Exhibit Opening: Following Fernando’s Footsteps: A Tale of Tampa’s Invisible Immigrants

The Ybor City Museum Society is hosting the unveiling of a new exhibit entitled “Following Fernando’s Footsteps: A tale of Tampa’s Invisible Immigrants.” Thousands of Spanish immigrants settled in Tampa at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Many worked in the cigar industry or provided goods and services to those who did. The Spaniards prospered in Tampa and shared their unique culture and traditions, which are evident in the diversity of our city, even today. Based on a historical work of fiction by Tampa native, Tony Carreño, the exhibit explores the six phases of Spanish immigration, from leaving their home country to settling in Florida. Join the Museum for the exhibit unveiling and a festive and educational cultural program in the Museum Garden through acculturation and assimilation as United States Citizens.

Registration is requested but not required. Admission is $5 per person, which can also be paid at the door. Children 12 years of age and under are free.

Parking options include City of Tampa lots near the museum at 19th St. and 8th Ave. and on-street Pay-by-Plate parking spaces throughout Ybor City. Economical paid parking is available at the well-lit Centro Ybor and Fernando Noriega, Jr. Parking Garages. Private paid parking lots are plentiful. The TECO Line Streetcar Station #1 – Centennial Park (8th Avenue & 20th Street) is conveniently located one block from the Ybor City Museum State Park.

The exhibition and related programming are funded in part through a Florida Humanities Community Project Grant in partnership with the Ybor City Museum Society.