This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on how creativity can inspire in challenging times.
A sturdy kettle to make coffee for early-rising railway workers. A colorful cart of a paletero (ice cream vendor). A century-old lithograph of the patron saint of the Mexican people. These and other everyday objects and treasures will be on display in Chicago, as two museums celebrate the city’s Latino communities.
“Aquí en Chicago” (“Here in Chicago”), a bilingual show that opens Oct. 25 and runs for over a year — through Nov. 8, 2026 — at the Chicago History Museum, will explore the cultural heritage and traditions of Latino people. The idea developed after area high school students on a social studies field trip protested the lack of representation of local Hispanic history.
“We say that we are about sharing Chicago stories,” Elena Gonzales, the museum’s curator of civic engagement and social justice, said in a telephone interview, “but how can we do that if we’re leaving out a third of the city?”
“Rieles y Raíces: Traqueros in Chicago and the Midwest” (“Tracks and Roots: Railway Workers”), also bilingual and running from Nov. 21 to March 29 at the National Museum of Mexican Art, will highlight the history of regional Mexican and Mexican American railway workers.
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