NY1 VIDEO: El Museo Del Barrio and the New-York Historical Society have teamed up for the exhibit "Nueva York (1613-1945)," which explores the city's long relationship with Spain and Latin America.

The exhibit focuses on the Spanish-speaking world's impact on the development of the city, from commerce to communication and the arts. It features listening stations, video displays and some 200 rare historical maps, letters and drawings.

For example, a baseball from 1871 was used in a game in Brooklyn by Cuban-born Esteban Bellan, the first Latin American to play in major league baseball.

"When you look around New York today, and you see such a huge Latino presence, you know you really want to be able to say 'Look, Latinos have been consequential to New York's history from the very start," said New-York Historical Society President and CEO Louise Mirrer. "New York is now approaching the milestone of being one-third Hispanic, and we thought this would be a great moment to tell the story, the long history."

More than three centuries of history are told through the exhibit, beginning in 1613, with documents that tell the story of Juan or Jan Rodriguez, a Dominican sailor who worked on a Dutch ship and settled in the future area of New York City, even before the Dutch established New Amsterdam.

"The Dutch dropped him off with 80 hatchets to see if he could make some commerce with the Indians, and he said, 'Leave me here,'" said Mirrer. "So we know we can trace his existence and life in this city for at least the first year."

The final portion of the exhibition, which was designed by a Puerto Rican artist, resembles an airbus, which was a popular way of travel between New York and Puerto Rico in the 1940s and 1950s. An interactive part of the exhibit features circular windows with covers that lift to show the faces and stories of those who took those journeys.

"It's a discussion, a visual sort of replay of the idea that the commute between New York and San Juan, Puerto Rico was almost like taking a bus, even though it was an airplane," says Rocio Arranda, and associate curator of El Museo del Barrio. "So there are a number of chairs in the installation that have been designed by younger artists, and you're supposed to sit in them and then tell your own story of how you came to New York City in little log books that are attached to the chairs."

The exhibit runs through January 9, 2011 at El Museo Del Barrio on 104th Street. For more information on the exhibit, visit www.elmuseo.org.