In the Mailbox
Saludos Familia!
You are cordially invited to attend the next meeting of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR) to be celebrated in Philadelphia. This meeting (at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community Bilingual Charter School, 4322 North 5th St. in Philadelphia) will center on the continuing process of reorganizing the group and is being hosted by the Philadelphia Committee of the NCPRR. Our meetings are open to the general public.
Following the meeting, there will be a "Meet & Greet Reception" for those interested in the NCPRR. An agenda will be sent to all those who confirm their attendance. Also, anyone who did not receive the minutes from the March 29th meeting in New York can request a copy. If you are planning to attend and coming from out of town, there are some limited accomodations available. For that information, please contact Joe Garcia of the Philadelphia Committee at joegarcia1@verizon.net
Come out and help rebuild the NCPRR. Gracias,
Victor Vazquez
President
National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights
veteran712004@yahoo.com
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Congrats to 'In the Heights' for Tony Nods
"In the Heights," a new musical playing on Broadway inspired by NYC's largely Latino Washington Heights neighborhood, has been nominated for 13 Tony awards, more than any other show.
Boricua Lin-Manuel Miranda, the musical's writer and lead actor, was nominated for best performance by a leading actor in a musical. He is up against Daniel Evans, "Sunday in the Park with George," Stew, "Passing Strange," Paulo Szot, "South Pacific," and Tom Wopat, "A Catered Affair."
"In the Heights" was nominated in a variety of categories, signaling good chances this musical will win and even sweep in the Tony awards.
Here's the list of Tony nominations for "In the Heights":
Best Musical
Best Actor
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best Featured Actress
Olga Merediz
Best Featured Actor
Robin de Jesús
Best Score
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Best Book
Quiara Alegría Hudes
Best Director
Thomas Kail
Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler
Best Orchestrations
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman
Best Scenic Design
Anna Louizos
Best Costume Design
Paul Tazewell
Best Lighting Design
Howell Binkley
Best Sound Design
Acme Sound Partners
The Tonys will be given June 15.
Meanwhile, Miranda is asking audience members to nominate "In the Heights" for the Broadway.com Audience Awards. Fans take a survey to pick who's the best on Broadway. To cast your votes: http://survey.livetheatricalevents.com/Surveys/TakeSurvey.aspx?s=1BDBD7BD0D70413D88FE532F428E103F
Puerto Rico Sun wishes "In the Heights" good luck. I had the pleasure of seeing this musical twice, and I know it deserves the Tony recognition. Felicidades. "Paciencia y fe".
To learn more about this musical, go to the official site at
http://intheheightsthemusical.com/. -- Clarisel Gonzalez
(photos by Clarisel Gonzalez)
La Casa Azul Promotes Latino Culture
Featured Entrepreneur: Aurora Anaya-Cerda
From left, Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Dylcia Pagan and La Casa Azul's Aurora Anaya-Cerda pose for a photo at a recent La Casa Azul bookstore event. (Photo by Ismael Nunez)
Cultural activist Aurora Anaya-Cerda is working to preserve the Latino voices of El Barrio through her labor of love: La Casa Azul, a new independent bookstore and café that will open in NYC’s El Barrio later this year. The shop, however, is up and running online at www.lacasaazulbookstore.com.
The bookstore, Anaya-Cerda said, serves as an opportunity to share the Latino experience in writing, art, and history. When the store space in El Barrio finally opens, it will offer a collection of books, music, and history from the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
“We want to provide a place of knowledge to the community through contemporary bilingual literature, featuring works by Latino writers,” Anaya-Cerda said of her La Casa Azul, which means blue house in Spanish.
Anaya-Cerda said she drew her inspiration from Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954). Kahlo was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as European influences. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically express her own pain. Her "Blue" house, located in Coyoacan, Mexico City is now a popular museum, donated by Diego Rivera after Kahlo's death in 1954.
Two other goals she has for the bookstore is to “provide culturally relevant books and events” and to “provide awareness and political consciousness on issues that affect Latin Americans in New York City.”
Why open a small business in the business in East Harlem? “There was something about this community that just caught my eye,” she said. “I saw a proud diversity of people, gifted artists. This is the place for a bookstore. Community/artists already have given full pledged support.”
For now, Casa Azul is only a virtual shop. But it does have activities offline. For example, there is a Barrio Book Club that meets once a month at local restaurants. The club’s next book is “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Diaz who recently won the Pulitzer fiction prize for this novel that took him 11 years to complete.
