On the Reading Corner



Book lovers were treated to a literary feast last Saturday at Cemi Underground in NYC's El Barrio with the visit of two authors and the presentation of their books: "Sabrosuras Boricuas," a cookbook by Erisbelia Garriga and "Shadow of the Fathers," a novel by journalist Robert Friedman.
The next book presentation at Cemi Underground is "The Diaspora Strikes Back" by author Juan Flores. This event will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and admission is free.

This is all part of Cemi Underground's Puerto Rican Heritage Month events.
For more information, visit www.cemiunderground.com.

(Photos of Erisbelia Garriga and Robert Friedman by Ismael Nunez)

Editor's Note: You can also purchase Robert Friedman's book "Shadow of the Fathers" at the PRSUN aStore:



"The Diaspora Strikes Back" by Juan Flores is also availabe at the PRSUN aStore


Purchases at the PRSUN aStore are a way of contributing to the Puerto Rico Sun project.

Trova York in El Barrio

Music


Trova York (Canciones Para Nuestro Tiempo/Songs For Our Times)

Nueva Trova=expressing progressive sentiments.

Please, come and listen to a repertoire of quality songs of nueva canción/new song movement made popular by international renowned singers such as Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Roy Brown, Violeta Parra and Victor Jara among many others.

Sery Colón
Agüeybaná Productions

For more information on this and other Puerto Rican Heritage Month events, go to www.puertoricofest.org.

(Click on image to see larger text.)

Featured Puerto Rican Heritage Month event

Film

Ángel
7 p.m. TONIGHT
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue, NYC
Sponsored by: SEA in association with El Museo del Barrio
Admission: $5

The most recent film by Jacobo Morales follows a professor and student leader whose political beliefs landed him in prison for 15 years in the '80s, when people affiliated with Puerto Rico's independence movement were repressed and persecuted. This poignant tale of one man's will and determination to unveil the culprits who framed him and murdered his wife deftly interweaves intrigue, suspense and action while exploring the fine line that divides peace and violence, justice and injustice.

Ángel, will also be presented as part of BORIMIX: Puerto Rico Fest 2008 at the Hartford Public Library, CT, on Sunday, November 23rd at 2 p.m. For more information, www.hplct.org.

For more Puerto Rican heritage month events, visit www.puertoricofest.org.

Editor's Note: November is Puerto Rican Heritage Month. Boricua, there is no excuse not to attend at least one Puerto Rican heritage event this month. Apoya lo nuestro.

La Mega's Polito Vega Honored in the Bronx

IMG_1573
Originally uploaded by clarisel.

Spanish radio personality Polito Vega of La Mega is honored at a Puerto Rican Heritage Month celebration in the Bronx.

For more of my photos of the Bronx Puerto Rican Heritage Month celebration at the new Tropicana Theater & Nightclub on Home Street, the Bronx, go to www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel.
Click on the "Live Your Culture" photo set.

See related November 14 entry posted in this blog.

'Our Lady'

IMG_1500
Originally uploaded by clarisel.

Mass in honor of Our Lady of Providence, patroness of Puerto Rico, at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan

For more photos, go to www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel. Visit the "Our Lady" photo set.

Community calendar

Orfeón San Juan Bautista 2008 New York City Concert Tour

One of Puerto Rico’s premier a cappella chamber choral ensembles
Daniel A. Tapia-Santiago • Guarionex Morales-Matos
Musical Directors

The repertoire will include beautiful music by Victoria, Monteverdi, Gasparini, Pearsall, Bruckner and Mendelssohn, as well as vibrant popular music selections, featuring the world premieres of works by two generations of distinguished contemporary Puerto Rican composers:

Ernesto Cordero’s (b. 1946) Milonga sin palabras
Francis Rodríguez’s (b. 1982) El canto de la lluvia.


