History of
THE EXHIBITION
Since its opening at the Condeduque Center for Contemporary Culture in Madrid in January 2020, more than 45,000 people have discovered the increasingly lesser-known history of Spanish emigration to the United States in the last decades of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.
After its run in Madrid, the exhibition toured different locations across Spain between 2021 and 2024, stopping at iconic locations from which many emigrants departed for the North, as they called the United States. In 2025, it will cross the Atlantic to the cities where these Spanish communities settled and thrived.
PAST
Years of preparation and a key date: Condeduque Cultural Center, January 21, 2020. Invisible Emigrants begins its tour of Spain, where between 2020 and 2023 it will visit some of the most representative locations on the Peninsula from which emigrants departed for the United States.
November 2017
Knowing the research
The Spain-U.S. Council Foundation learns from novelist María Dueñas about the research project carried out by James Fernández and Luis Argeo over more than ten years. Support begins for the idea of designing a major exhibition based on this project.
Year 2018
Searching for a venue
The Foundation accompanies curators James Fernandez and Luis Argeo in their search for a venue, definition of the project, and completion of the research.
December 2018
Project management
The Foundation takes on the management of the exhibition project Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the United States (1868-1945) and decides to promote it on its two-part tour.
Year 2019
Madrid: the beginning of the journey
The venue at Conde Duque is confirmed and the overall design process for the exhibition, catalog, website, etc. begins.
January 23
Opening of the first venue of the exhibition: Madrid
Madrid
The exhibition opens at the Condeduque Contemporary Culture Center in Madrid, the first venue for Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US (1868-1945).
The opening brings together more than 160 guests, including some thirty descendants from Spain and the US. Speakers include the president of the Foundation, Juan Lladó; Emilio del Río, from Madrid City Council; Jesús Sainz, from NYU; curators James Fernández and Luis Argeo; and Minister Counselor Benjamin Ziff, who highlights the Spanish contribution to the development of the US. Descendant Anthony Carreño closed the event with an emotional speech about the sentimental value of the project.
February 2020
Guided tours by the curators and educational activities
Between January and November, more than 475 participants enjoyed numerous guided tours of the exhibition led by the curators and descendants connected to the project. Dynamic tours designed by the Complutense University of Madrid were also held for more than 220 people.
03/12/2020
COVID19
Temporary closure of the exhibition due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 11, 2020
"From invisible to invisible" campaign
The "From invisible to invisible" campaign was launched on social media to raise awareness of exhibitions such as Invisible Immigrants, which were closed due to the pandemic. Using the hashtag #DeInvisibleAInvisible, a chain of solidarity was created between "confined" exhibitions.
June 11, 2020
Madrid reopens its doors
Reopening of the exhibition and extension of its stay until November 2020.
10/26/2020
Virtual guided tour
"Invisible footsteps. An unscripted virtual tour." Led by curators Luis Argeo and James Fernández, María Dueñas takes a virtual guided tour of the exhibition on Facebook Live.
11/29/2020
Closure of the first venue
The first venue of "Invisible Immigrants" in Spain closes to great acclaim in a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 2021
Destination Asturias. Gijón, first venue confirmed.
The second venue for the exhibition is confirmed at the Centro de Cultura Antiguo Instituto in Gijón for the fall of the same year.
Thanks to the agreement reached between the Fundación Consejo España - EE. UU. and the Municipal Foundation for Culture, Education, and Popular University of the City Council of Gijón, the Asturian city becomes the first venue for the traveling exhibition "Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the US (1868-1945)" on its tour of Spain after its stop in Madrid.
09/25/2021
Warming up
Start of the program of activities parallel to the exhibition in Gijón.
The Muséu del Pueblu d'Asturies hosts the "Transatlantic Gathering: Domestic Archives and Piquiniqui 2.0," a festive day of domestic archive recovery organized by the Foundation together with the Museum and in collaboration with the Municipal Foundation for Culture, Education, and Popular University of the City Council of Gijón/Xixón.
The Muséu del Pueblu d'Asturies is hosting the "Transatlantic Gathering: Domestic Archives and Piquiniqui 2.0," a festive day dedicated to the recovery of domestic archives organized by the Foundation together with the Museum and in collaboration with the Municipal Foundation for Culture, Education, and Popular University of the City Council of Gijón/Xixón.
11/18/2021
Opening of the second venue for the exhibition. Gijón. de la segunda sede de la exposición. Gijón.
Gijón
Opening of Invisible Immigrants. Spaniards in the US (1868-1945) at the Antiguo Instituto Cultural Center in Gijón, which will host the exhibition until February 6, 2022.
11/20/2021
Premiere of the film Empatía
World premiere of the expanded cinema film Empatía at the Teatro de La Laboral Ciudad de la Cultura, as part of the 59th edition of the Gijón/Xixón International Film Festival.
This experimental film, directed by Luis Argeo, with a screenplay by the director himself and James D. Fernández, and produced by White Stone Ridge and the Fundación Consejo España - EE. UU., takes us on a journey through filmed memories, letters, and family documents, guided by the voices of Víctor Clavijo and María Luisa Marcel.
Empatía also features Nacho Álvarez and the Quarteto Bendición, L-R, Igor Paskual, the Coro Joven de Gijón, Óscar de Ávila, Diego Staub, and Kevi Aragunde.
November 2021 – January 2022
Free activities
Every weekend, the exhibition offers a series of free activities: guided tours by the curators and others closely involved in the project, activities organized by the Factoría Norte theater company, and children's activities.
