By Liz Lopez
Source: City of Austin Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center
The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) and the Smithsonian Institution collaboratively present the exhibition Bittersweet Harvest, the Bracero Program 1942 – 1964 starting on Saturday, July 9th. The exhibition is organized by the National Museum of American History and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The opening will be celebrated from 6 – 8 pm in the Sam Z. Coronado Gallery of the ESB-MACC, located upstairs at 600 River St. and the photo exhibit runs through August 27th.
Prior to the opening festivities, there will be a film screening of The Harvest/La Cosecha, produced by Cinema Libre Studio, also on Saturday, July 9 at 3 pm. It will be held in the Black Box Theater and Auditorium with a Q & A immediately following the screening.
Bittersweet Harvest, a bilingual exhibition, explores the bracero program, the largest guest worker program in American history. Between 1942 and 1964, millions of Mexican nationals came to the U.S. on short-term labor contracts, which offered them much-needed work and economic opportunity. Their dramatic story reveals an important but overlooked chapter in our nation’s history—which remains highly relevant today.
Funding is made possible through the Smithsonian’s Latino Center.
The events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 512- 974-3772 and visit http://austintexas.gov/page/emma-s-barrientos-macc-exhibitions