Friday, October 31, 2008

PRSUN Poll: Readers say they prefer Fortuño

Puerto Rico Sun readers who took part in PRSUN's poll on who they want as the next governor of Puerto Rico say they prefer change over the status quo. Forty-four percent said they want current Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño of the New Progressive Party (pro-statehood) to become the island's next governor.
Meanwhile, the current Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila of the Popular Democratic Party (status quo/pro-commonwealth) came in second with 28 percent of the votes.
Rogelio Figueroa of the Puertorriqueños por Puerto Rico Party received 16 percent and Edwin Irizarry Mora of the Puerto Rican Independence Party received 8 percent of the votes. Four percent chose the "other" option.
A total of 25 readers took part in the PRSUN poll, which closed today.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll and remember to vote in Tuesday's election.

PRSUN Poll: Readers say they prefer Obama

Seventy percent of Puerto Rico Sun readers who took part in the snap poll here at www.prsun.blogspot.com, said they want Democrat Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.
Twenty percent said they want Republican John McCain to be the next president.
Ten percent said they want someone else to be president, choosing the "other" option.
A total of 60 readers voted in the PRSUN poll, which closed today.
Thanks to everyone who voted.
Now, remember to vote in the real election on Tuesday.
Pensamientos

Dia de los muertos
The murals in the Lower
East Side are altars
for the dead -- coconut brujita

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Featured site: www.festivaldelcuatro.org

The Festival Del Cuatro organization is celebrating The 3rd Annual Festival Del Cuatro in California on Saturday, November 15.
A Tribute to Puerto Rican Women
Come to the Third Annual Festival Del Cuatro in California on Saturday, November 15, at Garrison Theater on the beautiful campus of Scripps College in Claremont, California. This year, the festival will honor Puerto Rican women and all women who struggle in supporting a cause. Thus the festival will feature three of the best cuatro players in the world, all who happen to be women: Emma Colón Zayas, Maribel Delgado, and Nelian Colón. They will perform traditional Puerto Rican music on Puerto Rico’s national instrument, the cuatro. Tickets are available.
For more information, visit the site.

Monday, October 27, 2008


Film

Organizer says the Filiberto Ojeda Rios Film Festival 2008 is an initiative of the ProLibertad Freedom Campaign to showcase films that speak to our experience as a colonized people fighting for independence and self-determination.

The film festival is named after assassinated Machetero leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios.

Here's the lineup:
7 p.m., Friday November 7 @ Hunter College, Thomas Hunter Hall, first floor, Room 105, Manhattan
¡Palante Siempre Palante!
From Chicago streets to the barrios of New York City and other urban centers, the Young Lords emerged to demand decent living conditions and raised a militant voice for the empowerment of Puerto Ricans and other Latino/as in the United States and for the independence of Puerto Rico. Through on-camera interviews with former members, archival footage, photographs and music, the documentary surveys Puerto Rican history, the Young Lords' political vision and actions, and the organization's legacy.


7 p.m., Friday November 14 @ John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 889 10th Ave. Room 3305N, Manhattan
The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez Gomez
What happens to the parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of those willing to sacrifice everything for their beliefs? This film uniquely blends forms to tell the singular story of a son of Puerto Rican revolutionaries — his mother in prison, his father in exile — sent as a baby to Mexico to be raised in safety and anonymity. As a teenager Ernesto/Guillermo learns of his past and collaborates with filmmakers Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg to magically chronicle his turbulent journey of self-discovery, offering a striking account of the costs of fiercely held convictions and the binding force of a son's love.

7:30 p.m., Friday November 21 @ The Brecht Forum, 451 West Street, Manhattan
La Operacion/The Operation
This documentary brings to the foreground the problem of widespread sterilization among Puerto Rican women through the use of personal testimony, newsreels, and government propaganda excerpts. The procedure is so common that more than one-third of all Puerto Rican women of childbearing age have been sterilized. Begun in the 1930's as a means of curbing the surplus population, it continues to be reinforced politically and socially in the Puerto Rican communities.

