Helen Valdez

Helen Valdez was a 30-something bilingual teacher at Chicago's Bowen High School in the 1980’s when she and fellow teacher Carlos Tortolero, frustrated by the lack of Mexican cultural education, decided to create a community based institution which would combine education with cultural celebration. With a budget of $900, they founded the Mexican Fine Arts Center in 1982. Now named the National Museum of Mexican Art, the museum has more than 11,000 pieces of artwork from ancient Mexico to the present.

Why this stop? Pilsen’s 18th Street Pink Line Station is just 2 blocks from the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Connect—Visit the National Museum of Mexican Art.