here in the last colony

here in the last colony
Originally uploaded by mino975.

Today's featured image from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by mino975.

'Borinquen Lives in El Barrio' at City Parks

TeatroStageFest Goes Outdoors!

Free Performances of "Borinquen Lives in El Barrio"
August 10-17 in NYC Parks

The Latino International Theater Festival of New York, Inc. (TeatroStageFest) and City Parks Foundation's CityParks Theater, Presented by Time Warner, have joined forces to present free outdoor performances of Borinquen Vive en El Barrio (Borinquen Lives in El Barrio), Tere Martinez's acclaimed political drama, this summer in local New York City Parks. Free performances will run August 10 through 17, marking the first time a TeatroStageFest production that was featured in the annual two-week festival of local and international theater transfers outdoors.

"Last June Borinquen Vive en El Barrio captivated audiences when it played during the second annual TeatroStageFest at Hostos Center for the Arts. Now new audiences will get to experience this great production by Hostos Repertory Company, free and under the summer sky, thanks to our new partnership with City Park Foundation's CityParks Theater. I urge everyone to call friends and family, grab a blanket, and join us in the parks for a picnic under the stars as we enjoy a great show that draws on humor to expose the political issues that both bring together and keep apart Puerto Ricans living in the island and those that have moved to New York," said Susana Tubert, Executive Producer and Co Founder of TeatroStageFest.

About the Play:

Borinquen Vive en El Barrio (Borinquen Lives in El Barrio) is the almost neo-realist portrait of a Puerto Rican family in East Harlem forced to reexamine the past, present and future of their home island when an unexpected visitor challenges their cultural identity. Through each family member, the audience gets a moving glimpse of the most important moments in history influencing the destiny of Puerto Ricans in New York and in their homeland, starting in the 1950's. Borinquen, the proud matriarch carries the native Taíno Indian name for Puerto Rico; her Americanized daughter Minerva has uprooted and made Connecticut's suburbs her new home; her ex-boyfriend Carlos, a former Young Lord holds on to his youthful idealism for the island's independence - along with his unrequited love for Minerva.

The bilingual show features English and Spanish language dialogue. Written by Tere Martinez and directed by Angel Morales, Borinquen Vive en El Barrio has been praised as an unbiased and brutally honest document delving into Puerto Rican immigration in New York and the complex issue that has torn apart many Puerto Ricans for generations: the status of their home as U.S. territory. The play was presented June 6-8 during TeatroStageFest 2008 by Hostos Repertory Company at Hostos Community College.

WHEN & WHERE:
Sunday, August 10 @ 8 p.m.
East River Park, Band Shell (East River between Grand & Jackson Streets) Lower East Side, Manhattan.

Tuesday, August 12 @ 8 p.m.
Thursday, August 14 @ 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 17 @ 8 p.m.
St. Mary's Park (Entrance on St. Ann's Avenue at E. 146th Street), the Bronx

For more information, (212) 695-4010 or www.teatrostagefest.org.

source: TeatroStageFest release

Community Calendar

Stars to Light Up the Screen at the Ninth Annual New York International Latino Film Festival

The New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), presented by HBO, returns for its Ninth Annual Edition from July 22-27 and will have its biggest line-up yet with over 100 national and international films, documentaries and shorts. NYILFF also boasts more premieres than ever before including Opening Night's AMERICAN SON, directed by Neil Abramson and starring Nick Cannon, Melonie Diaz and Jay Hernandez, and Closing Night's THE MINISTERS, directed by Franc. Reyes and starring John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel. Other talent represented in this year's NYILFF include Daddy Yankee, Laurence Fishburne, Taye Diggs, Rosie Perez, Wilmer Valderrama, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Tyson Beckford, skateboarding star Paul Rodriguez, Jr., Jesse Garcia, Emily Rios and David Banner, many of whom are confirmed to attend.
For more information, visit
http://nylatinofilm.com

See related story at
http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/07/16/2008-07-16_urban_grit_and_latin_song_at_nylff-1.html

Guanina Ojos de Miel

Guanina Ojos de Miel
Originally uploaded by Pacu007.

From the Puerto Rico Sun photo group, today's featured image is by Pacu007. This doggie waits to see a vet.

