Religion

Pope's Visit to the U.S.

Pope Benedict XVI Benedict arrives today for a six-day visit to Washington and then New York. His visit will be filled with a lineup of activities of course. The pope will meet President Bush at the White House where he plans to speak to the president about immigration and other issues. He will also speak at the U.N., visit ground zero and celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx before leaving Sunday night.

Here's a video welcoming the pope from The Archdiocese of Baltimore, the first Catholic diocese in the United States:

In the Mailbox

Dear Friends,

City Lore and the Brooklyn Historical Society are hosting a free community discussion "Latino History in Brooklyn: Voices from the Puerto Rican Oral History Project 1974-1976" during the Mayor's Immigrant Heritage Week in New York City.

Sunday, April 20th, 3-5 p.m.
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street
Free
For more information, log on to Brooklyn Historical Society's website or call 718-419-4285 ext 233.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, so therefore are migrants and not immigrants, but they have encountered similar concerns as others who underwent the immigrant experience.

Puerto Rican community historian Ralph Mendez will present his collection of steamship artifacts and research about early-20th century migration from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn. City Lore's folklorist Elena Martinez will discuss audio clips from BHS's Puerto Rican Oral History Project collected in the early 1970s with narrators telling their steamship migration stories; and all will be complemented by a presentation of portraits of Puerto Rican pioñeros by Brooklyn photographer Tony Velez.

For information about the Mayor's Immigrant Heritage Week, visit nyc.gov/immigrants or call 311.

Film


The Havana Film Festival New York will collaborate with Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies on a two-day program of Puerto Rican movies called Centro at the Movies, scheduled for Monday, April 14, and Tuesday, April 15, at Hunter College School of Social Work. This will include a presentation and films highlighting the center’s role in sponsoring and promoting Puerto Rican documentary films over the past 30 years.
Admission is free. Just click on the image to see larger.

Cabo Rojo lighthouse

Cabo Rojo lighthouse
Originally uploaded by KAP'n Craig.

El Choliceo

El Choliceo
Originally uploaded by EdVeguilla.

¡GOZA Y BAILA LA PLENA!

Dance



FAMILIA,

Prepárense pa' echar un pie con La Plena Boricua, al estilo de Los Pleneros de la 21, esta noche en ¡GOZA Y BAILA LA PLENA!

LA PLENA IS BACK !!!

Come join us in this dance/concert with your friends, family and neighbors so that you can all DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY together to original musical compositions and interpretations of traditional and contemporary plenas LP21 style!
This unique concert is guaranteed to make you dance all night with live performances by the LP21 ensemble, guest artists and members of LP21’s pioneer class of Bomba & Plena: Un Paso Alante - our new Urban Institute for emerging and midcareer traditional arts practitioners and musicians!
Admission: $15
For tickets or more information, call (212)427-5221 or e-mail rioloizapr@yahoo.com.

Hosted By: Los Pleneros de la 21
When: Friday, April 11
at 8 p.m.
Where: Julia de Burgos Cultural Center
1680 Lexintgon Avenue
El Barrio, NYC

source: Los Pleneros de la 21

Personajes de Pueblo: ''Monegro''

Personajes de Pueblo: ''Monegro''
Originally uploaded by Luis Angel Molina Quiñones.

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.

La Rogativa

La Rogativa
Originally uploaded by luis munoz.

Community Calendar

Photography

IMG_7070

IMG_7070
Originally uploaded by clarisel.

@ New Haven, Conn.

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

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