Eduardo Díaz

Eduardo Díaz is the director of the Smithsonian Latino Center and a 30-year veteran of arts administration. The Smithsonian Latino Center works to increase and enhance Latino presence, research and scholarship at the Smithsonian Institution by sponsoring, developing and promoting exhibitions, collections, research and public programs that focus on the Latino experience. Díaz is an advisor to the Smithsonian’s Secretary and Provost/Under Secretary for Museums and Research as well as to Congress and other government agencies on a range of cultural development issues related to Latino communities in the United States and their impact on diverse countries of origin. Díaz is responsible for the management and delivery of exhibitions, public and educational programs and the Latino Center’s Latino Virtual Museum. During his tenure, he has spearheaded several projects including the exhibitions “Panamanian Passages” and “Southern Identity: Contemporary Argentine Art.” Current initiatives include the Central American Ceramics Research Project, The Taíno Legacy Project, the DC Latino History Project and Unruly Crossings. Previously, Díaz was the executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) in Albuquerque, NM. He oversaw the operations of a 16-acre campus that offered year-round programming in the visual, performing and literary arts as well and youth and family activities. Before joining the NHCC, Díaz managed a private consulting firm that served arts institutions and agencies, statewide advocacy groups and community-based organizations. He specialized in business and strategic planning, cultural facilities management and cultural and heritage tourism. In 2001, he co-founded the International Accordion Festival, a free outdoor music celebration, in San Antonio. From 1981 to 1999, Díaz served as the director of Cultural Affairs for the City of San Antonio. He is currently a member of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. Díaz earned a law degree in 1976 from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in 1972 in Latin American Studies at San Diego State University. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.