El Museo del Barrio

It’s been two weeks since the NFL’s SuperBowl halftime show and we’re still obsessed! 💛🌴 During Bad Bunny’s halftime performance, references to sugarcane farming and the piragua cart offered powerful tributes to Puerto Rican history and everyday life. The opening shot of sugarcane fields reminds us of Rafael Tufiño’s “Cortador de caña” (1951), a work featured in our 2023–2024 exhibition ‘Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección.’ Tufiño’s graphic print honors the dignity and resilience of Puerto Rican laborers and remains a defining image within the canon of Puerto Rican art. The piragua cart similarly called to mind summers on the island and in New York, themes reflected in works from our collection such as Carmelo Sobrino’s “Carro de Piragua” (1977), Jorge Rechany’s “La piragua”, and Tony Vélez’s “Piragua Vendor” (1989). From the cane fields to the piragua stand, Puerto Rican stories—and Puerto Rican art— continue to take center stage. Hear from our Curatorial Fellow, Carlos Ortiz, as he reflects on these powerful visual connections. 🇵🇷 – Han pasado dos semanas desde el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl de la NFL y seguimos obsesionados! 💛🌴 Durante la actuación de medio tiempo de Bad Bunny, las referencias al cultivo de caña de azúcar y a la piragua ofrecieron poderosos homenajes a la historia y la vida cotidiana puertorriqueña. La primera imagen de los campos de caña de azúcar nos recuerda a “Cortador de caña” (1951) de Rafael Tufiño, obra incluida en nuestra exposición 2023-2024 “Algo Hermoso: Reformulando La Colección”. La obra gráfica de Tufiño honra la dignidad y la resiliencia de los trabajadores puertorriqueños y sigue siendo una imagen definitoria dentro del canon del arte puertorriqueño. El carro de piragua también evocaba los veranos en la isla y en Nueva York, temas reflejados en obras de nuestra colección como “Carro de Piragua” (1977) de Carmelo Sobrino, “La piragua” de Jorge Rechany y “Vendedor de Piragua” (1989) de Tony Vélez. Desde los cañaverales hasta el puesto de piragua, las historias puertorriqueñas —y el arte puertorriqueño— siguen siendo protagonistas. Escucha a nuestro becario curatorial, Carlos Ortiz, mientras reflexiona sobre estas poderosas conexiones visuales. 🇵🇷 🖼️ Rafael Tufiño, “Cortador de caña (details),” 1951. Published by: Centro de Arte Puertorriqueño (CAP), San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1950 - 1952. Collection of El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY 🖼️ Carmelo Sobrino, “Carro de Piragua (details),” 1977. Collection of El Museo del Barrio, New York, NY 🖼️ Jorge Rechany, “La piragua (detail),” undated. 🖼️ Tony Velez, “Piragua Vendor (detail),” 1989 🖼️ Installation views featuring Edgar Ruiz Zapata’s “Carro de piragua” (c. 1970) in ‘Something Beautiful: Reframing la Colección’ (2023-24) . Courtesy El Museo del Barrio, New York/ Photo by On White Wall 🖼️ Installation views of ‘Janguando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021-2025.’ Courtesy El Museo del Barrio, New York/Photo by Matthew Sherman ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org. #shorts

Unwind after work and spend your Thursday evening at El Museo del Barrio with an intimate gallery conversation featuring artists and thinkers who share their personal perspectives on works on view in 'Coco Fusco: Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island', and 'Jangueando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021–2025.' These informal talks invite you to slow down, look closely, and connect more deeply with the artwork in an informal setting. On February 19, El Museo hosted Emmy award-winning spoken word artist and Executive Director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Caridad De La Luz “La Bruja”, who shared personal reflections on selected artworks, engaging visitors through the lens of poetry, performance, and cultural expression. ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

