El Museo del Barrio, East Harlem’s Latin American cultural landmark, is getting ready to reopen Saturday after being closed for about a year and a half of major renovations. NY1's Arts reporter Stephanie Simon filed the following report.

El Museo del Barrio has celebrated its 40th anniversary with a $35 million renovation. Museum director Julian Zugazagoitia says the institution was a victim of its own success, and that the renovation will help accommodate the recent upsurge in visitors.

“Ten years ago, we were welcoming less than 20,000 people a year. Last year, it was more than 120,000 visitors a year,” says Zugazagoitia.

The new renovation includes a glass paneled lobby, a new gift shop and cafe and completely redone gallery space. The new look reflects the museum’s rising stature, from its humble roots as a mostly Puerto Rican art museum serving Spanish Harlem, to a world-class art museum showcasing art from all over the Americas and the Caribbean.

“I like saying we’re the top of Museum Mile and we’re really at a juncture of two worlds,” says Zugazagoitia. “The best museums in the world, and that definitely puts some pressure to do an excellent job, but also we are a gateway to our community of East Harlem - El Barrio. So we’re at those two worlds. We have really focused on those two elements, serving better our community. We have 54 education programs in El Museo.”

The centerpiece of the renovation is the gallery space, which now has room for both special exhibits and the permanent collection. Beforehand, every time there was a special exhibit the entire gallery had to be closed for installation, sometimes for up to three weeks. Now, there will always be art on view at El Museo del Barrio.

“The roots of the Museo still are deep in the Puerto Rican culture and they go deeper and the roots… also embrace all of the Caribbean and Latin America. And the experience that we focus on is being a Latino in New York today,” says Zugazagoitia.

Zugazagoitia says another major change for the museum is that Latino culture has become part of our popular culture, making El Museo a place for all New Yorkers to come visit.

There will be free admission on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit www.elmuseo.org.