Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Featured story
Cerrado caso Ojeda Ríos
Tras más de dos años de investigación y sufrir un revés ante el Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos, el Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico cerró la investigación sobre el operativo federal en que resultó muerto el líder machetero, Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
Para el reporte completo por Aixa Vázquez, visite www.wapa.tv.
Cerrado caso Ojeda Ríos
Tras más de dos años de investigación y sufrir un revés ante el Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos, el Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico cerró la investigación sobre el operativo federal en que resultó muerto el líder machetero, Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
Para el reporte completo por Aixa Vázquez, visite www.wapa.tv.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
New Life for Puerto Rican Rights Group
Victor Vazquez-Hernandez is seeking boricuas to help bring back and revitalize the historic National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR).
According to the April newsletter of the National Institute for Latino Policy, the goal of this organization is “to address what many perceive as a leadership vacuum in the stateside Puerto Rican community.”
Founded in 1981, the NCPRR has been inactive for a number of years.
But Vazquez-Hernandez is working to change that. He and other community leaders are seeking to reinvent the NCPRR to serve as a voice for Puerto Ricans today as the organization did back in the day.
The NCPRR will attempt to provide support for these local efforts by connecting activists through its newsletter, online and by mobilizing public opinion on issues relevant to Puerto Ricans nationally and in Puerto Rico.
According to an essay titled “A Brief Historical Overview of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, 1981-2004” by Vazquez-Hernandez, delivered in January in Miami, the organization played an important role in the history of Puerto Ricans.
“The NCPRR is a power resource that was created by our people’s struggle; it has history, legitimacy, and weight,” he wrote.
He delivered a laundry list of work the NCPPR was involved in, which included coalition building, lobbying, and dealing with the media. He also mentioned what he called “the groundbreaking work we’ve done around bilingual education, environmental justice, the right to representation, holding elected officials accountable, racial justice, against police brutality and Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination are part of our legacy.”
“Today, we have to determine what works in 2008,” he wrote, adding that key issues that need to be addressed are the organizational life-support and financial stability to make the NCPRR viable in the new century.
“Twenty-seven years after the NCPRR was founded a whole new generation of Puerto Ricans has come into being,” he wrote. “How do we identify ourselves as the continuation of a proud organizational tradition while simultaneously serving as an effective organizational tool and asset for them is our challenge? I am still up for it, how about you?”
An executive committee has already been set up, and Vazquez-Hernandez is serving as NCPRR’s president.
For further information and to join this effort, contact Vazquez-Hernandez at veteran712004@yahoo.com.
NCPRR is planning to conduct a national survey to get feedback from those interested in being part of the organization. “We will ask you to specifically identify how and in what matter you might be interested in participating in the organization,” he said. -– Clarisel Gonzalez
Sources: The National Institute for Latino Policy and NCPRR
Monday, April 07, 2008
Hostos to Celebrate its 40th Anniversary
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, the Hostos Community College Foundation will host its 2008 Benefit Gala on Thursday, April 17, at Marina del Rey in the Bronx.
The event will begin with a welcoming reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and dancing to the music of nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra.
“Turning 40 is a major milestone in the life of this college,” said President Dolores M. Fernández. “Over time, Hostos has progressed from being ‘the little college that could’ to ‘a jewel in the South Bronx.’ Our 2008 Benefit Gala will be a wonderful opportunity to thank those who founded this institution, those who kept the faith during its formative years, and those whose continuing commitment to excellence ensures an even brighter future. Moreover, the scholarship funds raised by this event will help many deserving students attain their educational goals. What better reasons could we have for celebrating in the Hostos style?”
At the gala, the Hostos Foundation will honor four individuals who have made contributions to society in keeping with the spirit of Eugenio María de Hostos (1839-1903), the great Puerto Rican educator, writer, and patriot for whom the college is named. The awardees are Ms. Agnes Gund, Chair, Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs; Charlotte Frank, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President, McGraw-Hill Education; Miguel Fuentes, President & CEO, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center; and Carlos Velazquez, Publisher and President, G.A.L.O.S. Corporation.
The gala is expected to attract over 500 guests. In addition to current Hostos students, faculty, and staff members, attendees will include alumni, past presidents of the college, and business and community leaders.
The gala will feature a special video presentation that outlines the college’s history and also pre-recorded remarks from some of the political leaders and community advocates who took part in the struggle to establish and preserve Hostos.
Hostos Community College, which has more than 5,000 students, has experienced a positive transformation in recent years.
For more information, go to www.hostos.cuny.edu/gala.
source: press release from Hostos
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Saturday, April 05, 2008
A Message to My Mentor
In the Mailbox
Dear Editor:
After reading Puerto Rico Sun's November 30, 2007 entry about a documentary on Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, I realized that one of the interviews featured in "Migration: The Puerto Rican Experience" happens to be with one of the most inspirational people in my life.
