El Museo del Barrio is a museum dedicated to “educating its diverse public in the richness of Caribbean and Latin American arts and cultural history.” So, how can it help you do research on a U.S. history topic?

Well, think about how many people in the U.S. have roots in Mexico or Puerto Rico, in Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, in countries throughout South America. Think also about how much Latin culture has shaped U.S. culture: music, literature, language, food, dance. And think about how much of the U.S. was part of Mexico before the Mexican War of 1846-48—that is, what’s now California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas—and how much those areas still reflect this heritage. Whether your topic is cultural, political, or economic, there is much here that can be useful to you. And if you are doing a paper on the exploration of North or South America or the colonization of North or South America or the history of the Native peoples of North or South America, this is the museum you should visit.

Did you know that people colonized the Caribbean long before Columbus arrived? They were nomads who lived in caves and temporary shelters, of Arawak descent (from the northern coast off the South American continent). In their search for food, they left the mainland, traveling in canoes out to the islands of the Caribbean. Their descendants evolved into the Taíno, the dominant culture in what later became Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.

In the museum’s permanent exhibit: “Taino: Ancient Voyages of the Caribbean,” you learn about many aspects of Taíno culture and history—everything from their system of matrilineal descent (not patrilineal, like the system in the U.S. and Europe) to their astronomy to their use of symbols instead of an alphabet. You can study the cohoba ceremony, in which shamans mixed crushed shell and tobacco with cohoba to enhance what was already the strongest hallucinogen in the Americas. (Just don’t study it too hard.) Or learn about the game the Taíno played on a central ceremonial court with a rubber ball—a precursor of modern-day volleyball. The game was so important that they even documented scores, and for all you supporters of women’s sports out there, documents show teams made up entirely of women.

Studying the Taíno culture, especially in comparison to the European culture that devastated it, is as fascinating as it is upsetting. To a great degree, the Taíno heritage has affected not just Latin American culture but North American culture as well. For example, their foods and even some of their words—“barbecue,” “canoe,” “hammock,” “hurricane”—have made their way into both Spanish and English.

The exhibit on the Taíno is only half the museum. The other space features changing exhibits, and they are often a mix of art, history, politics, and culture. For example, past exhibits include “Pressing the Point: Parallel Expressions in the Graphic Arts of the Chicano and Puerto Rican Movements,” which looked at prints and posters by artists who were politically active in the 1960’s and 1970’s. An exhibit on Juan Sanchez, a Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican artist and activist, used art to express Puerto Rican history and culture. Such exhibits will give you a lot of insight on the experiences and viewpoints of people in different Hispanic cultures.

In addition to the exhibits, El Museo does a lot to promote Latin American culture. For students, it holds special hands-on workshops, guided gallery tours, and internships, in addition to classroom-oriented programs. The museum also shows films, gives concerts, and hosts different cultural events in its theater. And it celebrates Latin American customs and holidays, such as Three Kings Day. The museum wants to teach you as well as share the holidays with you, so educational programs accompany events like the Three Kings Day community parade. If you are interested in participating in festivals, you should consider reserving a spot early because space is limited.

To find out more information about past and current exhibits as well as programs and events organized by the museum, check out its website http://www.elmuseo.org/ and click on the appropriate links.