Puerto Rico Sun

The Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Network (BEBN) Toy Drive will go to benefit kids and teens living in Bronx shelters. Our chosen charity is Bronx Works who will distribute the toys. Our toy drive runs until December 12, the night of the BEBN Holiday Network and Toy Drive event at El Habanero Restaurant, the Bronx.

The Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. proclaimed July 20 as Puerto Rico Sun Communications Day in the Bronx. We are celebrating our 10th anniversary and network tomorrow night at Joe's Place in the Parkchester section of the Bronx. You are welcome to celebrate with us. To RSVP, http://prsun10.eventbrite.com . Thank you for being part of the PRSUN network. -- Clarisel Our bright yellow sun logo is in celebration of our 10th anniversary. UPDATE: NYC Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera proclaimed July 21, 2012 as Puerto Rico Sun Communications Day. ) Mayor Bloomberg sent a letter.

PRSUN Ambassador Award recipients: Rev. Carmen Hernández , NYC LGBTQS Chamber of Commerce Ismael Nuñez , contributing writer and photographer Cecil Harris , advisor Jose Boricuation Medina , contributing graphic designer Mike Callender , Bronxmedia Kevin P. Tyson , contributing photographer Eileen McNamee , contributing photographer Miriam Quiñones , contributing photographer Vivian Lake , contributing writer Efrain Ortiz, Jr. , Efrain's Corner For supporting and advancing PRSUN's business and social mission of informing, empowering, and building community through their contributions and friendship The PRSUN Ambassadors will receive their awards at the PRSUN anniversary and networking event this Saturday in the Bronx. Event is open to the public. To RSVP, http://prsun10.eventbrite.com .

Complete list of 2012 PRSUN Award Winners: Dayanara Marte , In Bold Rebirth Trini Quiroz , activist/radio personality Joyce Rivera , St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction Edwin Pagán , Latin Horror Roberto Soto , City Island Images Shannon Lee Gilstad , Bronx Movers & Shakers Julio Pabon , Latino Sports Michelle Cruz , East Harlem Cafe Butch Nieves , Mr. America's Personal Training Deirdre Scott , Bronx Council on the Arts Congratulations to all the leaders on this list. They were nominated by members in the PRSUN social media networks for being examples of people who exemplify the mission of informing, empowering, and building community.  They will be honored at the PRSUN anniversary and networking event on Saturday, July 21, at Joe's Place, the Bronx. Event is open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, http://prsun10.eventbrite.com .

This was the second year Eileen McNamee covered the National Puerto Rican Day Parade as part of the PRSUN photo team. Our team was working on a photo project to document the 2012 parade through the lens of a diverse team of photographers and photojournalists. This was the third year PRSUN curated an online group exhibit. All team members received official press passes from the National Puerto Rican Day Parade to cover the June 10 parade from their perspective for PRSUN. Eileen is a science teacher. She says she has found creativity between the arts and sciences. Her photography is mostly from the Bronx where she lives. She especially enjoys concentrating on the nature and history of the Bronx. But from time to time, she likes to go out to document a colorful parade. View Eileen's beautiful photos from the parade here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmcnamee/sets/72157630068897849/with/7359927392/ To view the PRSUN photo team's exhibit from this year's parade, go to ht

Pensamientos the daily news printed the cuban flag instead of the puerto rican flag in their piece we must be our own soul if we have our own flag -- Samaris Ayala Samaris Ayala is a contributing writer to PRSUN. 

Here is a slideshow of photos I took at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, one of the largest cultural celebrations in the city: Enjoy.

PRSUN had a photo team at yesterday's Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade. Happy 25th anniversary to the Bronx parade. The PRSUN photo team included Kevin Tyson , Miriam Quiñones , Benny Betancourt , Ismael Nuñez , and moi. Here is a link to the photos I took at the parade: To view the team PRSUN Project: Bronx Puerto Rican Day slideshow go to: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bxprparade/

Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Network: A Night at the Races : Our upcoming networking event with The NetWorks Organization is TOMORROW night at Yonkers Raceway/Empire City Casino. The Bronx Entrepreneur...

"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, p rogram 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 do

By Rita J. Egan I was in the sixth grade when friends and I prepared a skit around the music of the Broadway play Evita . I'm not quite sure how we came up with the idea, but I do remember the commercials and how badly I wanted to go to New York City and see the play. I never did get a chance to see the original, and grew up to be a teenager who was a huge fan of the group Menudo. Through the years, I also became a great admirer of Ricky Martin . Imagine how excited I was when rumors began circulating in 2010 that Martin was up for the part of Che in the Broadway revival. I waited in anticipation for the day I would finally see Evita . Finally on March 24, my friend Silvia and I had the opportunity to catch one of the preview performances. It was the matinee and unfortunately Elena Roger (Eva Peron) doesn't perform Saturday matinees, but the show was a good one just the same. The scenery was breathtaking, and the ensemble numbers were exhilarating. Christina DeCicco did a

Featured community event Do you love your rice and beans? Are you passionate about your Puerto Rican food? Check out this event that puts a spotlight on Puerto Rican Culinary Arts. “El amor entra por la cocina: Cooking and Cultural Identity amongst Puerto Rican Women Living in New York” A multi-media presentation based on a research project about culinary traditions of the Puerto Rican Diaspora conducted by Dr. Nilsa Rodríguez-Jaca in 2010. She interviewed over twenty senior women of our community who have lived in New York City for at least two decades and recovered their stories about food consumption and sharing, and also how this has helped them to maintain a sense of community and cultural identity for over sixty years. Guests Deborah Quiñones (the  Coquito Contessa ) and Chef Julio Rodríguez will also share their culinary experiences. FREE Puerto Rican Culinary Arts Thursday, April 4 th  – 6-8:00 p.m. Hunter College, 68 th  & Lexington Avenue

Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Network: Welcome to the Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Ne... : This is an independent networking hub dedicated to aspiring and established entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Bronx.   This grassroo...