I met Alma Torres-Warner back in 1986 at a school in the Bronx. The New York City Board of Education had a program called the Auxiliary Services for High School (ASHS). The program offered preparations for the General Educational Development (GED), and I attended the one at 383 Willis Avenue on 138th St called The Roberto Clemente Center, where Torres-Warner was at the time the center administrator.
I remember I had just arrived that year to New York from Puerto Rico. I wanted
to something with my life and quickly decided to prepare for the GED, so I enrolled in Roberto Clemente Center. I was excited that I was doing something with my life, but I didn't have any idea as to where I was headed.
I used to arrive very early to Roberto Clemente -- sometimes before the staff. I remember Mrs. Torres-Warner would arrive and open the doors and allow me in. We would converse (which is a word she taught me) on the way up to the third floor.
Every morning, never missing a day, I arrived early to Roberto Clemente and met up with Mrs. Torres-Warner.
She later offered me a job with the New York City Board of Education as a
student aide, which I accepted. After obtaining my GED and attending Bronx Community College, she promoted me to a paraprofessional (assistant teacher).
Mrs. Torres-Warner became my mentor. She would always remind me of my potential. She saw something in me and gave me a chance, always telling me that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. But most of all she believed in me.
After working with Torres-Warner for a few years, she later transferred to ASHS headquarters, where I later joined her. I remember working for Marty Blum,preparing Lotus 123 spreadsheet documents. But it just wasn't the same. He wasn't Torres-Warner, so I decided to move on. I left the NYC Board Education and moved to the State of Virginia where I decided to pursue a degree in psychology.
Along the way, I lost contact with Torres-Warner.
I would like more than anything for Torres-Warner to know that I appreciate everything she did for me. She didn't know it at the time but she became my inspiration.
I never stopped trying. I have faced many obstacles but I never stop trying.
I thank her for being a great employer, a true mentor, and a dear friend.
I know she's out there helping and inspiring someone who needs it.
May God bless her.
I'm currently in NYC.
I am hoping to reconnect with my mentor.
I may be reached at hernandez.walter@gmail.com.
Thank you Puerto Rico Sun and God Bless.
Sincerely,
Walter Hernandez
Editor's Note: For more information on Bronxnet's documentary on the history of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, go to the PRSUN's archive section and click on the November 30, 2007 posting entitled "Migration" and visit www.bronxnet.org.
Dear Editor:
After reading Puerto Rico Sun's November 30, 2007 entry about a documentary on Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, I realized that one of the interviews featured in "Migration: The Puerto Rican Experience" happens to be with one of the most inspirational people in my life.
I met Alma Torres-Warner back in 1986 at a school in the Bronx. The New York City Board of Education had a program called the Auxiliary Services for High School (ASHS). The program offered preparations for the General Educational Development (GED), and I attended the one at 383 Willis Avenue on 138th St called The Roberto Clemente Center, where Torres-Warner was at the time the center administrator.
I remember I had just arrived that year to New York from Puerto Rico. I wanted
to something with my life and quickly decided to prepare for the GED, so I enrolled in Roberto Clemente Center. I was excited that I was doing something with my life, but I didn't have any idea as to where I was headed.
I used to arrive very early to Roberto Clemente -- sometimes before the staff. I remember Mrs. Torres-Warner would arrive and open the doors and allow me in. We would converse (which is a word she taught me) on the way up to the third floor.
Every morning, never missing a day, I arrived early to Roberto Clemente and met up with Mrs. Torres-Warner.
She later offered me a job with the New York City Board of Education as a
student aide, which I accepted. After obtaining my GED and attending Bronx Community College, she promoted me to a paraprofessional (assistant teacher).
Mrs. Torres-Warner became my mentor. She would always remind me of my potential. She saw something in me and gave me a chance, always telling me that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. But most of all she believed in me.
After working with Torres-Warner for a few years, she later transferred to ASHS headquarters, where I later joined her. I remember working for Marty Blum,preparing Lotus 123 spreadsheet documents. But it just wasn't the same. He wasn't Torres-Warner, so I decided to move on. I left the NYC Board Education and moved to the State of Virginia where I decided to pursue a degree in psychology.
Along the way, I lost contact with Torres-Warner.
I would like more than anything for Torres-Warner to know that I appreciate everything she did for me. She didn't know it at the time but she became my inspiration.
I never stopped trying. I have faced many obstacles but I never stop trying.
I thank her for being a great employer, a true mentor, and a dear friend.
I know she's out there helping and inspiring someone who needs it.
May God bless her.
I'm currently in NYC.
I am hoping to reconnect with my mentor.
I may be reached at hernandez.walter@gmail.com.
Thank you Puerto Rico Sun and God Bless.
Sincerely,
Walter Hernandez
Editor's Note: For more information on Bronxnet's documentary on the history of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, go to the PRSUN's archive section and click on the November 30, 2007 posting entitled "Migration" and visit www.bronxnet.org.
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