Elisha Miranda, author and poet, has said: “This bookstore is a welcomed addition to El Barrio during a time when non-Latinos are flooding in this neighborhood and pushing out locally owned businesses that reflect our Diaspora.” -- Ismael Nunez
From left, Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Dylcia Pagan and La Casa Azul's Aurora Anaya-Cerda pose for a photo at a recent La Casa Azul bookstore event. (Photo by Ismael Nunez)
Cultural activist Aurora Anaya-Cerda is working to preserve the Latino voices of El Barrio through her labor of love: La Casa Azul, a new independent bookstore and café that will open in NYC’s El Barrio later this year. The shop, however, is up and running online at www.lacasaazulbookstore.com.
The bookstore, Anaya-Cerda said, serves as an opportunity to share the Latino experience in writing, art, and history. When the store space in El Barrio finally opens, it will offer a collection of books, music, and history from the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
“We want to provide a place of knowledge to the community through contemporary bilingual literature, featuring works by Latino writers,” Anaya-Cerda said of her La Casa Azul, which means blue house in Spanish.
Anaya-Cerda said she drew her inspiration from Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954). Kahlo was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity. She painted using vibrant colors in a style that was influenced by indigenous cultures of Mexico as well as European influences. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically express her own pain. Her "Blue" house, located in Coyoacan, Mexico City is now a popular museum, donated by Diego Rivera after Kahlo's death in 1954.
Two other goals she has for the bookstore is to “provide culturally relevant books and events” and to “provide awareness and political consciousness on issues that affect Latin Americans in New York City.”
Why open a small business in the business in East Harlem? “There was something about this community that just caught my eye,” she said. “I saw a proud diversity of people, gifted artists. This is the place for a bookstore. Community/artists already have given full pledged support.”
For now, Casa Azul is only a virtual shop. But it does have activities offline. For example, there is a Barrio Book Club that meets once a month at local restaurants. The club’s next book is “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” by Junot Diaz who recently won the Pulitzer fiction prize for this novel that took him 11 years to complete.
Elisha Miranda, author and poet, has said: “This bookstore is a welcomed addition to El Barrio during a time when non-Latinos are flooding in this neighborhood and pushing out locally owned businesses that reflect our Diaspora.” -- Ismael Nunez
Bx PR Parade
The Grand Concourse will mimic the tropical beauty of San Juan Sunday, as Bronxites of all nationalities celebrate the 20th Annual Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade.
The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. at 176th St., and marches down the Grand Concourse to 167th St. This year's grand marshal is Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion.
For more, go to
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2008/05/13/2008-05-13_puerto_rican_day_parade_struts_to_20.html
(Photo by Clarisel Gonzalez of the Bronx Puerto Rican Parade '06)
The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. at 176th St., and marches down the Grand Concourse to 167th St. This year's grand marshal is Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion.
For more, go to
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2008/05/13/2008-05-13_puerto_rican_day_parade_struts_to_20.html
(Photo by Clarisel Gonzalez of the Bronx Puerto Rican Parade '06)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
VIVA LOISAIDA USA!
Community Calendar
The Annual Loisaida Festival...
An Urban Mix of Salsa, Plena and Hip Hop
Loisaida Inc. will host the Twenty-first Annual Loisaida Festival, along the Avenue C Commercial Corridor in NYC's East Village, from noon to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25. Last year, more than 4,000 people attended the event.
This year’s festival is jam packed with Latino artists and musicians with strong Loisaida bonds. The entertainment line-up includes Salsa Icon, Johnny Pacheco, and his band; Barrio-based Los Pleneros de la 21; the “Charanga” masters, Orquesta Broadway; the “Merengue” band Oro Sólido; and Hip Hop and Reggaeton performers.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will open the festivities, featuring Puerto Rican actor Luis Guzmán, a Loisaida native.
This year’s festival will include special events for children, youth, and senior citizens.
To honor neighborhood seniors, Loisaida, Inc. has partnered with the Institute for the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Elderly, Inc. to host “Serenata”, an outdoor picnic under the Willow Trees at the Plaza Cultural featuring Latin bolero music, and a traditional Domino tournament.
For youth, Loisaida, Inc. has partner with Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dreams Foundation to sponsor a basketball clinic.
For children, the festival will feature a theatre performance produced by the bilingual children’s theatre company SEA (Sociedad Educativa de las Artes). Cafecito, the popular local Latin restaurant, will join the festivities by hosting a traditional Caribbean pig roast, or in Spanish, “Lechón a la Vara,” a festival staple in Caribbean countries such as Puerto Rico, Cuba and Santo Domingo.
