A Long Beach legend for his immense collection of Latin American art, Dr. Gumbiner had retired twice - once from a busy medical practice and the second time as the Chairman of FHP International, an early health maintenance organization (HMO). A life of leisure did not appeal to him, and there was the matter of all that art, so in 1996, Dr. Gumbiner opened MoLAA, the Museum of Latin American Art, on Alamitos Avenue in Long Beach.

Gregorio Luke was the Director of MoLAA from 1999 to 2007, and he recalls a trip with Dr. Gumbiner to meet with artists.

"I remember once where I went to Guatemala with him. Word got out that he was in town, and one day we had no idea where he was - we were worried. It turns out he was out touring around with some artists who had picked him up. The next morning the lobby of our hotel was covered in all of this art that people wanted to show him."

The 20,000 square-foot Art Deco building had formerly housed a silent film studio, a rollerskating rink called the Hippodrome, and then a senior's center, before MoLAA moved in. When it first opened, the collection was nowhere near its current state.

Mike Deovlet, Co-Chairman of MoLAA, explains. "When we started in '96, it was a very small space that was just a part of the building. I could walk the perimeter of it in one minute. Dr. Gumbiner had so many strengths but one of the greatest was his vision and tenacity. It is what set him apart."

It is also what fueled the building of this jewel of Long Beach. The museum's aim from the very beginning is still the same mission it operates under to this day: to educate the public about contemporary (post-1945) Latin American art.

Gregorio Luke says that the unwavering commitment of Dr. Gumbiner to this mission is one of the aspects that impressed him the most.

"I have always admired his kind of strategic vision. A lot of museums fail because they try to do everything. What happens is they get this and they get the other, and then they end up with silver from the 18th Century and Navajo art. Sometimes I would have these things that I thought were opportunities, like a great Evita Perón photograph, but he would say, 'No no, that is not our mission.' This kind of focus of who we are and what we want to do, and the concentrating on that and not deviating, is one of the main lessons I learned from Dr. Gumbiner."

Exhibitions of art of all mediums are presented, and MoLAA also uses interactive events to reach out to a broader audience. Programs like February's Afro-Latino Festival, Buen Provecho Adult Cooking Class, a Latino Film Festival, and this Valentine's Day Dinner with Gregorio Luke himself, add value to the museum and its visitors.

Dr. Gumbiner was quoted in the past as saying that no other museum in the country except MoLAA has exclusively Latin American fine art. Gregorio Luke adds to this that MoLAA's focus on the contemporary aspect of this niche is important to note as well.

"It has been said that museums are full of opportunities for the famous and the dead. This collection shows you a lot of artists that are still alive. That has given the museum the excitement of looking at an artist that is in his full power, and in that way MoLAA has done a great service to Latin America."

Mike Deovlet admires the passion and drive the creator of the museum showed until his last days. "At 86 years of age, Dr. Gumbiner spent his days working," he says. "He would come down to the museum, attend construction meetings. He was still very active and engaged in everything that went on. He was proud of what he had accomplished, but he was always looking forward. His passion for the new and the relevant drives the institution."

Will MoLAA continue on, now that its founder will not be here to oversee changes and additions? Dr. Gumbiner wanted it to be so. Plans include a new storage and conservation center going up next door to the museum. Equipped with state-of-the-art climate control systems, it will alleviate the problem of a lack of storage space in the museum, and allow MoLAA to expand their gallery and art collection.

Plans are also in the works to update the restaurant to integrate the museum's architecture, and for a retail art gallery adjacent to the space, in order to create additional interest and foot traffic.

And Mike hints to stay tuned for something really big this summer. "We are in the final stages on planning for a big concert series in June and July, with some pretty high profile artists - if we put it together it will be really exciting," he says.