Alejandra Lopez Nestor and Rosendo Talancon-Botello are the creators of Raíces Clatsop, a book focused on the coastal Latinx community.

In May, Alejandra Lopez Nestor and Rosendo Talancon-Botello began collecting experiences of the Oregon Coast Latino community.

Since then, they have been compiling those stories into Raíces Clatsop, a book of poetry, artwork and interviews in Spanish and English.

Now, the two college students are presenting those experiences through a bilingual exhibit, opening Friday in Astoria at the Anita Building on Commercial Street.

The Raíces Clatsop gallery opens from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and will be on display between noon and 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Through the project, Lopez Nestor and Talancon-Botello hope to document and preserve stories that often go untold or are lost over time.

“It’s really important for kids to have that representation. Seeing someone who looks like themselves — but especially seeing someone who doesn’t really conform to the American ideals here on the coast because it is very, very traditional,” Lopez Nestor told The Astorian in July.

Both students are recent Warrenton High School graduates and work as summer program lead teachers at Consejo Hispano, a nonprofit advocacy group for the Latino community.

They chose the project’s title to symbolize the cultural roots still present in people’s lives when they reside in a new country.

Raíces Clatsop is available for pre-order online at www.alejandralopeznestor.com/raicesclatsop and during the exhibit.