¡Viva El Arte! How Latino artists are adding hues to Utah’s canvas.

“The Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Christmas Gala, 2005. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is walking around in a circle. He has a svelte Miss Latino on his arm, a rather gaudy Mexican poncho slung over one shoulder, while before him a child walks strewing petals from a basket in his path. One of the gala’s hosts explains to the dining crowd that this is a ritual of honor, reflecting the governor’s ties to the Hispanic community. Some Hispanics close to the governor are heard to mutter darkly about this being way beneath the dignity of his office.

But judging by the look of schooled politeness on his features, the governor is perhaps reminding himself why he attended this event in the first place: According to figures from the Utah State Office of Ethnic Affairs, Latinos represent a substantial 10.6 percent of the state’s population. In 1970, there were just 35,000; today there are more than 250,000. But the figure perhaps most on his mind is their annual spending: a muscular $3.6 billion a year, says the Ethnic Affairs Office. Is walking over a few petals too much to ask?”

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