Tania León in Exhibit 'Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement'

[“Singin' Sepia” Bridge 9231 (2008)]

Living their dreams
Latino achievements aim to inspire in new display at MSU Museum
Matthew Miller • mrmiller@lsj.com • September 17, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal
“EAST LANSING - Diego Garza says his family represents 'the American dream times 35.' That number stands for the 35 members of the Garza family who have earned college degrees.” “The Garzas are the only family featured in an exhibit called 'Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement,' which opened Tuesday at the Michigan State University Museum.” “The bilingual exhibit, developed by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives and sponsored, in part, from the Ford Motor Co. Fund, opened in Washington, D.C., four years ago. It has traveled to 13 cities. MSU, where it runs until January, will be its last stop. The idea behind it, according to Rocky Egusquiza, director of community development and international programs for the Ford Motor Co. Fund, was inspiration.”

"Tania León, a Cuban-born composer and founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, is one of the 24 individuals featured in the exhibit. Like Garza, she was on campus Tuesday for the opening. She said the value of the exhibit, in her eyes, is 'not only addressing the Latino community and Latino society, but actually trying to bridge the gap of understanding among all of us.'"  [Tania León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]