A Little Corner of Hope: Museo del Westside 

Since 1987, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center has educated and organized San Antonio community members to celebrate, document, preserve, and promote the culture and significance of the Westside barrio, a historically Latinx community in San Antonio, Texas. Focused on historical preservation, education, the arts, and storytelling for social justice in a practice called cultural grounding, the Esperanza provides programs for community members, ranging from oral history gatherings to partnerships with local public schools to a low-income women’s clay cooperative (MujerArtes) focused on the revival of traditional ceramic arts.

The shotgun homes and casitas of the Westside barrio bear the scars and hold the memories of generations of residents who fought racism, negligence, demolitions, and indignities. The neighborhood has raised artists, musicians, politicians, and Civil Rights activists. Some families have lived in the same buildings for generations, since the early 20th century when the Westside was one of the only areas in San Antonio where Mexican Americans were allowed to settle.  

In this context, the work of placekeeping grows particularly urgent, as the Westside faces ongoing gentrification and economic forces that existentially threaten its history and character. As Esperanza staff have noted, “what is at stake is no less than our homes, our voices, our familia of Westsiders, our traditions—in short, the capacity of the Westside community for self-determination and thriving.”   

In 2007, the Esperanza began developing the Museo del Westside as a permanent humanities program, committed to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and sharing the community’s history. The Museo has hosted two exhibitions since 2018, and, with the help of HiP funding, will soon come to fruition in a permanent form. The Museo will be the only museum in San Antonio that centers the history of the city’s working class, low-income residents, and immigrant residents—expanding the definition of what counts as “museum-worthy” to include the lived experiences of individuals who exist outside traditional structures of power and notability. Given the Museo’s unique place in San Antonio’s cultural landscape, the Esperanza estimates that it will be visited by more than 10,000 people annually, including community members, tourists, and academics. 

Located in the newly designated Rinconcito de Esperanza (Little Corner of Hope) Historic District, the Museo will reside in the historic Ruben’s Ice House, an iconic site for residents of San Antonio’s Westside. For decades, the shop, bar, and restaurant served as a community gathering place, before ultimately closing in 1987. As one member of the owner’s family described: “I remember it as a meeting place, for people to go and talk about situations and enjoy a beer.... There was mailmen that went there, businessmen that went there, there was policemen that went there, there was city hall people that went there.…” 

By restoring and revitalizing this legacy space, the Museo will continue the building’s heritage of shared conversation, engagement, and community action. Its exhibitions center, explore, and celebrate the experiences of the Westside’s culture and people––a place not just for the community, but by the community. To that end, the Esperanza envisions the Museo as “a community participatory museum,” one that invites community members to participate in the development of exhibitions and programs. The prioritization of community voice and knowledge will deliberately combat the historical marginalization of the diverse individuals and identities that make up the community. In this sense, though the Museo focuses on a particular neighborhood and community, it calls for a broader reckoning across the museum and preservation fields––a revaluation of whose voices and stories get to matter.    

HiP’s $1.6 million grant is providing crucial support not just for the building itself, but also funding for a Museo Director, a Westside cultural historian, and a development staff member. The support is also helping Esperanza address the challenge of long-term sustainability after the grant ends and develop collaborative opportunities with other local grant recipients such as the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, furthering the goal of long-term, community-wide revitalization.