Suggested donation for each showing is $5.

For more information, visit http://www.prolibertadweb.com/id5.html.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Obama on Puerto Rico

Obama Commits to Puerto Rican Voters: Growth of Stateside Puerto Ricans Determining Factor in Presidential Race?

Miami, FL -- In letters to Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, as leading presidential candidates, the nonpartisan National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR), has requested a dialogue on issues for stateside Puerto Ricans and those on the island-nation.
Obama’s recent response was welcomed by the NCPRR, while McCain’s reply is still pending. The answer from Obama to the NCPRR’s letter denotes the importance of the Puerto Rican vote in the upcoming presidential elections.
According to the latest US Census figures, the stateside Puerto Rican population has achieved unprecedented growth. For the first time in history, stateside Puerto Ricans outnumber those in Puerto Rico, by roughly 4.2 million over the 3.7 million population on the island. The unprecedented growth of the Puerto Rican population, especially in the battleground state of Florida, presents unique voter challenges to the presidential candidates, in view of traditional Democratic Party loyalties among Puerto Ricans.
Obama’s letter expresses an “understand(ing) firsthand” of the issues in Puerto Rico from being raised in Hawaii, and praise for the contributions Puerto Ricans have made to the United States. On improving economic opportunities for all Puerto Ricans, the letter identified Obama’s economic stimulus plans and tax initiatives, along with his commitment to “work with Puerto Rico to help the island regain its economic footing…” partly via a joint U.S.-Puerto Rico economic task force focused on job creation. The response recommends immediate steps for Puerto Rico, including phasing out the cap on Medicaid funding, phasing in participation in other federal health care assistance programs and providing refundable tax credits to working families.
Finally, the letter provides Senator Obama’s sense that the Puerto Rico status question is “a matter of self-determination for the people of Puerto Rico,” and that he will seek to work with all sides of the debate “to resolve the matter for once and for all in a manner that respects the principle of self-determination.”
“It is critical that the needs of stateside Puerto Ricans and the island’s 3.7 million people be addressed by the person who will occupy the White House,” said Victor Vazquez, president of the NCPRR. “Our letters inviting the presidential candidates to dialogue with the Puerto Rican community comes at a time of significant social and economic challenge. Our families are struggling to make ends meet and our youth dragged into a now unpopular war. Puerto Ricans are part of the US fiber, which cannot continue to be ignored, and which our organization intends to reinforce and leverage to build respect and justice for our people.”
The National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights will continue pursing specific answers from the presidential candidates on their plans to tackle challenges for all Puerto Ricans, and hold the next administration accountable for change, including on the promises of environmental clean up and economic development made to the people of Vieques after the withdrawal of the U.S. Navy. The NCPRR is a civil rights group that addresses racial equality, environmental justice and economic parity.
For more information on NCPRR, go to www.ncprr.us.

source: NCPRR press release

Friday, October 24, 2008

Community calendar

"Brown Hips, Red Lips & Hot Skins," a poetry performance of New Work by Maria Aponte - musical accompaniment by Chacho Ramirez and Dwight Brewster.
7-9 p.m. TONIGHT
Admission $7
Cemi Underground Book Store, 1799 Lexington Avenue (near 112th Street), NYC's El Barrio
For more information, www.cemiunderground.com.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Our Economy

Puerto Rico bank to cut US branches, jobs

Popular Inc, the parent of Banco Popular, said on Wednesday it plans to eliminate more than one-fourth of its 139 US branches and cut its US workforce by 600 to cope with the nation's economic downturn.

Puerto Rico's largest bank also posted a third-quarter loss of $668.5 million, or $2.42 per share.
For the complete Reuters report, go to
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-11647--21-21--.html

'Latino Settlement in the New Century'

Hispanics Account for Half of U.S. Population Growth Since 2000, New Report Finds

WASHINGTON - Hispanics accounted for just over half of the overall population growth in the United States since 2000 - a significant new demographic milestone for the nation's largest minority group, a new Pew Hispanic Center report released today finds.

