Laberinto de Miradas exhibition
graphic photo © 2009 George Leposky
Laberinto de Miradas (Labyrinth of Glances): Identities and Borders in Ibero-America – an exhibition of photographs by Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American photographers – is on display in Miami at the Freedom Tower art gallery of Miami Dade College from February 5th through March 7th.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that 98 percent of the accompanying text is only in Spanish. Except for an introductory graphic at the entrance to the galleries, anyone who doesn’t read Spanish won’t understand much of the context that bestows background and substance upon these compelling visual images.
Boat people
A major focus of the exhibition is immigration. It explores some of the factors driving global immigration, and portrays the existential condition of being an immigrant.
For example, everyone in Miami knows of the Cuban boat people who for decades have set out in small craft and makeshift rafts on a perilous journey to freedom in the United States.
Something similar happens in the Mediterranean Sea, where Moroccan and Senegalese immigrants pursue an even longer and more perilous journey to Spain. There they are illegal, unwelcome – and theoretically able to secure a livelihood that eludes them at home, once they elude the Spanish authorities patrolling the beaches to detain them upon arrival. The exhibition includes Matías Costa’s compelling photos that document the travels and travails of these Mediterranean boat people.
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Freedom Tower Photo
© 2009 George Leposky
I can explain this facet of the exhibit to you because I read enough Spanish to understand the explanation of what Costa’s photos depict. My spouse does not. She looked at the same images and was confused. She couldn’t read the accompanying legends.
Sheer frustration
Out of sheer frustration, she complained about the lack of English legends to a very pleasant, polite, and extremely bilingual young woman handing out exhibition literature on behalf of the Centro Cultural Español Miami, which is cosponsoring the exhibition with the Consulate General of Spain and Miami Dade College. The young woman’s response was twofold and discreet: “I understand,” and “I apologize.”
On the way back to the car, we wondered aloud whether Miami Dade College had violated some law by allowing an almost entirely non-bilingual exhibition to appear in its art gallery. The college is a public institution, funded largely with tax dollars, but does that inherently obligate it to print everything in two languages? Or three? With several hundred thousand Haitians in Miami-Dade County, shouldn’t Creole receive equal billing along with English and Spanish?
In defense of Miami Dade College, it has been – overall – a bastion of bilingualism. In this instance the college is sort of a passive vessel, hosting an exhibition supplied by agencies of the Spanish government. If Spain really wants to reach out to all Americans – and not just to Hispanic Americans and others with a reading knowledge of Spanish – it should consider providing fully bilingual signage for such exhibitions as this, and for other events in Miami intended to promote Spanish culture and to foster international trade and tourism.
Before coming to Miami, Laberinto de Miradas was displayed in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, where of course no English translation was needed. For this venue, someone at the cultural center or the consulate should have adapted it to the distinctive linguistic needs of Miami.
The Freedom Tower is at 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami FL. 305-237-7186. Exhibition hours are noon to 5 PM Tuesday through Friday, 11 AM to 4 PM Saturday.
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