'La novela'

Pensamientos

La novela
makes life
simple
My mom understands
her life through
novelas
-- Samaris Ayala

Gente @ Plaza de Luquillo

Gente @ Plaza de Luquillo
Originally uploaded by Eduardo Veguilla.

Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Eduardo Veguilla.

A Father's quest for honor: a hero's journey

You know how we love to see movies or read books about people that inspire us? It's like when you see a movie about someone who struggles against all odds and even though they get hurt (physically or emotionally) they keep going. In the end they might not get exactly what they were shooting for, that is unless you are the director of the movie, and your goal was to move the viewer emotionally and reinforce in them that there is always hope.

Who hasn't seen those movies? But have you ever had a friend who was like that? Someone that no matter what they do, they always seem to see beyond what you or I can perceive and divine out a larger truth that, when revealed, inspires us, makes us ask more of ourselves? Well I have one, his name is Francisco Martinez, or Paco for short.

Briefly, I met Paco 13 years ago when we met at my first job in Puerto Rico. He later worked for me as I moved my way up in the company. In many ways, we were kindred spirits from the start as we were both veterans and as such, shared many beliefs instilled in us from our military service. But further than that, he was also someone who was always trying to better himself. He was never willing to rest upon his success, plus he was one of the few people I've ever met that loved computers more than me, which is saying a lot.

As we each went through many different challenges in our individual lives, he always remained a loyal friend. However, nothing could have prepared us for the life shattering loss of his son (Francisco G. Martinez, Pauito) to a sniper in Iraq. On March 20th, 2003 Paco's life descended into hell as the news of his son's death came knocking on his door.

As the war in Iraq raged on, so did the war within Paco's soul. When the news of Abu Ghraib broke across our television screens a transformation began within him. A staircase began to emerge that would lead him out of hell. As he followed his escape from hell, he discovered a way to transform his pain into service. He finally realized that in order to honor the sacrifice his son had made he must also follow him. So at 43 years of age, he re-enlisted into the Ari Force Reserves and began once again to serve his country.

Yesterday, Paco took yet another transformational step in his life and his story when he began a six month deployment to Iraq. Something quite interesting about this story is how available it is through Paco's blog, starting with the initial announcement of his son's death, up until the most recent announcement of his deployment to Iraq, all of it is online and available for you to experience. If you want to learn about duty, if you want to learn about service, if you want to see how far some people are willing to go to do what they think is right, I encourage you to follow Paco's story.

I hope you'll join with me to honor Paco's son, and to also wish Paco a safe and quick return from Iraq. You're also invited to follow along with his tour in Iraq because to the best of his abilities he has promised to share with everyone his experience through his blog. ¡Vaya Con Dios Paco! -- Kevin Shockey

This article by Kevin Shockey was originally published on July 14 in Donde Quiera. Check out this blog from Puerto Rico at http://blog.dondees.com. Photos courtesy of Donde Quiera.

Here's a link to Paco's Blog:
http://www.mfconsulting.com/blog

Featured story

Green collar jobs in Puerto Rico: A well kept secret or are people simply misinformed

Although “green collar jobs” have existed in Puerto Rico for over ten years many people don’t know what the job title means and don’t realize that the existing jobs on the island could possibly become the industry of the future.

“Green Collar Jobs” have been around for a while, quietly tucked in Puerto Rican businesses, municipalities and non-profit sectors. The fact is that most Puerto Ricans, even those that are “green collar workers,” are unaware that they are in fact “green collar employees.”

To read the complete article, go to
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-9155--21-21--.html

On Latino Policy

The National Institute for Latino Policy recently provided some interesting information on Puerto Ricans stateside and how the stateside population continues to outnumber those living on the island.

Here's an excerpt of an entry from the Institute July 14 bi-monthly newsletter, edited by Angelo Falcon:

Puerto Rican Population Stateside
Continues to Exceed that of Puerto Rico

In 2004, the Atlas of Stateside Puerto Ricans documented for the first time the stateside Puerto Rican population exceeded that of Puerto Rico in 2003 by 163,246. The latest statistics from the Census Bureau, from the 2006 American Community Survey (ACS), estimates that this gap has grown: in 2006 there were 3,987,947 Puerto Ricans living stateside compared to 3,745,007 in Puerto Rico, meaning that there are 242,940 more Puerto Ricans stateside than in Puerto Rico. Does this development have implications for the politics and policy issues of the Puerto Rican community as a whole?