The report, "Latino Settlement in the New Century," includes a series of web-based interactive maps that illustrate the size and spread of Hispanic population growth since 1980, including easy access to detailed state and county-level data. It also presents a list of the counties with the largest Hispanic populations, as well as a list of those counties with the fastest-growing Hispanic populations.

In the 1990s the Hispanic population also expanded rapidly, but its growth accounted for less than 40% of the nation's total population increase in that decade. From 2000 to 2007, Latinos accounted for 50.5% of the total U.S. population growth, even though, as of mid-2007, they made up just 15.1% of the total population.

In another change from the 1990s, Latino population growth in this new century has been more a product of the natural increase (births minus deaths) of the existing population than it has been of new international migration, according to Pew Hispanic Center analysis.

The report identifies 676 fast-growing Hispanic counties among the nation's total of 3,141 counties. These counties all share two characteristics: a 2007 Latino population of at least 1,000; and an above-average Hispanic growth of at least 41% from 2000 to 2007. The list includes 148 counties that did not experience rapid growth in the 1990s.

There are both continuities and differences in the Hispanic settlement patterns of this decade, compared with the patterns of the 1990s. The dispersion of Latinos in the current decade has tilted more to counties in the West and the Northeast than it had in the 1990s. Despite the new tilt, however, the South still accounted for a greater share of overall Latino population growth than any other region did from 2000 to 2007.

Much of the Latino population growth in this decade has taken place in small and mid-sized cities and in suburbs - many of which had relatively few Latino residents until the past decade or two. A handful of big cities have also played a sizable role in Latino population growth in this decade. For example, the Latino population grew by more than 400,000 from 2000 to 2007 in just three counties: Los Angeles, Maricopa (Phoenix) and Harris (Houston). But because these counties already had a large base of Hispanic residents at the start of the decade, the growth of their Latino population since then has been less dramatic in percentage terms.

Percentage growth in the Hispanic population from 2000 to 2007 exceeded 300% in three counties - Frederick and Culpeper counties in Virginia and Paulding County in Georgia. These two states are home to eight of the 10 counties with the greatest percentage growth in the Hispanic population since 2000. The other two counties are Kendall County in Illinois and Luzerne County in Pennsylvania.

Other major findings include:
Hispanic population growth since 2000 has been widespread. The Hispanic population has grown in almost 3,000 of the nation's 3,141 counties.
At the same time, Hispanic population growth in the new century has been fairly concentrated. Hispanic population growth in just 178 counties accounts for 79% of the nation's entire 10.2 million Hispanic population increase.
In spite of dispersal to new settlements, the Hispanic population continues to be geographically concentrated. In 2007, the 100 largest Hispanic counties were home to 73% of the Latino population.
By this measure, Hispanics are more geographically concentrated than the nation's black population. Nearly six-in-ten (59%) of the non-Hispanic black population live in the nation's 100 largest non-Hispanic black counties.

The report "Latino Settlement in the New Century," is available on the center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

source: Pew Hispanic Center press release

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

On the Reading Corner



Book Presentation & Signing:
The Birth of A Rican
by Manuel Hernandez Carmona
6:30 p.m. tomorrow
Free
Cemi Underground, NYC's El Barrio
For more information, www.cemiunderground.com

NEW: PRSUN'S aStore highlights boricuas

PRSUN's aStore @ Amazon showcases Puerto Rican talent in music, books, film and more.

This store will focus primarily on Puerto Rican artists and writers.

Here's the link:
http://astore.amazon.com/puericsun-20

This is another way of supporting the Puerto Rico Sun community media project.

Thanks.

A magic corner


A magic corner
Originally uploaded by Mauricio Ximènez.
Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Mauricio Ximenez.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Puerto Rican food and rum tasting tour in Old San Juan

Tourism

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - For the first time in the tourism industry of Puerto Rico , it is now possible to experience Puerto Rican food and rum tasting during a narrative and entertaining tour.

