PRESS RELEASE

New Virtual Museum Celebrates Hispanic-Latin American Diaspora with Debut Exhibit

Toronto, ON, April 20, 2024 — The Canadian Hispanic-Latin American Virtual Museum has launched its debut exhibit, "Heritage Ceremonial Costumes: Keeping Identity Alive in Canada." Representing costumes from Bolivia’s Oruro Festival, Ecuador’s Inti Raymi, and Uruguay’s Candombe celebrations, the exhibit showcases the vibrant cultural diversity of the Hispanic-Latin American community in Canada through the lens of its ceremonial costumes, music, dance, and cultural celebrations.

Using technologies such as photogrammetry, Web3D, 360 video, and virtual reality, the museum provides an immersive and interactive experience from the spatial media frontier. The exhibition, accessible across various devices, features a virtual theatre streaming 18 documentary shorts with Spanish audio and Spanish, English, and French closed captions/subtitles, emphasizing the museum's commitment to inclusivity and accessibility. The project is a collaborative effort with significant stakeholders, including the Canadian Hispanic Congress, Mississauga Latin Festival, Pan American Food and Music Festival, and noted digital media festivals, VRTO and FIVARS.

This exhibition is funded by the Government of Canada through the Digital Access to Heritage—Museums Assistance Program. It has received collaboration from academic institutions, including the School of Languages and Literatures from the University of Guelph and Humber College’s Faculty of Media and Creative Arts, which hosted the launch. This exhibit is a key educational and cultural preservation initiative.

"CHLAVM has broken ground on the digital foundations of a powerful new initiative to capture the spirit, diversity, and contributions of the Hispanic-Latin American diaspora in Canada," states Museum Executive Director Elvira Sánchez de Malicki. The exhibition is now open for public viewing.

Master Class on the development of the virtual museum and platform on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@chlavm
For further details and to engage with this digital journey, visit chlavm.ca.
Press inquiries: 647-523-1650