A colorful mural depicting an eagle whose wings form the faces of Chicana women. On one side is a modern chicano athlete, on the other side is an Indigenous person participating in a ritual.

We Are Colorado

Latino Heritage Collection

Dedicated to documenting the contributions of Latinos in Colorado, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is strengthening current holdings while developing, supporting and coordinating projects to preserve, promote, and celebrate Latino culture, history, and arts.  Currently, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is working on a contemporary collecting initiative to document Latino Heritage in our state. This exciting and important work seeks to link generations of Latino families and communities to each other and to the history of Colorado. 

Photo of Dos Madonnas artwork

“Dos Madonnas” by Tony Ortega, Acrylic on Panel, 2020

History Colorado’s Latino Heritage collection contains holdings from Hispano, Chicano, Latino, and Mexican American communities throughout the state.   The collection of artifacts, archives, photographs, and historic structures captures a myriad of cultural influences, while reinforcing the role Latinos have played in shaping Colorado’s unique character.

The goals of History Colorado’s Latino Heritage Department are to:

  • Refine the research archives with diverse historical perspectives and insights documenting Latino individuals, families, communities, customs, traditions, and cultural expressions.
  • Strengthen the History Colorado Latino collection with images of ancestors, family, communal events, and places.
  • Collect artifacts of domestic life, community life, workplace, traditions, customs, and cultural expressions.
  • Enhance and support the comprehensive Latino collection with both tangible (artifacts, photos, archives) and intangible (oral histories) holdings.

History Colorado will continue to enrich the archives, collections and research of Latino communities throughout the state while ensuring the safekeeping of their stories and memories for future generations.

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You Can Help

A Wedding Portrait: Santiago James Ocaña and Eulalia “Lilian” Garcia, July 29,1908

From the Latino Heritage Collection.  A Wedding Portrait of Santiago James Ocaña and Eulalia “Lilian” Garcia, July 29,1908.

Photo by Oliver E. Brides, Aultman Studio

Contribute to the Latino Heritage Collection by:

To learn more about how you can contribute, please contact Lucha Martínez de Luna, our Associate Curator of Latino Heritage, by email or by calling the Stephen H. Hart Research Center at 303-866-2305.

Related Initiatives

  • Italian and/or Hispano coal miners

    Colorado Hispanic / Latino Historical Overview

    Colorado has a rich and unique Hispanic heritage.  Spanish exploration and prospecting in Colorado was more frequent than the records reveal.  Between 1540 and 1542, Francisco de Coronado, a Spanish explorer looking for the mythical Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, may have crossed into Colorado.  Old Spanish records indicate that as far back as 1598 Juan de Oñate reported gold discoveries in the San Luis Valley.  These early Spanish expeditions usually traveled trails that Native Americans before them had worn into the deserts, plains and mountains.  Native American typically also served as guides to European explorers.

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    Borderlands of Southern Colorado Initiative

    Borderlands of Southern Colorado shares the sweeping saga of beauty and conflict steeped in cultural differences, colonizations, and clashing ideologies about land ownership before and after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Through exhibits, programs and experiences, the Borderlands of Southern Colorado showcases the human stories and the landscapes that define Colorado’s borderlands and are essential to knowing our roots as a state.

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A colorful mural depicting an eagle whose wings form the faces of Chicana women. On one side is a modern chicano athlete, on the other side is an Indigenous person participating in a ritual.
Photo of an outdoor anti-war protest rally featuring speaker Corky Gonzales. He stands in front of a microphone flanked by unidentified men and women standing and sitting on the steps. A banner behind Corky reads "RAZA SI, GUERRA NO."
Fandango
A mural in red, gold, and green, evoking the flag of Mexico and depicting two individuals, a man and a woman, standing in Central America with North America to their left and South America to their right.
Cruising Downtown
Three Avondale community members taking part in the collective remembering process.
Dolores Huerta Lecture 2020
Freddie Trujillo
Trujillo family baseball team, Trinidad, about 1910
A colorful geometric mural in red, white, and green adorns the front of a residential building with two doors.