12/16/2021
Premiere of the show, Transoceánica. Stories of a migrant family
The Valey Cultural Center in Castrillón will host Transoceánica. Stories of a migrant family, a show inspired by the exhibition and its protagonists, created by the storyteller Estibi Mínguez, who is also a descendant of immigrants and responsible for the children's activities carried out at the exhibition.
February 3, 2022
The Land of Joy. La tierra de la alegría
Spanish premiere of The Land of Joy, a zarzuela by Quinito Valverde that was a hit in New York in 1917 and was recovered by musicologist Miriam Perandones after finding its libretto in the US Library of Congress, with the support of the exhibition curators.
Adapted by Susana Gómez and Borja Mariño and directed by Bárbara Lluch and José Miguel Pérez Sierra, it will be performed in a unique concert as part of the "Off Zarzuela" cycle of the Spanish Lyric Theater Festival. The performance features the Oviedo Philharmonic Orchestra, the "Ciudad de Oviedo" Polyphonic Chapel, and a cast headed by Beatriz Díaz, Marina Pardo, David Menéndez, Rodrigo Cuevas, and Alberto Frías.
February 12, 2021
Premiere of The Land of Joy at the Campoamor Theater
Estreno en España de The Land of Joy, zarzuela de Quinito Valverde que triunfó en Nueva York en 1917 y que la musicóloga Miriam Perandones recuperó tras hallar su libreto en la Biblioteca del Congreso de EE.UU., con el apoyo de los comisarios de la exposición.
Adaptada por Susana Gómez y Borja Mariño y dirigida por Bárbara Lluch y José Miguel Pérez Sierra, se representa en un concierto único dentro del ciclo “Off Zarzuela” del Festival de Teatro Lírico Español. La función cuenta con la Orquesta Oviedo Filarmonía, la Capilla Polifónica “Ciudad de Oviedo” y un reparto encabezado por Beatriz Díaz, Marina Pardo, David Menéndez, Rodrigo Cuevas y Alberto Frías.
October 2022
Heading south. Almería: third and final stop in Spain.
Confirmation of third venue in Spain: Almería Art Museum. Thanks to an agreement reached between the Fundación Consejo España - EE. UU., the Cosentino Art Foundation, and the Almería City Council, the exhibition will arrive in Almería in the spring of 2023.
12/08/2023
Exploring the leap across the Atlantic
Tampa, Florida
Presentation of the exhibition project in Tampa, Florida, to various local entities.
04/27/2023
Opening in Almería
Almería
Opening at Space 2 of the Almería Art Museum. The arrival in Andalusia puts the finishing touch on the exhibition's successful tour of Spain.
04/28/2023
Ibáñez Museum in Olula del Río
Official opening at the Ibáñez Museum in Olula del Río of an exhibition complementing the main exhibition, paying special attention to three of the most significant destinations for Andalusian emigration (Hawaii, California, and New York), as well as to the figure of the Hispanic-American artist Federico Castellón (Alhabia, Almería, 1914 – New York, 1971).
May 11, 2023
Invisible Immigrants
A little piece of Almería in NY. Colloquium in honor of Christy Tortosa, the last descendant of the important colony of Almerians who settled in Brooklyn. With the participation of novelist María Dueñas, patron of the exhibition, and James D. Fernández, curator. Co-organized with Diario de Almería at Casa de las Mariposas, Almería.
June 14, 2023
Dan Albert's paella
Presentation of the film Dan Albert's Paella by Luis Argeo and James Fernández at the Francisco Villaespesa Public Library by Luis Argeo.
Literary evening at the Picasso bookshop in Almería with Almeria-born writer and professor Juan Manuel Gil and curator Luis Argeo on the subject of the exhibition's special official catalog. Velada literaria en la librería Picasso de Almería con el escritor y profesor almeriense Juan Manuel Gil y el comisario Luis Argeo en torno al particular catálogo oficial de la exposición.
June 2, 2023
Closing of Transoceánica
The show 'Transoceánica: historias de una familia migrante' (Transoceanic: stories of a migrant family) by oral storyteller Estibi Mínguez at the Francisco Villaespesa Public Library closes the parallel program of the exhibition in Almería.
11/22/2023
Closing of the Almería venue
Closure of the Almería venue and end of the Spanish stage of the exhibition.
December 2023
Confirmation of the first venue in the US
Thanks to the agreement reached with the Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa, Florida, the first venue for Invisible Immigrants in the US is confirmed for 2025, marking the start of the second stage of this exhibition project, now on the other side of the Atlantic.
PRESENTE
In March 2025, the second major phase of Invisible Emigrants begins. It will cross the Atlantic to reach the United States, now under the name Invisible Immigrants, where it aims to reach some of the most representative destinations of this diaspora in the coming years.
September 3, 2024
Official arrival in Tampa
Official announcement of the exhibition's arrival in Tampa, Florida
March 1, 2025
Opening in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Official opening of the exhibition at the Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa, Florida
August 3, 2025
Closing of the exhibition.
At its first venue in Tampa, it received 15,000 visitors, a figure that reflects the interest and reception of the public. Media coverage has been extensive and generous, with more than 50 documented appearances in the press, radio, television, and digital media
Dozens of local volunteers, many of whom are direct descendants of the Spanish diaspora, have actively participated, offering their time and knowledge to welcome visitors and share their family memories.