PUERTO RICO SUN

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Feminine Empowerment Exhibit Originally uploaded by prsuncom

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_MG_3758 Nikon Editor UMM.jpg Originally uploaded by prsuncom Cemí Underground brings cultura to life in El Barrio Photo and Text by Ricardo Muñiz In June 2007, Galería Cemí launched Cemí Underground, a Puerto Rican/Latino cultural outlet in the heart of New York City's El Barrio that sells books, T-shirts, crafts and music; produces a host of cultural events; and showcases a revolving art gallery.  Graphic artist Luís Cordero and Séry Colón, an actor who once owned Agüeybaná Bookstore on the Lower East Side, founded Cemí Underground, which has become a cultural haven in the Latino arts community at a time when El Barrio is becoming increasingly gentrified. The popular storefront shop is located at 1799 Lexington Avenue at East 112th Street. Cordero describes a cemí as “a sacred object, which is the artistic representation of a guardian spirit or deity that was skillfully carved in stone, bone, cotton, wood and rock by the Taíno indigenous people of the Caribbean.” Corde...

Community Calendar Media THE FIFTH ANNUAL GRASSROOTS MEDIA CONFERENCE Speaking Truth to Power: MEDIA JUSTICE IN OUR COMMUNITIES Sunday, March 2, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Department of Film and Media Studies, Hunter College CUNY Conference location: Hunter College West Building, 68th Street and Lexington Ave., Manhattan (Southwest Corner, enter from street or directly from 6 train) The NYC Grassroots Media Coalition (NYCGMC) will host the Fifth Annual NYC Grassroots Media Conference at Hunter College CUNY. The conference theme – Speaking Truth to Power: MEDIA JUSTICE IN OUR COMMUNITIES – invites media makers and community organizers to define what the term “Media Justice” means, as a community and explore how we can begin to make this ideal a reality for New York City. Since 2004, the NYCGMC - a collective of media activists and organizations - has convened these conferences to bring New York City’s diverse communities together. The conference seeks to provide a space t...