Showing posts with label eastharlem. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eastharlem. Show all posts

Friday, June 17, 2022

The 116th Festival Brings Joy to El Barrio

It’s been two years of no dancing and no cheering on the streets of El Barrio. But all the dancing and cheering came back last weekend at the 116th Street Festival. True the pandemic has played a major role in the joy of the city, especially among the Latin American community.  But the music, food, and dancing brought the crowds back to El Barrio on Saturday, June 11. The festival achieved its goal of bringing everyone together for the day from community residents to artists to business leaders. As this reporter took pictures, you could feel the happiness. Even though the fear of #covid19 still lingers, there was joy in El Barrio.  






(photos and text by Ismael Nunez for PRSUN)


To view more of Ismael's photos, visit him on Flickr


Monday, January 06, 2020

Three Kings Day Parade in El Barrio

El Museo del Barrio's 43rd Annual Three Kings Day Parade and Celebration titled "Nuestros Barrios Unidos: Celebrating our Collective Strength" was on January 6 in East Harlem. The parade theme honored the city's immigrant and migrant communities of past and present.

Here are some parade photos by Ismael Nunez:





Friday, May 25, 2018

Join us at the 1st Annual Women Entrepreneurs: Doing It Ourselves Conference in Manhattan




Update: June 16, 2018

La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, Inc. (La Casa) and Puerto Rico Sun (PRSUN) Communications hosted the First Annual Women Entrepreneurs: Doing It Ourselves Conference, in recognition of Latina and other women leaders who are creating their own paths in the world of business, and making their entrepreneurial dreams real. The conference, which was a success, was held on Saturday, June 16, at El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109 (Gallery) in Manhattan.
Dr. Nilda Pérez, a futurist and foresight business strategist, was keynote speaker. Dr. Pérez is the CEO of Foresight Strategies Group and Academy. Dr. Pérez spoke on the theme of “Women in Business Marching into a Sustainable Future.” 
Panel speakers were Robin Daniels, lending specialist of the Small Business Administration New York District, Sandra Morales DeLeon, Deputy Director for Union Settlement’s Business Development Center, Dr. Georgina Falu, President and CEO of the Falu Foundation, Maribel González, longtime proprietor of the South of France Restaurant in the Bronx, Precious L. Williams, killer pitchmaster at Perfect Pitches by Precious, LLC, and Yvette Martínez, CEO and President at One World Arts and Artistic Director for Retumba, an all-female music ensemble.
Marlene Peralta, senior strategist at Progressive Cities, moderated the panels of discussion. Other Conference highlights included a women entrepreneur’s marketplace, a powerful dramatic dance by artist Xiomara Evans, and Retumba’s universal rhythms and resounding music.


PRSUN's Clarisel Gonzalez welcomes attendees to the First Annual Women Entrepreneurs: Doing It Ourselves Conference. (Photo by Elena Mamarazzi Marrero)



Saturday, March 04, 2017

Support FIVE SESSIONS The Play



Support Five Sessions the play. I am glad to be part of this play by Jaime Estades. Play opens this Friday, March 10, at the Julia de Burgos Theater in NYC's El Barrio and runs until March 26. Support independent theater.

FIVE SESSIONS: A War in Therapy tackles issues of race, political correctness, class and passion

"Five Sessions" follows a 24-year-old recent Ivy League graduate and therapist, and her first client, a blue-collar political activist. Dealing with tensions of race, political correctness, socioeconomic differences, and passion, the two characters explore each other's personal challenges. Her supervisor's demands and Wall Street boyfriend contribute to their struggles.

WHO: "Five Sessions" by playwright Jaime Estades, a lawyer, social worker, social policy professor at Rutgers University, and cofounder and president of the Latino Leadership Institute, Inc. Edward Torres, theater professor at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, is the director.

WHAT: "Five Sessions" will showcase uptown in East Harlem, which is home to three beautiful theaters that are underutilized despite their great potential. "Five Sessions" will play at The Julia de Burgos Performance & Arts Center, an artistic, cultural, educational and civic space. A goal with this original play, as well as future theatrical projects, is to tell diverse stories by local writers and artists and to share the innovative and exciting work being produced uptown. "Five Sessions" writer, Jaime Estades, is a longtime East Harlem resident and community leader.

WHEN: March 10 to March 26.



WHERE: Julia de Burgos Performance and Arts Center, 1680 Lexington Avenue. Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/five-sessions-tickets-31832980301 and at the Julia de Burgos ticket window. Net profits will benefit the nonprofit Latino Leadership Institute, which cultivates leaders in politics, policy and community organizing.

#fivesessions

Update: Five Sessions had successful run in El Barrio with standing ovations and sold out shows. Thank you. Here are some scenes from the closing show with cast and crew members.





