Jangueando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021-2025 at El Museo del Barrio

Image Courtesy of El Museo del Barrio

August 28, 2025—Summer 2026

El Museo del Barrio is proud to present Jangueando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021–2025, a dynamic exhibition showcasing 39 newly acquired works by 36 artists that reflect the Museum’s ongoing commitment to representing the cultural vibrancy and complexity of Latinx and Latin American communities. On view beginning August 28, this exhibition marks a bold and celebratory moment for El Museo’s evolving Permanent Collection. 

“Jangueando embodies El Museo del Barrio’s unwavering commitment to artists whose work captures the complexities, resilience, and brilliance of our Latine culture. In this moment of heightened threats, this exhibition becomes more than a celebration—it asserts the power of gathering—of hanging out—as a form of resistance, healing, and transformation.” —Patrick Charpenel, Executive Director, El Museo del Barrio 

The title is a play on words. It looks to janguear, Puerto Rican slang for socializing with friends. From hanging out to hanging art, here it uses the museum context to create a space of dialogue and gathering. At a time when many of the communities represented by El Museo del Barrio are under attack—through immigration raids, backlash against DEI initiatives, and the cancellation of federal grants—these multiple interpretations imply both solidarity and a political call to action through holding space and kinship. 

El Museo del Barrio’s Permanent Collection of more than 8,500 artworks was shaped by the Museum’s unique history as an artist-led, community-focused institution from when it was first established in 1969. The founding community of the Museum faced extreme racism and economic hardship and insisted that art had the power to help communities connect in the face of these trials and, together, imagine alternative ways of being. 

Jangueando brings together 39 works by artists at various stages in their careers, representing a range of generations, cultural perspectives, and media—including painting, photography, sculpture, and video. Organized into thematic clusters, select groupings build on the museum’s historical strengths, such as Puerto Rican and Nuyorican portraiture, Latinx photography, and printmaking. The exhibition also highlights the evolution of the museum’s collecting strategy, with renewed focus on queer artists and those of Indigenous descent. 

“Ever evolving, El Museo del Barrio’s distinct Permanent Collection stands as a testament to the artists, cultural workers, donors, and community members who have helped build and shaped it over time,” says Susanna V. Temkin, Interim Chief Curator, El Museo del Barrio. “Jangueando marks an exciting new chapter in the Museum’s evolution as a collecting institution—serving not only as a platform to debut new acquisitions, but also as a reflection of our shared, collective spirit. The exhibition offers both a framework and a provocation to what is at stake in being together.” 

Artists whose works will be on view in the exhibition include: 

Eduardo Abaroa (1968, Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Mexico City) 

Laura Aguilar (1959, San Gabriel, CA – 2018, Long Beach, CA) 

José Alicea (1928, Ponce, Puerto Rico; lives in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) 

Lola Álvarez Bravo (1903, Lagos de Moreno, Mexico – 1993, Mexico City, Mexico) 

assume vivid astro focus (formed in New York, NY in 2001) 

Myrna Báez (1931, Santurce, Puerto Rico – 2018, Hato Ray, Puerto Rico) 

Higinio Bautista 

Eloy Blanco (1933, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – 1984, New York, NY) 

Luis Carle (1962, San Juan, Puerto Rico; lives in New York, NY) 

Los Carpinteros (formed in La Havana, Cuba in 1992) 

Manuel Chavajay (1982, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, lives in San Pedro La Laguna) 

william cordova (1971, Lima, Peru; lives in North Miami Beach, FL) 

Abraham Cruzvillegas (1968, Mexico City, Mexico; lives in Mexico City) 

Danielle De Jesus (1987, Brooklyn, NY; lives in Brooklyn) 

Sandra Gamarra Heshiki (1972, Lima, Peru; lives in Madrid, Spain) 

Luis Gispert (1972, Jersey City, NJ) 

Matías González Chavajay (b. 1959, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala, lives in San Pedro La Laguna) 

Pedro Rafael González Chavajay (b. 1956 in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala, lives in San Pedro La Laguna) 

Julia Isidrez (1967, Itá, Paraguay; lives in Itá) 

Antonio C. Ixtamer (b. in 1968 in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala, lives in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala) 

Lidia Lisbôa (1970, Guaira, Brazil; lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil) 

Marepe (Marcos Reis Peixoto) (1970, Santo Antônio de Jesus Bahia, Brazil; lives in Santo Antônio de Jesus) 

Hiram Maristany (1945, New York, NY – 2022, St. Petersburg, FL) 

Maria Teodora Mendez de González 

Mundo Meza (1955, Tijuana, Mexico – 1985, Los Angeles, CA) 

Carlos Motta (1978, Bogota, Colombia; lives in New York, NY) 

Benjamin Muñoz (1993, Dallas, TX; lives in Dallas) 

Jaime Muñoz (1987, Los Angeles, CA; lives and works in Pomona, CA) 

Paula Nicho Cúmez (1955, Comalapa, Guatemala, lives in Comalapa) 

Miguel Pou y Becerra (1880, Ponce, Puerto Rico – 1968 San Juan, Puerto Rico) 

Juan Sánchez (1954, Brooklyn, NY; lives in Brooklyn) 

Ethel Shipton (1963, Laredo, TX; lives in San Antonio, TX) 

Valeska Soares (b. 1957, Belo Horizonte; lives in Brooklyn) 

Laureana Toledo (1970, Ixtepec, Mexico; lives in Mexico City, Mexico) 

Rigoberto Torres (1960, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; lives in New York, Puerto Rico, and Florida) 

Daiara Tukano (1970, Guaira, Brazil; lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil) 

The exhibition is organized by the Curatorial Department of El Museo del Barrio: Zuna Maza, Lee Sessions, and Susanna V. Temkin, with María Molano Parrado. 

SPONSORS 

Jangueando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021–2025 is supported by the Ford Foundation. Additional Permanent Collection funding is provided by The Mellon Foundation.  

ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO  

El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latine and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. The Museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City.  

The Museum is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Pay what you can. To connect with El Museo via social media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.