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  • 112109 alameda 01.jpg
    Bob Owen/Express-News
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    As the Museo Alameda prepared to mount the highest-profile exhibit in its brief history this summer, behind the scenes museum officials were struggling to keep the doors open. The $12 million hot pink museum in Market Square opened two years ago amid a flurry of confetti and high hopes that it would anchor a new Latino cultural corridor.
  • 112109 alameda 02.jpg
    Express-News
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    The Museo Alameda had multimillion-dollar support from corporate heavy-hitters such as the SBC Foundation (now AT&T), Ford Motor Co. and the Ford Motor Co. Fund. The Pedro V. Cortez family, which owns Mi Tierra restaurant at Market Square, stepped up with a $1 million donation. Ed Whitacre and Carlos Slim Helu at the Museo Alameda on Nov. 17, 2008.
  • 112109 alameda 03.jpg
    Bob Owen/Express-News
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    Since then, however, hopes for the museum have given way to concern for the fledgling institution's future. A 2008 audit submitted to the city's Office of Cultural Affairs in May showed the Alameda National Center for Latino Arts and Culture -- which operates the museum, the Alameda Theater, a design school and an office building -- suffered a $1.47 million loss on revenues of $1.97 million last year.
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    Billy Calzada/Express-News
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    The Alameda has gone through three executive directors in its short history. To rein in costs, the staff was trimmed from 30 to a skeleton crew of eight shortly before Guillermo Nicolas was named president in September.
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    Leland A. Outz/Express-News
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    The museum, which was free to visit last year, reinstated admission fees last month to increase revenue. It also depends on city funds and donation pledges, which are "slowly trickling in," Alameda board Chairwoman Margarita Flores said, pictured right with Sonja Gandert, left, and Arturo Madrid, center.
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    Express-News
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    After repeated delays because of fundraising difficulties, the Museo Alameda opened in April 2007 as the first affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
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    Express-News
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    That affiliation gave the museum access to Smithsonian exhibitions such as "´Åzúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz," which opened in 2007.
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    Jerry Lara/Express-News
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    In its first year, the museum drew 140,000 visitors. Numbers have fallen steadily. In 2008, the museum counted 45,000 visitors, and the total so far this year is 26,000. In addition, money problems continued to dog the museum as the economy headed into a downturn.
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    Helen L. Montoya/Expres-News
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    "My fondest wish and desire is that the Alameda, which is a very important national institution and has done incredible work, is able to be sustained and prosper," said founding chairman Henry Muñoz III, who stepped down in May. "I think it's unfortunate that it opened right before the economy cratered, and I think it's unfortunate that it hasn't had -- apart from Henry Muñoz -- a consistent, sustainable development effort."
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    Tom Reel/Express-News
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    Until he left this year, Muñoz was, in fact, the most visible and consistent leader of the museum he brought into being. Muñoz chats with members of the Museo Alameda planning committee, Ruth Medellin, Director of the Alameda, left, and Elaine Dagen of RK Group on Sept., 14, 2006.
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    Eric Gay/AP
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    "The museum is an expensive proposition," Margarita Flores said. "Could we have (had) better oversight ..... or could it have been done in a tighter business model to not have run up these expenses? Sure." Rather than pointing fingers, they prefer to look forward.
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    Bob Owen/Express-News
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    "It's an institution that has provided good shows, good economic development for Market Square," Guillermo Nicolas said. "It has brought in tourists; it has educated a lot of our own people in the community. All the good things are there. It's just a matter of righting the ship."
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    Billy Calzada/Express-News
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    Last month, "Jesse Treviño: Mi Vida," the first major retrospective devoted to San Antonio artist responsible for the landmark "Spirit of Healing," mural downtown, opened at the museum. The Alameda went forward with the show only after the initial $200,000 budget was whittled down to $75,000 and funding was in place.
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    Express-News
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    After the Treviño show closes at the end of February , only one floor of the museum will be programmed at a time to leave a floor available for rental.