Friday, April 27, 2012

'Rebirth of a Queen'


"Congratulations on being an honoree! We look forward to celebrating your fierceness and powerful way of being in the world; reading the kind and wonderful words that your nominator sent us has filled us with hope that our community will continue to persevere because of womyn like you!" -- Carmen Mojica, program director, Casa Atabex Ache - The House of Womyn's Power, the Bronx




Tomorrow I will proudly be among the honorees at this event that celebrates women who are empowering communities and overcoming obstacles in their personal and professional life. It is appropriately titled the "Rebirth of a Queen."

The event is Casa Atabex Ache's 7th Annual Womyn Warriors Awards Ceremony & Celebration, and it will be from 6 to 10 p.m. tomorrow at Casabe Houses, 150 East 121 Street, East Harlem. 

If you want to attend, contact Monique De La Oz at mdelaoz@gmail.com for tickets, which are $25 in advance, $35 at the door.

UPDATE: Here is a link to the photos from this event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel/sets/72157629967142805/



Friday, July 25, 2008

Artist Spotlight: Fascious


Fascious Brings Hip Hop Theater to El Barrio

Anthony Martinez from the Bronx is a self-described “Hip-Hop Head” who is better known by his pseudonym Fascious. His mission is to promote Hip Hop Theater, telling and dramatizing what he calls the untold stories of the Hip Hop Generation.
Tonight you can catch Fascious in action when he performs his one-man Hip Hop Theater show “Penumbra” at Cemi Underground in NYC’s El Barrio.
Just like a poet, Fascious breaks down what every letter in his name represents.
“Each letter symbolizes several words beginning with that same letter, which collectively defines the essence of its meaning,” he says.

F is for the final fatal fights for freedom facing fickle fears frozen from finicky feelings forcefully fenced.
A is for the anticipation of Armageddon, awaiting are agents, apostles and after-life arrangements. Allocating Anthony Alphabetic acrobatics ascending authenticity…admire an angel’s anatomy
S is for the Schizophrenic suicidal side separated since Satan’s spectrum subsided significantly surpassing superstitions. Still some see sugar satisfying sacrificing self-sufficiency.
C is for the cascading colors confirming creativity concerning certain circumstances.
I is for the Ill ideas ignited instantly implying inconspicuous idioms I imprint inside my eyelids.
O is for the obvious, often-oblivious…opinions opposing our oval office oozing oil, omen orbits.
U is for the urgency underlying umbrellas uncovering underestimated ulcerations.
And the other S…that’s for serenity. Strings suppressing such severe solemn solutions.


While Fascious is rooted in the word “Fascist” which is known to have a negative connotation, he says, his name has a positive spin.
“As an adjective, the word Fascious contains flexibility with respect to meaning and allows more admittance to truth,” he says. “Fascious embodies the elements of one’s personality that permits militancy in advocating action over word as words are a means of action. In order for Fascious to gain power, he has to lead a movement and this movement begins…with music, poetry…the arts.”
Fascious is currently working with the Hip Hop Theater Festival, which aims to invigorate theater and Hip Hop by nurturing the creation of innovative work.
Hip Hop Theater, he says, serves as a way of bringing theater to young people from low-income and working class families who otherwise may not appreciate or patronize theater.
“How do you explain to a 14 year old kid whose father is in jail, whose mom is a drug addict, and who academically is on a 5th grade reading level that watching Hamlet is going to affect his life in a positive way? Hip Hop Theater seeks to address these and other such issues in a way that is tangible, multi-disciplinary, and overall engaging. It also seeks to preserve the art of live performance while promoting new work within the genres of Hip Hop and Theater through celebrating culture, community outreach and education.”
Fascious, who was born and raised in the Bronx near the Eastchester Projects, says that his childhood was not easy. Growing up he remembers that his father was in prison. He recalls the pressure to fall to the pits of drugs, gangs, and violence was “ infinitely overwhelming.”
But, he says, every struggle has proved to be an opportunity to grow and learn life lessons.
Luckily, he discovered his love of music early.
He remembers that it was in middle school when he decided to cultivate his passion for the Hip Hop art form.
“The first ‘rhyme’ or ‘lyric’ I ever wrote was in the hospital after hearing my grandfather’s last words delivered to me from his deathbed,” he recalls. “Writing became a way for me to facilitate my own therapy.”
His influences in Hip Hop range “from the socio-political elements that generated its initial movement to the words and rhythms of its poetry.”
Other influences include Hip Hop’s underground scene, salsa, merengue, boleros, funk, jazz, rock, gospel, and “pretty much anything I can get my hands on.”
“I like to keep my heart open and mind expanding,” he says.
His Bronx roots definitely influence his art.
“Bronx is the fertile mother in which birthed and served as the vessel for nurturing the founding movement of Hip Hop,” he says. “From DJ Kool Herc setting up block parties in 1973 and Afrika Bambaata advocating peace in the midst of gang wars and violence to Big Pun becoming the first Latin Hip Hop Artist to go platinum. The Bronx is a site of rich history and culture. Every block corner is an inspiration.”
Being a Puerto Rican from New York City is an inspiration too.
“As an individual living in New York City and of Puerto Rican descent, I take a lot of pride in representing both cultures,” he says. “But I especially stress learning the significance of my ancestral past.”
To learn more about Fascious, visit www.fascious.com. -- Clarisel Gonzalez