Commentary By Shaggy Flores I’ve had the honor of knowing the literary genius, Louis Reyes Rivera , as my friend, hermano , mentor, editor, teacher, and fellow Nuyorican Poet. To say that other young writers and I were heavily influenced by his work would be an understatement.  Louis was what many of us aspire to become as artists, human beings, and cultural workers. He was a committed African Diaspora scholar who was not only a master of his craft, but someone who firmly believed that the artist and writer should also serve as a servant of the people. He believed that we must all do our part to uplift humanity by addressing social and economic conditions through the arts. I met Louis Reyes Rivera years ago at the North East Latino Student Conference in UMass Amherst in Massachusetts. I was one of the main folks to push the most for his attendance as a main speaker. I finally got to meet Louis in person at the Campus Center Café a few hours before he w

With dancers moving to salsa music on a colorful set reminiscent of Old San Juan, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company showcased the island's many tourist attractions at the recent New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.   But they were also there to market Puerto Rico's traditional, diverse and exciting cooking scene, which they say is the best and most important culinary destination in the Caribbean. Gearing up for its fifth anniversary,   they told attendees about Saborea Puerto Rico, a festival that will feature new and exciting activities highlighting Puerto Rico's culinary scene. The 2012 edition of this annual event, organized by the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association (PRHTA), will be April 21 st  and 22 nd  at Escambrón Beach in San Juan, PR.  Chef Giovanna Huyke, who is known for her educational cooking TV shows on the island and is now the executive chef at Mio Restaurant in Washington, D.C., was at the travel show talki

Commentary By Luis Chaluisan Iguanas: they’re not common pets in New Jersey, thank the power, even though people occasionally decide this exotic (as in non-native) animal would make a great pet. It’s not so. Iguanas belong in their native habitat, where they have the company of other iguanas, the right temperature and food, and the chance to be an iguana “au naturel.” Caribbean tourist attraction During a recent vacation in the Caribbean, I saw lots of iguanas, which made it easy for me to continue to be fascinated by them – their myriad colors, especially the bright green of young ones; their long ring-tails; their front feet, especially, with long, curving finger-like appendages; their casual ability to “go out on a limb,” seeking a flower or a tender green leaf at the end of a branch that looks incapable of holding them. And, these kids can travel too! If they need to get away, they can do it. They’re not graceful, but they’re fast. Far from eating red

BRONX LATINO: A Sunday at the NYBG Visit the Caribbean Garden in the Bronx.

Ten years ago, in the summer of 2002, I started the Puerto Rico Sun e-magazine when I lived in San Juan. I wanted it to be a publication that covered themes related to the Puerto Rican diaspora and that connected Puerto Ricans no matter where they lived. An online magazine made sense even though I first envisioned PRSUN as a newspaper since I was a print journalist. I didn't know at the time how much newspaper journalism was going to be transformed. It is a little heartbreaking, but then again I love a free and open Internet and will continue to defend it. I have been engaged in online media for 10 years now -- making too little for all the time, work and money I have put into this media project, which has been more of a labor of love. I have mostly bootstrapped this business, which is registered in the Bronx, NY. This summer I celebrate 10 years. I'm not sure how much more time I will dedicate to PRSUN, but I know this project has been part of my journey from my time in Pu

Tourism San Juan, PR , January 19, 2012 – U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson appointed Mario González-Lafuente, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), to the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Department of Commerce , as part of a strategy to promote the United States.  The announcement of González-Lafuente’s participation as one of the 32 members of the TTAB was made during visit by President Obama and Commerce Secretary Bryson to Orlando, Florida and is the latest in a series of “We Can’t Wait” actions that President Obama and his administration have undertaken to aid job creation through executive action. “President Obama presented a robust strategy to promote the U.S. as a tourist destination,” said González-Lafuente. “My contribution will primarily focus on helping the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board develop an innovative and integrated marketing program that effectively utilizes social media, sponsorships and branded ent

THE 2012 SALSAMAGAZINE.COM SALSA AWARDS On September 27th, 2012 Salsa History will be made once again as MR SALSA Izzy Sanabria hosts the First Annual Salsamagazine.com Awards in New York.  Accompanied by Sonida Criminal as the house band fo r the evening's gala presentation more than 40 catgories of Salsa excellence will be recognized including the induction of EL GRAN COMBO in the SALSA FALL OF FAME presented by Ana Flores of Radio Bemba. Others honored that night will be Choco Orta, Frankie Morales, Earnie Acevedo (Conjunto Imagen), La Excelencia and other surprise guests. Nominations are scheduled to be announced June 1, 2012. A WEPAwebTV Production http://www.facebook.com/groups/salsamagazine/ WEPAwebTV is an independent coalition of Latino Arts Producers including: Walter Baez-Music Editor Izzy Sanabria-Multimedia Clarisel Gonzalez-News Charlie Vazquez-Literature Prof. Linda Rodriguez Ph.D.-Education Maria Hernandez-Film Luis Chaluisan-Theater- Angela Marie Rijos (Lady A