The exhibition Invisible Emigrants: Spaniards in the USA (1868–1945) closed on August 3 at the Tampa Bay History Center, after five months of strong reception from both local and national audiences.

With more than 15,000 visitors, the exhibition’s first stop in the United States has far exceeded the average attendance recorded during its tour in Spain, thereby strengthening its international reach.

Organized by the Fundación Consejo España – EE. UU., the exhibition sheds light on the little-known history of Spanish migration to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Through more than 300 photographs, documents, objects, and audiovisual materials, the exhibition reconstructs the journeys, lives, and legacies of thousands of Spanish workers who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better future.

Since its opening on March 1, the exhibition has been enthusiastically received in Tampa, a city where the Spanish legacy remains alive and where a vibrant community of descendants has wholeheartedly engaged with the project.

During its final weekend alone, the exhibition welcomed over 400 visitors, many of whom have direct family ties to the stories being told.

“This exhibition has touched our community in a very special way,” said Lisa-Perry Richardson, Director of Development at the Tampa Bay History Center. “Thanks to our collaboration with the Fundación Consejo España–EE. UU., we have been able to reconnect with stories that are not only part of our city’s past but also part of the living memory of many local families. It has been a powerful reminder of how history shapes identity, and of how Tampa’s history is, in many ways, also a Spanish story.”

Emotion was a constant throughout the exhibition, especially for the descendants of those ‘invisible emigrants.’ Anthony Carreño, one of their representatives, did not hesitate to describe it as “a treasure beyond words.”

Kathy Varón, a volunteer and guide every weekend and herself a descendant of Spanish emigrants, stated that “the exhibition has become a sort of homecoming” and admitted feeling emotional each time she recalls the shared stories.

After stops in Madrid, Gijón, and Almería, and now in Tampa, the exhibition will continue its journey to other U.S. cities where Spanish migration also left a deep mark. Details about the next venue will be announced soon.

A Collaboration That Crosses Borders

This traveling exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Fundación Consejo España – EE. UU. and the Tampa Bay History Center, with support from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, and from Acción Cultural Española.

The project would not have been possible without the generosity of the families and descendants of these emigrants, whose involvement has been crucial in recovering and preserving a memory that forms part of the shared history between Spain and the United States.

About the Exhibition

Invisible Emigrants: Spaniards in the USA (1868–1945) is the first major exhibition dedicated to this migratory phenomenon, based on over ten years of research conducted by its curators, Professor James D. Fernández (New York University) and journalist and filmmaker Luis Argeo.

Organized into six chapters – Adiós, Off to Work!, Living la Vida, They Organized, Solidarity and Discord, and Made in USA – the exhibition offers a vital and emotional journey through more than 300 pieces selected from 15,000 records, drawn from family albums and keepsakes preserved by third- and fourth-generation descendants.