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For many East Coasters and Midwesterners, Route 66 is synonymous with cross-country road trips and kitschy roadside attractions, but a new exhibition at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum looks at the iconic, 2,400-mile highway from the perspectives of those who lived and worked along the route. The exhibition focuses specifically on what Route 66 has meant to residents of sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 鈥淭he Other Route 66: 100 Years of People, Identity and Place in sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� curated by sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum鈥檚 head curator, Alicia Romero, opens Saturday, June 6, and runs through Jan. 3, 2027.

The exhibition contains around 500 objects, including artworks, historical photographs and ephemera. It begins in the 1920s, when much of the route was still unpaved and travel was often treacherous.

鈥淲hen we think about cars of the 1920s, it鈥檚 a lot of Ford Model A鈥檚 and Ford Model T鈥檚 鈥� vehicles that, by today鈥檚 standards, don鈥檛 have the kind of safety measures, or even the speed (that we鈥檙e used to),鈥� Romero said. 鈥淣ever mind getting from Chicago to Los Angeles 鈥� just getting from Tucumcari to sa国际传媒官网网页入口, or sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to Gallup, is really difficult.鈥�

As automotive technology improved in the following decades, travel along the route became easier. But travel remained treacherous for many Black travelers, who had to contend with sundown towns and other systems of racist violence and exclusion.

鈥淚 think when we just focus on the nostalgia, sometimes we leave out the difficult parts of history. So, we talk about some of the dangers of Route 66 travel for African Americans at that time (the mid-20th century), and we鈥檒l look at the 鈥楪reen Book鈥� in New Mexico,鈥� Romero said.

The historian Candacy Taylor, who wrote 鈥淥verground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America,鈥� will speak at the museum at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 6, the opening day of the show.

The exhibition also tells the stories of farmworkers who migrated to California on the route, including those whom John Steinbeck wrote about in 鈥淭he Grapes of Wrath,鈥� but also many Hispanic and Indigenous farmers from New Mexico whose histories are lesser known.

鈥淚鈥檓 thinking about that migration in terms of my own family history,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淢y family migrated on Route 66 to California (in the 1950s), but a lot of them came back. So, for families like mine and other Nuevo Mexicano and Indigenous families from New Mexico who would migrate on Route 66 for work, many of them would come back. So, I don鈥檛 see Route 66 necessarily as a one-way route.鈥�

The exhibition follows the history of Route 66 to the present day.

鈥淩oute 66 history doesn鈥檛 end with the decommissioning of that road 鈥� in 1985,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淔or us, Route 66 is Central Avenue, which continues to play an important role in our lives in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.鈥�

Central Avenue has also been a site of major protests over the decades 鈥� a theme that Romero explores.

鈥淲e have beautiful photographs that have documented, over and over again, people pouring out onto Central because of the Vietnam War, or 鈥� you name it 鈥� any social issue up to the current times,鈥� Romero said.

The first artwork visitors will see as they enter the exhibition is 鈥淐ruising Route 66 鈥� Burque 鈥�64,鈥� a painted wood construction depicting downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口, as seen through the windshield of a classic car. The artist, Luis Tapia, made the piece this year.

鈥淭his, for me, really captures the essence of what this show is about,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淚n one artwork, there are Nuevo Mexicano carving traditions 鈥� There鈥檚 this dashboard view of what (Tapia) remembers as Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口 (in the 1960s) 鈥� cruising down Central Avenue. Also, cruising is part of our lowrider culture. 鈥� And the figure looking outward in the rear-view mirror is Our Lady of Guadalupe.鈥�

The work reframes the iconic route from a hyperlocal perspective, and many of the details Tapia includes in 鈥淐ruising Route 66鈥� will be familiar to longtime sa国际传媒官网网页入口 residents.

Romero didn鈥檛 want to give away all the surprises in the show, but she said some of the objects will excite fans of classic cars and motorcycles.

鈥淚 can give away one surprise,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have a really incredible World War II Harley Davidson that鈥檚 in the show. 鈥� And for people who are involved in the motorcycle community, this is a special example of a Harley Davidson that was used in the war, and some of these were brought back.鈥�

Romero hopes the exhibition will challenge preconceived ideas about Route 66 and prompt visitors to reflect on their own individual relationships to the road.

鈥淭he goal with selecting any and all of these objects, works of art and photographs is (to consider) 鈥� what kind of things will get a reaction from people 鈥� and not just a reaction, but a way for them to think more deeply about their experiences and their memories,鈥� Romero said.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .