Today’s ipod generation has lost out on at least this: Growing up with album covers that sometimes were as awesome as the tunes packaged within. In a crazy cool idea, CCEMiami (The Spanish Cultural Centre) is celebrating Latin album art, with an exhibit of 500 historic and contemporary covers and a month-long series of concerts to complement it.

“¡Mira, Que Lindas!” highlights the enduring romance between graphic design and music, which in the second part of the last century peaked with the elevation of albums as art pieces. In Latin America, those were the albums of such greats as Caetano Veloso. But the love affair has not ended — graphic design plays as big a part in the music scene as ever, in posters and t-shirts and video — and the two have combined to create crucial elements of Pop Culture.

The brain child of the graphic design factory Zona de Obras, the exhibit will include three workshops and acoustic performances (presented by the Latin Recording Academy) that tie together music and design. And of course, it will feature some serious sounds in four concerts from Pacha Massive + Elastic Bond; Nicaragua’s Perrazompopo; Spain’s Fangoria (during the next Second Saturday); and culminating with a real Mexican special, the Nortec Collective.

The fun and funk start tomorrow night, May 29, at Awarehouse in Wynwood.

A Fond Adios

The CCE has morphed into an exciting, interactive, and diverse player in the art and musical community over the last decade, thanks in good part to Maria del Valle, who has been at the helm for over six years. From a rather staid and Coral-Gables centric institution, it turned into a broad cultural uniter, bringing in quality exhibits and acts that helped bridge and enrich the worlds of Spain, Miami, and Latin America. She is leaving our shores next month to take over the directorship of another cultural center back in her native Spain, and she will be sorely missed. But at least the CCE will be left with a solid foundation.

“¡Mira, Que Lindas!”, from May 29 – June 19 at the CCEMiami‘s Awarehouse in Wynwood, 550 NW 29th St.; 305-448-9677. Kick off Saturday, May 29, at 8 p.m. with a the opening night concert at 9 p.m.; suggested donation of $10. See ccemiami.org for other concert dates and times.