Legends of Puerto Rico, Inc.’s, a San Juan based supplier of guided tours, latest offerings is
SAN JUAN NIGHTS - http://www.legendsofpr.com/San_Juan_Night.htm

Puerto Rico is the Rum Capital of the World. In addition to casual conversation among the tour participants, your tour guide will provide narration about Puerto Rico 's historical and cultural background. As the evening progresses, your guide will lead you through a rum-tasting, and explain how to taste and differentiate between 12 types of rum produced on the island. The food is served "family” style with rum cocktails. Enjoy your evening under the Caribbean stars at colonial patios inside the restaurants visited by the locals. A free shot of Puerto Rico ’s national drink and souvenir included.

Reservations are accepted by phone and through the www.legendsofpr.com web site. Customers may also contact Legends of Puerto Rico, Inc. by telephone at +787-605-9060 or by e-mail at info@legendsofpr.com.

source: Legends of PR release
On the Reading Corner

IN OUR LINGO: Luce López-Baralt and Antonio Martorell on Angel Collado Schwarz
6:30 -8:30 p.m. tonight
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue & 104th Street, Manhattan

Celebrating the publication of the third volume of Voces de la Cultura by Angel Collado Schwarz (Fundacion La Voz del Centro, 2007), the distinguished Puerto Rican author will speak with Luce López-Baralt, Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature, Universidad de Puerto Rico and artist Antonio Martorell. The conversation will highlight historical events presented in the book.

Free. For advance registration e-mail public_programs@elmuseo.org. The discussion will be held in El Museo's Teatro Heckscher.



Images from top to bottom:
Book Cover: Voces de la Cultura by author Angel Collado Schwarz

Monday, October 20, 2008

Puerto Rico to launch new English-language daily

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Former employees of the now defunct The San Juan Star have formed a cooperative to publish a new English-language daily.
Director Rafael Matos says the Puerto Rico Daily Sun will be available starting Wednesday by subscription and at newsstands across the island.
For more, go to
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27270164/

Editor's Note: I notice they are planning to use a name very similar to our Puerto Rico Sun. I'm not crazy about that. We had our name first. Our Puerto Rico Sun has been in existence since 2002. It is nice to learn that there is a movement to have a general English newspaper on the island again even though I wonder how successful it will be in today's market. Generally, newspapers are going downhill. Let's see y suerte.
Community calendar

Foundations of Puerto Rican New York: Conversations with

Louis Nunez, past president, the National Puerto Rican Coalition

Yolanda Sanchez, former director, PRACA

Sonia Palacio-Grottola, past president, National Association of Hispanic and Puerto Rican Social Workers

5-7 p.m., Thursday, November 6
Centro Library and Archives Legacy Series

Centro Library and Archives
3rd Floor East, Wexler Library
Hunter College, CUNY
695 Park Avenue, Manhattan

For more information, (212) 772-4197

source: Centro

Sunday, October 19, 2008


IMG_2378
Originally uploaded by clarisel
Opportunity

Danza Fiesta holds auditions for new dancers

4-7 p.m., Saturday, November 8
Reyes Karate School
1175 Gerard Avenue, Bronx

Danza Fiesta
Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño
Under the direction of renowned dancer/choreographer Gilda Rivera Pantojas, Danza Fiesta – Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño has entranced audiences with its rich array of Puerto Rican traditional dances, and intriguing contemporary dances. Its repertoire ranges from Puerto Rican Bomba, Plena, and Seis music, to other Latin American traditional dances. The company currently is composed by 20 dancers who are accompanied by a 10 member band, and three singers.

MALE/FEMALE AUDITION INFORMATION:
Auditions will be held by Danza Fiesta’s seasoned dancer/choreographer Cristal Reyes with over 10 years experience with the company. All dancers should wear comfortable clothing, and if available females should bring a wide skirt. Headshots and Resumes not necessary but bring if available. No experience is necessary but all dancers should have a great sense of musicality and timing. Callbacks will be held the following week on Saturday, November 15th, 2008. There is currently no pay for rehearsals but there may be performance stipends available, depending on the venue. This is a great opportunity to be part of an innovative and unique dance and theater company.

http://www.DanzaFiesta.org

For more information, e-mail info@DanzaFiesta.org

(photo of Danza Fiesta performing at La Fiesta Folkorica Puertorriqueña in Central Park by Clarisel Gonzalez)


source: Danza Fiesta

De Cayey a Ponce....


