Week Three at the Witte: Room Where It Happens [Estrella Hernandez]
Dear YAP Familia,
As the third week of my internship draws to a close, I’ve noticed something about myself. I realized that I wake up every morning actually excited for work. I think this is because working at the Witte Museum has been one of the most intellectually freeing experiences I’ve had in a while. It’s reignited that same spark of curiosity and desire to learn that drew me here when I was a kid.
When I started my internship, I told my supervisors that I was trying to learn everything I could about how museums function. They’ve help me run with that goal, and facilitated my involvement with many different topics. I’ve been able to meet with the curators in charge of Anthropology, Wildlife, Texas Heritage, and Texas Culture in the exhibits they run. I’ve gotten to ask them about everything and anything related to their work; what drew them to working in a museum, the process of creating an exhibit, how they appeal to a diverse audience, and how they update exhibits to reflect new findings or offer new experiences to visitors. It’s been wonderful to speak personally with so many brilliant people. Each of the curators has shared their passion for their area of expertise with me, and reinforced the importance of making knowledge accessible to as many people as possible.
I’ve been able to observe meetings within the Witte Museum as well. On Monday, I had the chance to see the process of closing an exhibit. It was interesting to see how early the planning began for taking down the exhibit. I thought it would be a relatively quick process, but I didn’t account for the time taken by indexing all items, preparing them for storage or separate display, returning loaned items to their owners, and transforming the space used into another exhibit. On Friday, I was able to sit in on a meeting for planning an exhibit. It was interesting to note the contrasts in what was needed. Less emphasis was placed on finding specific items, while creating themes, events, and activities was prioritized. Once again, I was surprised by how much time was needed to conceptualize, organize, and execute a planned exhibit.
I worked on independent projects for the rest of the week. I’m given a great deal of freedom in how I choose to complete them, which I’ve really enjoyed. I think that the best example of this is the Witte Walk I’ve been working on.
Witte Walks are a type of program being prototyped right now, offering visitors a focused tour of certain exhibits. They can vary from being a condensed version of an entire collection to highlighting a specific theme found throughout its pieces. I was told to structure a 30 minute program about Confluence and Culture, an exhibit on San Antonio’s tricentennial. I was given guidelines on what type of content to include and an example Witte Walk - but other than that, I had almost complete autonomy. I’m able to go tour the exhibit and take notes whenever I want, email the Witte’s curators and ask questions about artifacts, and chose the topic and pieces for the program. In a nutshell; it’s awesome.
I’ve spent most of the last two weeks learning more about my city. I studied how indigenous tribes survived Spanish rule and won land rights, why settlers from the Canary Islands moved across the sea to a rugged frontier, how Tejanos formed a unique cultural identity under the rule of six different governments. I read about San Antonio’s rapid industrialization, the enduring influence of the military on its growth, and its legacy of activism.
While I had some passive awareness of these amazing stories, I’d never had the chance to delve into them. I figured that studying San Antonio specifically would be something I’d have to do in my free time; never in a professional or academic environment. Working at the Witte Museum has given me the incredible opportunity to learn more about San Antonio while being supported by kind, curious, and patient group of mentors.
Being in such a welcoming environment has helped me to better understand myself, and the power of my own voice. I’ve begun to embrace the value of applying my own lens to history. As I wrote the Confluence and Culture program, I noticed that my story influenced what I chose to study and how I discussed it. I believe that this is a universal experience - as humans, we all have our own values and histories that establish how we view the world. We inevitably apply our experiences to appraising what happens around us. I think that sharing and analyzing our own interpretations of history is crucial for gaining an understanding of ourselves and others. I think that as long as there is a commitment to remaining rooted in facts and offering others respect, talking about how and why we form our perceptions is extremely powerful.
Washington Week strengthened my desire to tell my own story, and empower others to share theirs. My experiences exploring the museums we visited, talking to Latinx leaders, and hearing the stories of other Young Ambassadors reminded me that speaking out is perhaps the most powerful way to assert the values of one’s identity and combat harmful narratives. I think this is especially important for people that have been historically marginalized for their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or other parts of who they are. Telling your own story can be an act of resistance, refusing to be erased or recast by others.
Leading a storytime at the Las Palmas Library with Sealia helped me share this experience with my larger community. We read “Drum Dream Girl”, a children’s book inspired by the life of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga. Zaldarriaga was a Chinese-African-Cuban woman who performed in an all-female band, Anacaona. Her talent for playing the drums helped to break the stigma surrounding female drummers in Cuba. The “Drum Dream Girl” we read about is loosely based on her childhood. The girl in our story plays her drum as a mermaid, performs while perched on the moon, and drifts through the sky playing music. The children we read to enjoyed these more fantastical aspects of the book, but were interested by the story’s basis in history. The library’s staff was incredible. They helped us incorporate a bilingual music session into our event, which really helped bring the story to life for the kids. Connecting what we read to the art or history in the kids’ activity books really reinforced the book’s message. I hope that the children we read to went home feeling more excited to learn about their culture, and empowered to enact whatever change they want to in the world.
As the third week of my internship draws to a close, I’ve noticed something about myself. I realized that I wake up every morning actually excited for work. I think this is because working at the Witte Museum has been one of the most intellectually freeing experiences I’ve had in a while. It’s reignited that same spark of curiosity and desire to learn that drew me here when I was a kid.