Happy Benito Bowl! 🐰🏈 As Bad Bunny takes the stage at Super Bowl LX, we’re throwing it back to our Bad Bunny Watch Party from the summer! On the 8th anniversary of Hurricane María’s landfall in Puerto Rico, El Museo and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute came together to honor resilience, resistance, and joy with our “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí” watch party. From live DJ sets and salsa lessons to the concert screening, the night was all music, movement, and community—right here in El Barrio with neighbors and fellow fans Here’s to sport, culture, and community—and to Bad Bunny bringing Puerto Rican pride to halftime! 🇵🇷 — ¡Feliz Benito Bowl! 🐰🏈 Mientras @badbunnypr sube al escenario del Super Bowl LX, recordamos nuestra fiesta para ver a Bad Bunny que celebramos este verano. En el octavo aniversario del paso del huracán María por Puerto Rico, El Museo y el Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute se unieron para honrar la resiliencia, la resistencia y la alegría con nuestra fiesta "No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí". Desde sesiones de DJ en vivo y clases de salsa hasta la proyección del concierto, la noche estuvo llena de música, baile y comunidad, aquí mismo en El Barrio, con vecinos y otros fans. ¡Brindamos por el deporte, la cultura y la comunidad, y por Bad Bunny, que lleva el orgullo puertorriqueño al espectáculo del medio tiempo! 🇵🇷 🎥: Emmanuel Abreu

“I felt very strongly that the piece was really about them [the viewer] — about their perceptions of otherness, of ‘savages’… What we were doing inside the cage wasn’t very interesting; what was interesting was them.” —Coco Fusco One of the earliest works in ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’ is the iconic “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West” (1992–94) by Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. In this work, Fusco and Gómez-Peña presented themselves as “undiscovered Amerindians” from the fictionalized island of Guatinaui. The “Guatinauis” traveled to public plazas, art events and natural history museums around the world, generating a wide range of responses. The photographs and video presented highlight the full gamut of these reactions, many of which reveal the persistence colonial attitudes and assumptions about non-Western cultures in addition to racist and sexist biases. - “Sentía con mucha fuerza que la obra trataba realmente sobre ellos [los espectadores], sobre sus percepciones de la otredad, de los ‘salvajes’… Lo que hacíamos dentro de la jaula no era muy interesante; lo interesante eran ellos.” —Coco Fusco Una de las primeras obras de ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’ es la icónica “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West” (1992–94) de Fusco y Guillermo Gómez-Peña. En esta obra, Fusco y Gómez-Peña se presentaron como «amerindios no descubiertos» de la isla ficticia de Guatinaui. Los “Guatinauis” viajaron a plazas públicas, eventos artísticos y museos de historia natural de todo el mundo, generando una amplia gama de reacciones. Las fotografías y el video presentados muestran estas reacciones, muchas de las cuales revelan la persistencia de actitudes y prejuicios coloniales sobre las culturas no occidentales, además de sesgos racistas y sexistas. ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

Take a closer look at “Everyone Who Lives Here is a New Yorker” (2025) through renowned artist Coco Fusco herself, featured in her first U.S. survey 'Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island.' Created for More Art’s 20th Anniversary, this new photographic series examines contemporary perceptions of migration. Originally a video for LinkNYC screens and translated into a photography series, it confronts political narratives that frame immigration as a crisis, emphasizing instead the vital cultural and economic contributions of immigrants. Catch the exhibition through March 1, 2026. - Descubra más sobre “Everyone Who Lives Here is a New Yorker” (2025) de la mano de la reconocida artista Coco Fusco, en su primera exposición individual en Estados Unidos, titulada ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’. Creada para el 20.º aniversario de More Art, esta nueva serie fotográfica examina las percepciones contemporáneas sobre la migración. Originalmente un video para las pantallas de LinkNYC y posteriormente adaptada a una serie fotográfica, la obra confronta las narrativas políticas que presentan la inmigración como una crisis, destacando en cambio las vitales contribuciones culturales y económicas de los inmigrantes. La exhibición estará abierta al público hasta el 1 de marzo de 2026. ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

“The idea of the transformative power of poetry was striking to me” — Coco Fusco In this glimpse of ‘Coco Fusco: Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island,’ Coco Fusco reflects on the exhibition’s title, drawn from the poetry of Cuban writer Virgilio Piñera. Featuring over three decades of work, the exhibition highlights Fusco’s contributions to contemporary art—from the canonical performance “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Discover the West” to her continued explorations of Cuban history and present-day U.S. politics. Catch the exhibition through March 1, 2026 ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.