De Cayey a Ponce....
Originally uploaded by verodomica.
Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by verodomica.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

'Voiceover'

Community calendar

A public intervention by Nayda Collazo-Llorens
October 25 – November 16
Viewable from dusk until midnight, Thursdays through Sundays
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 25, 6- 8 p.m.
Artist's talk: Saturday, November 8, 4:30 p.m.
Tribute to Edgardo Vega Yunque: Saturday, November 15, 3 - 7 p.m.

MediaNoche, Manhattan's Uptown gallery devoted to new media, presents Voiceover, a site specific public intervention by Nayda Collazo-Llorens. A constant flow of text moving across the storefront windows of MediaNoche engages the public to explore aspects of memory, language and displacement. Viewable at night from the street, nearby buildings and passing trains on the overpass, Voiceover is a non-linear textual piece projected onto the windows of the gallery, located at the Northeast corner of Park Avenue and 102nd Street, NYC's East Harlem.

A lyrical, textual composition, Voiceover is based on Collazo-Llorens' research of the archives and oral histories section of PRdream.com, a web site on the history, culture and politics of Puerto Rico and its diaspora. Fragments from these oral histories are combined with texts from public spaces, literature, the media, as well as the artist's own writings.

The projected words become transmitted signals, simultaneously truncated and expanded, pointing to multiple narrators while triggering viewers to connect to their own experience. The ephemeral quality of the projected light and the fleeting texts suggests the fragility and transient nature of memory and story telling.

Nayda Collazo-Llorens was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is a visual artist based in New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More information on the artist's work can be found at www.naydacollazollorens.com. Nayda Collazo-Llorens appears courtesy of LMAKprojects, New York.

*Please note that there will be a tribute to Edgardo Vega Yunqué who recently passed away in his home in Brooklyn, New York. The homage will take the form of a continuous, non-stop reading of The Lamentable Journey of Omaha Bigelow into the Impenetrable Loisaida Jungle, one of the most recent of the accomplished author's 18 novels.

source: MediaNoche press release

Editor's Note: You can order The Lamentable Journey right here:

Friday, October 17, 2008

On the Reading Corner


Comedian Bill Santiago
presents his hilarious new book Pardon My Spanglish ¡Porque Because!

Event will be taped for American Latino TV.

7 p.m., Wednesday, October 22
EAST HARLEM CAFÉ
153 E. 104th St. (Lexington Ave.), NYC's El Barrio

La Casa Azul Bookstore will have copies of Pardon my Spanglish available for sale, with a book signing to follow the event. RSVP recommended lacasaazulbookstore@gmail.com

Editor's Note: Or, you can order it right here:


Community calendar

The Venusz Ensemble brings Danza to the Bronx

Friday, November 7
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture

Música de Cámara, Inc., Eva de la O, executive and artistic director & Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture present, direct from Puerto Rico,The Venusz Ensemble in a gala concert featuring a full program of La Danza Puertorriqueña. Under the direction of violinist Elena Sherbanesco, The Venusz Ensemble is made up of world class and internationally acclaimed women musicians, all members of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra.

The concert will be preceded at 7 p.m. by a paseo by dancers in 19th century period dress.

7:30 p.m., Hostos, 450 Grand Concourse
Repertory Theater

Admission: $15 ($7 for students, seniors and groups of ten or more)

For more information, www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Featured blog

http://puertoricowild.com/blog/

Photographer George Collazo of photosofpuertorico.com now has a new interactive photography blog aimed at showcasing photos of Puerto Rico.

Go visit.

Puerto Rican Woodpecker


Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by ronaldflores.
Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Ronald Flores.