When I started my internship, I told my supervisors that I was trying to learn everything I could about how museums function. They’ve help me run with that goal, and facilitated my involvement with many different topics. I’ve been able to meet with the curators in charge of Anthropology, Wildlife, Texas Heritage, and Texas Culture in the exhibits they run. I’ve gotten to ask them about everything and anything related to their work; what drew them to working in a museum, the process of creating an exhibit, how they appeal to a diverse audience, and how they update exhibits to reflect new findings or offer new experiences to visitors. It’s been wonderful to speak personally with so many brilliant people. Each of the curators has shared their passion for their area of expertise with me, and reinforced the importance of making knowledge accessible to as many people as possible.
 |
| This is the Witte's People of the Pecos exhibit. I was able to walk through it with the Curator of Anthropology and learn about all the research and technology that went into making the displays come alive! |
I’ve been able to observe meetings within the Witte Museum as well. On Monday, I had the chance to see the process of closing an exhibit. It was interesting to see how early the planning began for taking down the exhibit. I thought it would be a relatively quick process, but I didn’t account for the time taken by indexing all items, preparing them for storage or separate display, returning loaned items to their owners, and transforming the space used into another exhibit. On Friday, I was able to sit in on a meeting for planning an exhibit. It was interesting to note the contrasts in what was needed. Less emphasis was placed on finding specific items, while creating themes, events, and activities was prioritized. Once again, I was surprised by how much time was needed to conceptualize, organize, and execute a planned exhibit.
I worked on independent projects for the rest of the week. I’m given a great deal of freedom in how I choose to complete them, which I’ve really enjoyed. I think that the best example of this is the Witte Walk I’ve been working on.
 |
| The 1764 Menchaca Map of San Antonio A key point of the Confluence and Culture exhibit, and my Witte Walk! |
Witte Walks are a type of program being prototyped right now, offering visitors a focused tour of certain exhibits. They can vary from being a condensed version of an entire collection to highlighting a specific theme found throughout its pieces. I was told to structure a 30 minute program about Confluence and Culture, an exhibit on San Antonio’s tricentennial. I was given guidelines on what type of content to include and an example Witte Walk - but other than that, I had almost complete autonomy. I’m able to go tour the exhibit and take notes whenever I want, email the Witte’s curators and ask questions about artifacts, and chose the topic and pieces for the program. In a nutshell; it’s awesome.
I’ve spent most of the last two weeks learning more about my city. I studied how indigenous tribes survived Spanish rule and won land rights, why settlers from the Canary Islands moved across the sea to a rugged frontier, how Tejanos formed a unique cultural identity under the rule of six different governments. I read about San Antonio’s rapid industrialization, the enduring influence of the military on its growth, and its legacy of activism.
While I had some passive awareness of these amazing stories, I’d never had the chance to delve into them. I figured that studying San Antonio specifically would be something I’d have to do in my free time; never in a professional or academic environment. Working at the Witte Museum has given me the incredible opportunity to learn more about San Antonio while being supported by kind, curious, and patient group of mentors.
 |
| A quilt made by Maria Antonia Ruiz Herrera, a woman from an important Tejano family. This piece represents a reflection on Tejano identity and its intersection with the varied nations that governed Texas. |
Being in such a welcoming environment has helped me to better understand myself, and the power of my own voice. I’ve begun to embrace the value of applying my own lens to history. As I wrote the Confluence and Culture program, I noticed that my story influenced what I chose to study and how I discussed it. I believe that this is a universal experience - as humans, we all have our own values and histories that establish how we view the world. We inevitably apply our experiences to appraising what happens around us. I think that sharing and analyzing our own interpretations of history is crucial for gaining an understanding of ourselves and others. I think that as long as there is a commitment to remaining rooted in facts and offering others respect, talking about how and why we form our perceptions is extremely powerful.
Washington Week strengthened my desire to tell my own story, and empower others to share theirs. My experiences exploring the museums we visited, talking to Latinx leaders, and hearing the stories of other Young Ambassadors reminded me that speaking out is perhaps the most powerful way to assert the values of one’s identity and combat harmful narratives. I think this is especially important for people that have been historically marginalized for their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or other parts of who they are. Telling your own story can be an act of resistance, refusing to be erased or recast by others.
 |
| Sealia and I at the Las Palmas Library! (note the very cute, well drawn sign) |
Leading a storytime at the Las Palmas Library with Sealia helped me share this experience with my larger community. We read “Drum Dream Girl”, a children’s book inspired by the life of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga. Zaldarriaga was a Chinese-African-Cuban woman who performed in an all-female band, Anacaona. Her talent for playing the drums helped to break the stigma surrounding female drummers in Cuba. The “Drum Dream Girl” we read about is loosely based on her childhood. The girl in our story plays her drum as a mermaid, performs while perched on the moon, and drifts through the sky playing music. The children we read to enjoyed these more fantastical aspects of the book, but were interested by the story’s basis in history. The library’s staff was incredible. They helped us incorporate a bilingual music session into our event, which really helped bring the story to life for the kids. Connecting what we read to the art or history in the kids’ activity books really reinforced the book’s message. I hope that the children we read to went home feeling more excited to learn about their culture, and empowered to enact whatever change they want to in the world.
Until next time,
Estrella Hernandez
Estrella Hernandez
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