Congratulations to the co-curators Dr. Perlita Dicochea and Halimah Van Tuyl, the Los Altos History Museum staff and volunteers for creating an incredible exhibit to share the story of Juana Briones, a tale of resilience, ingenuity and business savvy – the hallmarks of Silicon Valley. Juana Briones was a dynamic 19th century figure who owned several businesses, many parcels of land, was a talented business woman, Curandera traditional healer and advocate for her family in what is now Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, San Jose, and San Francisco.
Here are some photos from the opening Fiesta with Folklorico dancers and the high school students who were a part of the summer workshop program. A unique component of this exhibit is to see the summer workshop program students’ final projects incorporated into the exhibit.
Admission is FREE and exhibit runs from October 18- March 31, 2019.
Upcoming programs:
- Dia de los Muertos event. Decorate a shrine to honor Juana – Oct. 27th, 11am-3pm
- Storytelling and Corn Husk Doll Making Workshop for Kids* – Nov. 10th, 10am-12pm
- Family Roots and Personal Identity: Genealogy Panel – Nov. 19th, 7-8:30pm
- Tamale Cooking Demo + Savory-to-Sweet Tamale Tasting* – Dec. 8th, 4-6pm
* Fee applies. Payable upon registering via above links.
Click on above links for additional program details including registration, fees and location – some held at sites other than the Los Altos History Museum.
2019 programs to include family-friendly events in January and March, a curandera panel in February and a symposium in March. Stay tuned!
Exhibit Description
As the daughter of members of the Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition, Juana’s life spanned from the early days of the San Francisco Presidio, to California statehood, to the building of Stanford University near her final home in Mayfleld, now part of Palo Alto. The exhibition promises to elicit intergenerational conversations about California’s roots and will include pieces produced by local high school students originating from an intensive two-week Summer Workshop focused on creating exhibit works for the exhibition.
For more information visit www.losaltoshistory.org.