PUERTO RICO SUN

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  & Le...

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 ...

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 ...