@ the National Puerto Rican Day Parade '19

(photos by Clarisel Gonzalez)

For more images, visit my photo page.

PRSUN 15th Anniversary Celebration a Success

PRSUN celebrated its 15th anniversary on Saturday, July 22, at the Willis Avenue Community Garden in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. More than 50 people attended the three-hour outdoor reception. .


Here is a collection of photos from the hot summer day.

Thank you to all who attended. 


Congratulations to the 10 Puerto Rico Sun award winners who exemplify PRSUN's mission of informing, empowering and building community in their own way:


Apryl Cadabra Entertainment Agency, INC.

Elijah Cruz/Things by Eli

Milagros Gonzalez/PRSUN Adviser

Zoraida Graciani/Zoraida's Coquito

Aixa Rodriguez/Teacher and Activist

Sol/PRSUN Mascot

Tanya Perez/Business Owner at Sweet Qzine

and at TMN Skincare and Wellness

Tanya Torres/Artist

Dhylles Victoria/The Sip & Chat Movement

The team of the Willis Avenue Community Garden

Congratulations to all.

Love you all.


To view more photos, visit my photo page.

PRSUN's 15th: You are invited

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.

PRSUN Project: PR Parade

One of my favorite times of the year in New York City is Puerto Rican Parade season. It is not just because of the parade. It is also because of the festivities that lead up to the parade. This year I attended such events as the Gracie Mansion reception that Mayor Bill di Blasio and NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hosted, the parade's 152nd Street Festival in the Bronx, and the Abrazo Boricua reception at Maestro Caterers in the Bronx.



To view more photos, visit my PR Parade in NYC album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskxrbUoC

Pope Francis in Central Park, NYC, 2015

Julia and Me

"yo soy la vida, la fuerza, la mujer". ("I am life, and strength, and I am woman.") -- Julia de Burgos

(photo by Milagros Gonzalez)

@ the PR Parade

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.

'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/

Please vote PRSUN for chance to win $10K

Update: Thank you to everyone who voted for PRSUN. Your suppport was not enough to win this one, but PRSUN is moving forward. Continuing to inform, empower and build community.

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.

New: PRSUN Flags Line Stamp

Support PRSUN



You can use this stamp to send your mail via the U.S. Postal Service. This is a way not only to support the Puerto Rico Sun project, but to show some boricua pride every time you send a letter. This Zazzle custom stamp features a photo by Clarisel Gonzalez titled "Flags Line."

UPDATE: New customized designs have been added. I plan to offer a variety of postage designs, so visit my store at www.zazzle.com/prsuncom. Thanks.