryMiami Museum, which he joined in 2000 as a curator and subsequently served in several leadership positions before becoming its director. 

Before joining HistoryMiami Museum, Zamanillo was an archaeologist at the non-profit cultural resource management firm Archaeological and Historical Conservancy Inc. in Miami. He currently serves as the chair of the board of directors of the American Alliance of Museums.

Born in New York City, Zamanillo grew up in Miami and earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Florida State University in Tallahassee and his master’s in museum studies at the University of Leicester in Leicester, England.

The event is part of a speaker series for Latin American Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Calendar Zamanillo’s talk here, and visit LANA’s Latin American Heritage Month webpage for more events scheduled throughout the month.