The de Larrinaga family display in the Global City gallery
Liverpool’s many global connections are celebrated across the Museum of Liverpool; including the city’s Hispanic communities. 19th century Liverpool was home to thriving Spanish, Basque, Galician, Filipino and Latin American communities who lived and worked in the maritime and trade networks connecting Liverpool with its sister ports in the Luso-Hispanic world.
In the Global City gallery you can see personal items relating to the de Larrinaga family – a successful Basque shipping family in Liverpool. From the 1860s the Larrinaga Steamship Company made regular journeys to the Philippines, stopping off in the great trading ports of Hong Kong and Singapore. The Larrinaga’s bought silks, lacquer boxes and Chinese-style furniture for their grand Liverpool homes. There is also a painting of one of the Larrinaga line ships – Anselma de Larrinaga on display.
In The People’s Republic gallery there is a ledger from a Basque Boarding House at 41 Hurst Street which records the names and destinations of dozens of Basque migrants who passed through Hurst Street on their way to the New World.
Lita Roza’s dress
In the Wondrous Place gallery – there is this fabulous dress worn by Lita Roza, who was the first female artist to have a UK number one hit single and the first Liverpool artist to have a number one. Lita’s father Francis Vincent Roza was the son of Eulalio Roza and Josephina Delacruz, daughter of Juan (I) and Elizabeth (Winn) Delacruz.
The Hispanic Liverpool Project works with families, individuals, archives and heritage organisations to gather and preserve the forgotten stories of Liverpool’s Hispanic community from the 19th century until the present. You can find out more on their website. Please get in touch to contribute your own stories or objects.