(Courtesy photo/Joaquin Castillo)
Special to the NEWS
Aleida Garcia recently celebrated her fourth anniversary as Director of the San Benito Cultural Arts Department (CAD).
According to Facebook post announcing the occasion, a RGV resident and University of Texas-Pan American alumna, García has dedicated over 20 years of her creative and professional career to the development of various cultural pillars that honor the borderlands cultural contributions.
This work currently culminates in the commitment that García, as Director, has demonstrated in fully realizing the San Benito Cultural Arts Department (CAD) and the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum’s (CHM) mission to promote a cultural district that fosters local cultural development.
The director has a seasoned history of successful projects, such as: playing a key role in the opening of Sala Arte, among one of the first commercial contemporary art galleries in the RGV; serving on the board of the Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center; serving as the Program Coordinator for the Brownsville Heritage Complex; serving an eight-year tenure as Registrar at the International Museum of Art & Science; serving a six-year stint as the Registrar/Collections Manager for the permanent art collection at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; and serving as Director and Curator of Titan Studio and Exhibit Space.
“Each of these roles demonstrates García’s steadfastness in cultivating spaces that welcome and encourage regional artists to create, explore, and experiment, and the community to engage with culturally rich programming,” the post reads.
These ideals are reflected in the artists the San Benito CHM has highlighted both through solo exhibitions by Javier Dragustivovis – “Al Otro Lado,” Jesus Burciaga – “Aqui Descansaba,” and Veronica Jaeger- “Nova Aurora” and community collaboration exhibitions such as “Arte de la Casa and Residency,” “Habitar Tierras Fronterizas,” and “Conjunto in My Backyard.”
With shows exemplified the annual, “Castilian Roses in December,” the San Benito CAD and CHM expand the conventional understanding of the arts to include the voices of not just the RGV, but anyone who experiences the borderlands’ diaspora.
In essence, García is developing a Cultural Arts Department and Cultural Heritage Museum that places San Benito as a cultural nexus ready to take a pivotal role in bridging the arts communities of the Rio Grande Valley.
The San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum is open Monday—Thursday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., and Fridays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Guided tours and in-person access are available throughout the exhibit dates, and virtual programming, such as video presentations, interviews, and virtual tours, is available through CAD’s social media platforms.
The San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum is located at 250 E. Heywood St., San Benito. For more information on events, contact the museum at (956) 281-0810, or follow the CAD on Facebook @sanbenitoCULTURALARTS and on Instagram @sb_cultural_arts.