The Loisaida Festival is sponsored by Loisaida Inc., a Hispanic-based non-profit community and economic development organization serving the Lower East Side since 1978.
For more information, visit www.loisaidainc.orgor contact Loisaida at 212-353-0272.
source: press release
The Annual Loisaida Festival...
An Urban Mix of Salsa, Plena and Hip Hop
Loisaida Inc. will host the Twenty-first Annual Loisaida Festival, along the Avenue C Commercial Corridor in NYC's East Village, from noon to 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 25. Last year, more than 4,000 people attended the event.
This year’s festival is jam packed with Latino artists and musicians with strong Loisaida bonds. The entertainment line-up includes Salsa Icon, Johnny Pacheco, and his band; Barrio-based Los Pleneros de la 21; the “Charanga” masters, Orquesta Broadway; the “Merengue” band Oro Sólido; and Hip Hop and Reggaeton performers.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will open the festivities, featuring Puerto Rican actor Luis Guzmán, a Loisaida native.
This year’s festival will include special events for children, youth, and senior citizens.
To honor neighborhood seniors, Loisaida, Inc. has partnered with the Institute for the Puerto Rican and Hispanic Elderly, Inc. to host “Serenata”, an outdoor picnic under the Willow Trees at the Plaza Cultural featuring Latin bolero music, and a traditional Domino tournament.
For youth, Loisaida, Inc. has partner with Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dreams Foundation to sponsor a basketball clinic.
For children, the festival will feature a theatre performance produced by the bilingual children’s theatre company SEA (Sociedad Educativa de las Artes). Cafecito, the popular local Latin restaurant, will join the festivities by hosting a traditional Caribbean pig roast, or in Spanish, “Lechón a la Vara,” a festival staple in Caribbean countries such as Puerto Rico, Cuba and Santo Domingo.
The Loisaida Festival is sponsored by Loisaida Inc., a Hispanic-based non-profit community and economic development organization serving the Lower East Side since 1978.
For more information, visit www.loisaidainc.orgor contact Loisaida at 212-353-0272.
source: press release
'In the Heights' at Times Square
Performing tomorrow Live for Good Morning America!
The smash hit Broadway musical IN THE HEIGHTS takes Times Square by storm Tuesday, May 13, in a premiere national television appearance on ABC's Good Morning America. Karen Olivo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin De Jesus, Seth Stewart, Luis Salgado and Rickey Tripp will perform "It Won't Be Long" live in the middle of Times Square in the 8 a.m. hour. Mandy Gonzalez and Christopher Jackson will perform "When You're Home" at 9 a.m. exclusively for ABC News Now and the Good Morning America website. ABC's Good Morning America airs on WABC channel 7 in the tri-state area.
source: "In the Heights" at MySpace
East Harlem Arts Festival
Community Calendar
Manhattan Community Board 11, State Senator Jose M. Serrano and Art for Change proudly present the 5th Annual East Harlem Arts Festival with Live Music by: Tato Torres & YERBABUENA, Aurora and Zon del Barrio, and more...
YERBABUENA plays at 2 p.m. at East 106th Street and Park Avenue. Festival is from noon to 5 p.m.
Editor's Note: I, representing Puerto Rico Sun Communications, will have a table at this arts festival. I will display some of my Puerto Rico-related images at the festival. So, drop by my table OK.
Manhattan Community Board 11, State Senator Jose M. Serrano and Art for Change proudly present the 5th Annual East Harlem Arts Festival with Live Music by: Tato Torres & YERBABUENA, Aurora and Zon del Barrio, and more...
YERBABUENA plays at 2 p.m. at East 106th Street and Park Avenue. Festival is from noon to 5 p.m.
Editor's Note: I, representing Puerto Rico Sun Communications, will have a table at this arts festival. I will display some of my Puerto Rico-related images at the festival. So, drop by my table OK.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wishing you...
In the Mailbox
A happy Mother's day to all the Moms, Moms to be, Mr. Moms and everyone who's stepped up to the plate in a child's life.
Abrazos!
Olga Ayala
HANDICRAFTS (HECHO A MANO)
Functional Art In Polymer
http://www.olgaayala.zoomshare.com
http://www.myspace.com/prpetite
A happy Mother's day to all the Moms, Moms to be, Mr. Moms and everyone who's stepped up to the plate in a child's life.
Abrazos!
Olga Ayala
HANDICRAFTS (HECHO A MANO)
Functional Art In Polymer
http://www.olgaayala.zoomshare.com
http://www.myspace.com/prpetite
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