“A Legacy of Smoke” Film Screening and Panel Discussion

The Ybor City Museum Society, in partnership with the Centro Asturiano, is hosting the screening of a film entitled “A Legacy in Smoke” as part of a four-part series related to a new exhibit on Spanish immigration, “Following Fernando’s Footsteps: A Tale of Tampa’s Immigrant Community”. As reflected in the exhibit, Spanish immigrants who arrived in droves beginning in 1886 found an environment that existed nowhere else in the United States. They became founders of their own community, which developed around the cigar industry with large concentrations in Ybor City and West Tampa. Most arrived via Cuba rather than directly from their homeland. Non-Spanish immigrants had to learn Spanish, which became the predominant language in those early days. Tampa’s uniqueness amongst Spanish-immigrant enclaves in the U.S. is evidenced even today because of the richness of their architectural heritage, such as the cigar factors and the social clubs and mutual aid societies built more than 100 years ago.

In 2014, Spanish filmmaker and journalist, Luis Argeo, and Dr. James Fernandez (NYU) created “A Legacy in Smoke” as a stark reminder of the precarious legacy that has been left to us by the Spanish presence in Tampa. An interesting short film – almost an art film – its purpose is to inform and motivate people to get involved in preserving what remains of this remarkable story. Join Argeo, who resides in Asturias, Spain, for a viewing of this critically acclaimed film that debuted in Tampa and has since been featured at international film festivals, among many other locations in the U.S. and Spain. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Argeo.

This program is free to attend, but registration is suggested. Free parking is available adjacent to the Centro Asturiano building. The exhibition and related programming are funded in part through a Florida Humanities Community Project Grant in partnership with The Ybor City Museum Society.