Remembering Dr. Berta Arias

We regret to announce the passing of Amelia Island Museum of History Board Member and supporter, Dr. Berta Arias.

Dr. Arias became an AIMH Board member in 2017 and remained so until her passing on February 17th, 2024. As a board member, Berta was on the Museum's Outreach Committee and was responsible for several initiatives highlighting the Hispanic influence on our community. In particular, she helped organize the Museum's Fiesta de Santa Maria and was instrumental in creating The Cuba Connection exhibit at the Museum.

This very special exhibit was created in partnership with a group of artists living in Baracoa, Cuba and was a particular point of pride for both Berta and the Museum. You can watch her presentation at the exhibit opening by clicking here, and the corresponding Cuban exhibit opening, which took place a few months later, by clicking here.

The recently published book that Berta co-edited, Life on American Beach: Voices from Within, features her essay about what attracted a Cuban-born, Chicago-raised woman to American Beach. Berta also authored the novel Mango Rain and she served as the translator for Cápsulas Informativas Constitucionales, a reference book for Spanish language readers about the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. A professor emeritus of languages, Berta spent some of her free time in recent years teaching Spanish language classes on Amelia Island. She leaves behind two daughters, five grandchildren, a sister, brother, nieces, and nephews.