In the buildup to the relocation of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and other distinguished guests promoted Latino culture and values during a dedication ceremony Tuesday.
The cultural museum, which will soon call the downtown Yerba Buena Center for the Arts home, will pull together 16,500 pieces of Mexican and Latin American art, according to the University of San Francisco.
Celebrating Latino contributions to the community is just as important as honoring Latino art, Pelosi said.
"All of the those Mexican immigrants coming to America whether it was 400 years ago or four months ago, all of them make America more American with their values," she said. "That reinvigoration is what this museum will be about."
Pelosi added that the United States is a nation of immigrants and that Americans should honor the sophistication that immigrants bring to the country.
"The beauty is in the mix," she said. "Our diversity is our strength."
Claudia Ruiz Massieu, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Julio Cesar Chavez, a world champion boxer, and Willie Brown, the former mayor of San Francisco, were just some of the other guests in attendance Monday morning.
Local
Groundbreaking for the new museum kicked off in June and museum officials say that they hope to open the doors in spring 2019.