Monday, October 13, 2008

'Aires de Loiza' in the Bronx


IMG_0931
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Thru Nov 8 / Art Exhibition / Longwood art Gallery @ Hostos Community College, Bronx
Aires de Loiza, Culture & Nature
For more information on the exhibit, www.bronxarts.org
For more photos taken at the exhibit, go to
www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Readers Wanted for YUNQUÉ Tribute

On the Reading Corner

“THE LAMENTABLE JOURNEY OF OMAHA BIGELOW INTO THE IMPENETRABLE LOISAIDA JUNGLE”
BY ED VEGA YUNQUÉ

A TRIBUTE TO THE AUTHOR NON-STOP READING OF THE NOVEL

3-7 p.m., Saturday, November 15
Free

MediaNoche
1355 Park Avenue, Corner Store
(at East 102nd Street), East Harlem
www.medianoche.us
(212) 828-0401

Bring your copy. If you are interested in reading, contact Judith Escalona at
info@prdream.com or call.

MediaNoche is a project of PRdream.com.

You can order a copy right here:

Friday, October 10, 2008

Community calendar

Closing reception for Miguel Trelles' painting exhibition TRAMITE: Hsiao
@ the Gabarron Foundation for the Arts (gabarronfoundation.org), 149 East 38th Street (between Lexington & 3rd Ave.), Manhattan
7-9 p.m. Wednesday, October 15

About the exhibit:
The Gabarron Foundation is pleased to present “TRAMITE: HSIAO” by Miguel Trelles. The exhibition, which has been on display since September, will run through October 20 at 149 East 38th Street, Manhattan. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment Monday - Friday at (212) 573-6968.

Trámite Hsiao is a creative reinterpretation of Chinese scholar-official painter’s Li Kung-Lin’s (1041-1106) enlightening painting hand scroll: the “Hsiao-Ching” (Xiaojing tu) or The Classic of Filial Piety. In it Li adapted to his age the admonitions extolling filial piety found in a Confucian text (350 – 200 B.C.). Li’s adaptation highlights social interactions in11th Century China. The 18 compositions of TRAMITE: HSIAO, portray demon-like creatures from a later Chinese hand scroll by Kung K’ai (1222 –ca. 1304), “Chung K’uei Traveling”, assuming the social roles originally rendered by Li. While retaining the compositions of Li’s Xiaojing tu, TRAMITE constitutes a reinterpretation. The later “demons” scroll constitutes an ethnic caricature of the “other” in 13th Century China. Since in 21st Century Latinos/Hispanic in the United States are a significant “other”, Trelles has appropriated Chung K’uei’s demon countenances to convey Latinos/Hispanic “otherness” in their new setting.

Miguel Trelles is an artist who works out of New York City. After obtaining a B.A. in Art History and Studio Art at Brown University, Miguel Trelles attended graduate courses in Chinese Art History at Yale University. He then took up lithography at the Ecole Superieur des Beaux Arts in Paris, France. Trelles holds an M.F.A. (1995) from Hunter College. Trelles’ paintings have traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Santo Domingo, Havana, Tegucigalpa, Buenos Aires, and Paris, among others. Trelles’ work is part of several permanent collections such as those in El Museo del Barrio and Deutsche Bank in New York and in El Museo de Arte de Ponce and the Institue of Puerto Rican Culture in Puerto Rico. His current work, chino-latino, recontextualizes classic Chinese painting in order to highlight its timeless relevance. With Hsiao, chino-latino delves into figurative, non-landscape Chinese painting models. He is also an adjunct professor of Studio Art at Hunter College in New York, and he also teaches at Baruch College.

The Gabarron Foundation Carriage House Center for the Arts has been serving the Spanish and American communities since 2002 promoting the Spanish and Latin American Arts and Culture in the States through exhibitions, seminars, and lectures.

source: Gabarron
In the Mailbox

Recently highlighted in the New York Times, Dionis Ortiz is an artist whose work speaks to the people, cultures and color behind the migration experience. Through paintings, collage, and mixed-media prints, Ortiz delves into passage, movement, journey and exodus, and reveals the beauty in the bustling streets of his Harlem community.

