Site Committee Formed for Latino Cultural Museum : * Art: An 11-member team will look at locations throughout greater Los Angeles. ‘There are no sacred cows,’ according to museum’s president.

Plans to find a home for Los Angeles’ nascent Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture have moved forward with the formation of a site-acquisition team. “This sterling group of people will assist me in identifying permanent sites, selecting three or four possibilities, negotiating and ultimately making an acquisition,” said Frank H. Cruz, president and executive director of the planned museum.

The 11-member team of advisers will examine a wide range of possible locations in the greater Los Angeles area, including Griffith Park, the Herald-Examiner building, Union Station and two properties adjacent to Olvera Street. “There are no sacred cows as to where we should look or what kinds of sites we should consider,” Cruz said.

Cruz, a former television reporter and general manager of KVEA Channel 52, a Spanish-language station, took charge of the museum last February. He indicated then that the museum would initially seek a temporary, donated space to give the project visibility while a fund-raising drive was launched. Now, however, he hopes to bypass that temporary step and locate a permanent site for the museum. “I am dumbfounded at the level of support and interest this project has generated,” he said.

The museum’s formally stated mission is “to celebrate the heritage of Latinos and to promote the continuing development of Latino artistic and cultural expression in America.” According to planning documents, the museum will collect and conserve significant examples of Latino cultural heritage; exhibit and interpret these materials; publish, analyze and disseminate information about Latino artistic and cultural contributions, and sponsor educational programs and special events to promote the rich diversity of Latino expression.

The newly formed site-acquisition team will provide the legal, financial and organizational expertise needed to find a home for the nonprofit museum, Cruz said.

Marcy Goodwin, vice president of the museum and cultural facilities division of Stegeman and Kastner Inc., will advise museum leaders on the organization and development of the fledgling institution. Frank A. Somers, executive vice president of the Bank of America, will provide financial assistance on the acquisition of a site.

Nine attorneys from the firm of Latham and Watkins will offer free services on legal matters regarding taxes, real estate, finance, title, land use and the environment.

“Latham and Watkins does a lot of community work, but we are particularly honored to be involved with this project because of its historical significance. This will be the national Latino museum,” said Edith Perez, a specialist in real estate law who will head the legal team.

“The museum will get the same service that we give our blue-chip clients,” Perez said. “We will be looking at every angle from the legal point of view before presenting a site to the board. We will carefully analyze the risks and benefits involved with each site and each seller.” The process is likely to continue into 1992, Perez said, but she declined to estimate how long it might take to acquire a site.