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Flags in El Barrio


IMG_9320
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Today's featured image from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group

I shot this photo earlier this week at a community garden in NYC's East Harlem. Visit my photostream at flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel) for more recent photos of East Harlem.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Reading Life



Father Luis Barrios reads from his book "Coquiando: Meditaciones subversivas para un mundo mejor" at a recent event at Cemi Underground in East Harlem. (photo by Ismael Nunez)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Keeping the Stickball Tradition Alive




These are some of the faces of stickball players and enthusiasts who are keeping the old school NYC street tradition of playing stickball.

Today is the 111TH STREET SALSA STREET PARTY AND OLD TIMER'S STICKBALL GAMES in NYC's El Barrio. For more information on this outdoor festival, check out this link at
http://www.salsanewyork.com/events/111th-street-salsa-street-party.htm

(photos from a stickball event last week by Ismael Nuñez)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

'Political Animals' Film Fest

Film

Handball Court Summer Film Series
at White Park, NYC's El Barrio

"Political Animals", this year's curatorial theme…

MediaNoche presents the free Handball Court Summer Film Series at White Park beginning Saturday, July 12. The series at White Park (106th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues) will run Saturday nights at sunset (about 8 p.m.) until August 30.

Curator Judith Escalona brings together a set of fictional films, dramas and comedies, examining the U.S. electoral process. The Candidate (1972), which looks at how a young politician slowly gives up his ideals to be elected, is as relevant today as when it premiered 36 years ago! In the more recent Head of State (2003), a young politician who knows the ropes finds his voice and a way to embrace his ideals. The last film in this set is actually a documentary entitled An Unreasonable Man, a moving portrait of America's greatest public advocate Ralph Nader that includes a critical view of the entrenched two-party political system.

"Hazardous to your health" groups films dealing with health and the environment. Not to be missed are: Sick Around the World, comparing health coverage in five capitalist democracies, and The Medicated Child, how troubled children are over-prescribed medicines that have unknown long term effects. Lastly, An Inconvenient Truth, screened last year but presented here again, to stress the urgency of global warming.

MediaNoche is a project of PRdream.com.

For the complete lineup and more information, visit http://www.prdream.com/wordpress/?cat=5, e-mail info@medianoche.us or call (212) 828-0401.

source: Judith Escalona

Tuesday, July 08, 2008


Things to do

Destination: NYC's El Barrio. Free Walking Tours
Every Saturday, through October 11, 3 – 5 p.m.
Tour meets each Saturday at the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 104th Street. Guides from Big Onion Walking Tours lead excursions highlighting the thriving scene of Latino arts, culture and cuisine native to El Barrio. This program has been developed for El Museo del Barrio and the East Harlem Board of Tourism through grants from the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Admission: Free.

For advance registration, e-mail elbarriotours@elmuseo.org.

source: El Museo del Barrio

(Photo courtesy of El Museo)

Puerto Rican Music Roots & Beyond Project


From left, Leticia Rodriguez, executive director of La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, Inc., and Hector Ortega, a class participant, at a July 6 event in NYC's East Harlem that focused on Puerto Rican roots music.

La Casa as well as El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños at Hunter College is working with William Cepeda, a renowned composer, trombonist, educator, producer and artist, on a project titled “Puerto Rican Music Roots and Beyond.” The New York State Music fund and the National Endowment for the Arts is helping to fund the project.
The goal is to promote Puerto Rico’s musical heritage to a wide audience throughout New York State, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere. The project will document four genres (Bomba, Plena, Danza, and Musica Jibara) by recording the concerts and other project activities to be used in the creation of DVDs and CDs for educational and commercial release. La Casa is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue, Suite 458. It is a nonprofit, cultural and educational institution. For more information, visit http://www.lacasapr.org/-- Ismael Nuñez

(photo by Ismael Nuñez)

Saturday, July 05, 2008


IMG_8624
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Featured photo from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group at flickr by Clarisel

On a wall in New York City's gentrifying El Barrio