The son of Dominican immigrants, Ortiz's works often reflect the unification of his dual identity as an American and an individual of Latin descent. This idea of double consciousness is symbolized in the conjoining of the old and new worlds, usually seen in a merging of landscapes that disappear and reappear to form one "home".

Currently, Ortiz's artwork can be seen in the artHARLEM exhibit EVOLUTION: The Changing Face of Harlem, through November 6th; in the Oualie Arts exhibit Confluence: Artists Across the Hudson Divide through November 1st; and at the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration exhibit at Riverbank State Park, on view through October 13th.

For more information, please visit www.dionisortiz.com.

Regards,



Camille Wanliss
Inspiration Fine Art
Community calendar

The National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights' national board meeting is this Saturday, October 11, from 2-4:30 p.m. at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx. The meeting is open to the public.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Tego Calderon to Perform at BomPlenazo

Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture presents special guest star

TEGO Calderon “El Abayarde”
in concert with

Los Parranderos de Loíza

and

La Sista

Yerbabuena

7 p.m., Friday, October 10

Main Theater

Hostos Community College/CUNY
450 Grand Concourse at 149 St.

Tickets and Info: 718-518-4455

Tickets also available online at:
www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts

source: Hostos

UPDATE FROM HOSTOS: Due to scheduling conflicts, Tego Calderon will not be appearing @ the BomPlenazo. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

BomPlenazo in the Bronx


IMG_0888
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
BomPlenazo is a celebration of Afro-Puerto Rican culture at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. This year's BomPlenazo runs until October 12, and it is dedicated to the Puerto Rican town of Loiza.

Support lo nuestro.

For the lineup of events, go to
http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts/

(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

For more photos, go to my photo site at www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel
.

Tito Kayak @ Hostos


IMG_0874
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Environmental activist Alberto de Jesus aka Tito Kayak from Puerto Rico speaks at a seminar at Hostos Community College. Here he shows off a shirt of his Amigos del Mar group. Tuesday's one-day seminar was on the effects of development and globalization on traditional cultures focusing on the recent history of Loíza, the coastal community of Piñones, and the island of Vieques. Tito Kayak is known for his acts of civil disobedience.

Tito Kayak told the packed classroom that being a revolutionary is about standing up against injustice no matter where you are. (photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

To see more photos from the seminar, go to www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Despierta Boricua Collects Coats for Kids

In the Mailbox

As the temperatures begin to drop, countless children find themselves shivering because they do not have access to sufficient clothing for the seasons. Coats, sweaters, and other items that many of us take for granted as we organize our wardrobe, are magical items that exist in the dreams of these children. Perhaps we can come together and make these dreams a reality as no one should be forced to imagine a world where their basic needs are met…they should simply exist in it.

For the next two months, Despierta Boricua, Inc. will be collecting coats and other items of winter clothing for children between the ages of 0-4. The clothing may be mailed or personally brought to the following address:

400 Grant Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11208

The point of contact for this project is Maria Torres who can be reached at maria@despiertaboricua.com. Please be sure to contact her prior to the deliverance of any clothing so that nothing is lost.

--
Mission
F.U.E.G.O.
FORMING UNITY through EDUCATION, GENERATIONS, and ORGANIZATIONS
Fuego2007@gmail.com
(718) 531-9561
Community calendar

Danza Fiesta at El Museo de Barrio, NYC
3-5 p.m. Sunday, October 12
Acclaimed Puerto Rican folkloric group Danza Fiesta blends African, European, and indigenous roots. Dances include a celebration of old-time street vendors’ calls, and a tribute to the colorful vejigante masks and giant cabezudo puppets traditional to Puerto Rican carnivals.
Admission: Free. The performance will be held in El Museo's Teatro Heckscher.
This is part of the Hispanic Heritage month series.
For more information, www.elmuseo.org.