Interesting question. What do PRSUN readers think?

Anyway, if you are interested in Puerto Rican and Latino policy issues, the Institute's bi-monthly e-newsletter is a wonderful resource. It regularly features items related to Puerto Ricans.

Go to www.latinopolicy.org to subscribe.

By the way, the National Institute for Latino Policy was formerly known as the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy. It changed its name as a way of better representing policy issues impacting Latinos.

The National Institute for Latino Policy is a independent nonprofit and nonpartisan policy center established in 1982 to address Latino issues.

Artesanias Puerto Rico

Artesanias Puerto Rico
Originally uploaded by verodomica.

Today's featured image from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by verodomica. Photo was taken at an art fair earlier this year named Feria Internacional de Artesanias. This picture captures the work of artisan Puffay.


Visit a set named "Puffay" at verodomica's photo site at flickr:
http://flickr.com/photos/verodomica/sets/72157605773710297/

Boricua Hip-Hop Activist Rosa Clemente Runs for VP of the US in Green Party Ticket

The Green Party, which captured less than 1 percent of the vote in the last U.S. presidential election, has chosen the former Democratic Representative Cynthia McKinney. McKinney's running mate for the November election is vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente, a hip-hop artist and activist who is boricua.

Here's an entry posted in www.greensforgreens.org:

Cynthia McKinney Wins Green Party Presidential Nomination

Cynthia McKinney won the Green Party of the United States presidential nomination at the July 12 GP-US Convention in Chicago. McKinney, a former Member of Congress from Georgia, received 313 of 532 first round votes to earn nomination by Greens delegates from across the country excited that she will be their standard bearer this year. Hip-hop activist and journalist Rosa Clemente was selected to be the vice-presidential candidate of the Greens.
McKinney served six terms representing DeKalb County’s 4th Congressional District before moving to California and becoming a Green. About 800 Greens are attending the convention at the Chicago Symphony Center.
Clemente said she accepted McKinney’s invitation to be her running mate because she believes the former Georgia Congresswoman’s platform addresses issues not addressed by Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.
“I chose to do this, not for me, but for my generation, my community and my daughter,” said Clemente, 35, in the statement. “I don’t see the Green Party as an alternative, I see it as imperative.”

Here's a link in Wikipedia about Clemente and her background:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_clemente

For more info on the Green Party and its recent national convention in Chicago, go to
http://www.gp.org.


(photo courtesy of the Green Party site)

Featured story

Puerto Rican vets shorted on benefits

Unequal health plans come with overseas status


Military widows and veterans in Puerto Rico receive fewer health benefits than their counterparts in the United States, even though Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and serve shoulder-to-shoulder with their countrymen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That means that, like all island spouses whose soldier husbands or wives were killed in the latest U.S. wars, the widow of Army Sgt. Jeffrey Michael Rada Morales would get less than fully paid health insurance -- simply for living in Puerto Rico.
For the complete report by Robert Friedman, go to
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1053045,CST-NWS-Rican13.article


Editor's Note: This is so unfair to Puerto Rican soldiers and their families. Again, this has to do with Puerto Rico's political status issue. Puerto Ricans fight the same battles, yet are not equally paid. Come on!

Pregones' Summer Tour

MIGRANTS! Cantata a los Emigrantes is a bilingual play with music celebrating the Puerto Rican men & women who first toiled to establish a thriving and diverse Latino community in New York and throughout the eastern United States.
MIGRANTS! Cantata a los Emigrantes is a collective creation of Pregones Theater (in the Bronx) and it draws from written and oral histories, lore and legend, and the memory of landmark writers like Luisa Capetillo (Mi opinión), Julia de Burgos (Canción de la verdad sencilla, El mar y tú), René Marqués (La carreta, Los soles truncos) and Clemente Soto Vélez (Caballo de palo, La tierra prometida).
Premiered in 1986 and heralded by critics & audiences alike, MIGRANTS! is now re-staged to commemorate 10 years of Pregones' free-admission Summer Stage Tour. Presented in Spanish & English.


Click on image for larger text and full lineup of performance dates and venues. The tour runs from July 31-Aug. 12.

For more information, go to www.pregones.org.

source: Pregones