Monday, October 06, 2008

PRLDEF is now LatinoJustice PRLDEF

Community

The Board of Directors of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund announced today that after 37 years it will change its name to LatinoJustice PRLDEF. The new brand reflects the evolving nature of the Latino community in the United States, the makeup of the organization’s clients, and the cases it undertakes.
“This is a result of a natural progression of our growth and our success over these past 37 years,” said David Arroyo, LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s Chairman of the Board. “We have been protecting the civil rights of all Latinos for many years and our new name is a more accurate reflection of the national scope and pan-Latino nature of the work we do. Our name may change, but our commitment to the Latino community -- including the Puerto Rican community -- remains just as strong as ever."
To read more, go to www.latinojustice.org.

Cascadas de El Yunque


Cascadas de El Yunque
Originally uploaded by Hector Melendez.
Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Hector Melendez.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

BoricuaMelody


BoricuaMelody
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Remembering my Melody today.

Check out my site at flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel) for my animal portraits because as Ghandi said, "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

REMINDER: PRSUN has adopted animal rights as a cause and is currently raising money for the ASPCA through change.org. Go to http://www.change.org/profiles/prsun for more information. Help PRSUN do good.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

'La Gran Familia'

Photography exhibit by Eliud Martinez
Part of the 4th annual Harlem Open Studio Tour
Noon to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow
MediaNoche gallery in NYC's El Barrio
1355 Park Ave., corner of 102nd St.
Free

Here's an invite from Martinez:

You are ALL invited...please come one and all!

"Many of these are the faces of my own family. Also represented here are friends, acquaintances and people I have encountered in my travels. What they share in common is a Creole cultural identity born out of slavery and colonialism that both synthesize and transcend race."

The primary artist on exhibit...Diogenes Ballester’s “Slave Registry” exhibit at the MediaNoche gallery will be able to see a projection of the Slave Registry of the Village of Ponce, a 19th Century text cataloguing African men, women and children as property to be sold on the auction block. The registry lists some of the ancestors of Puerto Ricans (white and black) by name and provides an eerie entrance into a world that legitimized the sale of human beings.
.................................................
As a counterpoint to the Slave Registry, Ballester created a “Free Registry”, allowing gallery visitors to share and participate in the historical process. According to Diogenes, “We experience the slave trade as a specific, local event in our country's history, but it is and has always been a global phenomenon, affecting many people in different parts of the world.”

Visitors to MediaNoche gallery can browse through the pages of the Slave Registry and comment in the Free Registry, both online at www.diogenes-ballester.com and www.diogenes-ballester.com/medianoche/re gistry.php




Editor's Note: Eliud Martinez aka as DeLares is a member of the Puerto Rico Sun photo group. You can check out his Familia photo set at flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/artedelares/sets/72157607516633827/

Friday, October 03, 2008

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Community calendar

Juan Antonio Corretjer Montes Centennial

For Puerto Rican Heritage Month, the Puerto Rican Institute for the Development of Education, Queens Puerto Rican Heritage Committee, the Institute for Puerto Rican Hispanic Elderly and NYC Councilmember Hiram Monserrate invite you to

Juan Antonio Corretjer’s Centennial Concert, honoring his poetry and his struggle for Puerto Rican independence


6-10 p.m., November 1

La Guardia Performing Arts Theater
31-10 Thomson Avenue, Queens

Featured Artists

Maria Isabel Rodriguez (Chabela) Trova Singer

Rafael Martinez (piano) and

Juan Carlos Montalvo (guitar)

Invited : Grupo Asi Somos – grupo musical de vanguardia

Free but tickets are required. For more information:

Dr. Aurea E. Rodriguez, (718) 309-4841, AEPRIDE@aol.com

Alice Cardona, (718) 779-2504, ACPRW30@aol.com
Community calendar

The Department of Romance Languages at Hunter College in NYC
invites you to a conversation with
Alberto De Jesús Mercado aka Tito Kayak

Topic: How we can reduce our impact on the Earth and act responsibly in this era of climate change

11 a.m., Saturday, October 11
Chanin Language Center, B126 entrance
(Hunter West, subway level), Manhattan
Free

While in New York City, environmental activist Tito Kayak of Puerto Rico will also visit students in Washington Heights and serve as part of a seminar at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.