Wednesday, November 19
7:30 p.m.
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament
152 West 71st Street
between Broadway and Columbus Avenue, Manhattan
Tel. (212) 877-3111
www.blessedsacramentnyc.com


Thursday, November 20
4:00 p.m.
The Spence School
22 East 91st Street, Manhattan
(212) 289-5940 ext. 266
www.spenceschool.org


Friday, November 21
4:30 p.m.
Cathedral of Saint Patrick
Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets
New York City
(212) 753-2261
www.saintpatrickscathedral.org

Admission for all concerts is free and open to the general public.

www.orfeonsjb.org

Sponsored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and its Support for the Arts Program, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Jangueo and Teatro in the South Bronx

BETSY: Is she Irish or Puerto Rican?
Latino-Appalachian musical back by popular demand

Bronx-based Latino ensemble Pregones Theater is proud of the return engagement of BETSY, its latest creative
collaboration with the Appalachian artists of Roadside Theater in Kentucky. BETSY narrates the story of a Bronx Puerto Rican jazz singer who stirs up the little known history of her Scotch-Irish ancestry. Alive with the fire of Jazz, Bluegrass, and Latin
compositions delivered by three powerful vocalists and a five-member Latin-Appalachian band, BETSY is a sure-fire, toe-tapping, finger-snapping delight for theater and music lovers alike. One-week only engagement, November 20th
through November 23rd, at the new Pregones Theater. BETSY is presented in English with simultaneous Spanish language
supertitles. For ticket information, call 718-585-1202, or go online to www.pregones.org.

BETSY is the irresistible story of a young woman and the fascinating ghosts of her past: an orphaned teenager tricked into leaving Ireland to become an indentured servant in 18th century North America, her seducer, and their descendants; a grown
woman finding her bearings in the rhythms of a Puerto Rican neighborhood in the 21st century, a time traveling woman whose soul rests in her Caribbean and Scotch- Irish origins.

Meanwhile, Pregones also invites you to its new Jangueo Nights. The next Jangueo will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 21, and there will be a Sangria challenge.

Peruvian and Nicaraguan Sangrias go head to head in Pregones' very own ultimate Sangria Challenge. Help Pregones choose the best Sangria during its new Jangueo Night, the perfect social adventure and after-work hangout for young people 21+. Drinks, eats, and top-notch theater set the right tone for a great night out on the town. On Jangueo Night, there will be a special admission price of $15 with online code: jangueo08. Sangria Bar open before and after show. Proof of age required. For future advance notices and invites, write to jangueo@pregones.org.

source: Pregones

(Betsy photo by Erika Rojas)

The Last Six

The Last Six
Originally uploaded by Rigglord.

Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Ricky "Rigglord" Flores.

MediaNoche's Ed Vega Tribute Blogging Live

Tune in to MediaNoche at blogtv. MediaNoche is broadcasting its marathon reading of Ed Vega's book.


MediaNoche- Broadcast your self LIVE

“THE LAMENTABLE JOURNEY OF OMAHA BIGELOW INTO THE IMPENETRABLE LOISAIDA JUNGLE”
BY ED VEGA YUNQUÉ

A TRIBUTE TO THE AUTHOR NON-STOP READING OF THE NOVEL

YOU CAN WATCH IT ON BLOGTV OR STOP BY

Event is until 7 p.m. TONIGHT
Free

MediaNoche
1355 Park Avenue, Corner Store
(at East 102nd Street), NYC's East Harlem

You can order a copy of Ed Vega's book online right here:



See related October 11 entry posted in this blog.

UPDATE: This show is going beyond 7 p.m. TONIGHT. Readers will continue marathon until they finish the book, MediaNoche reports.

New friend

New friend
Originally uploaded by Björn Söderqvist.

Today's featured shot from the Puerto Rico Sun photo group is by Björn Söderqvist who says, "At El Morro, we met a sunbathing cat who was more than willing to be petted."

Opportunity

The Latino International Theater Festival of New York, Inc. (LITF/NY), the not-for-profit organization that produces the annual TeatroStageFest, seeks volunteers to collaborate in the following projects: database management, web maintenance,
audience profile study, and graphic design.

For more information: info@teatrostagefest.org

Our Lady of Providence

Community calendar

Our Lady of Providence
Originally uploaded by clarisel.

Mass in honor of Our Lady of Providence, patroness of Puerto Rico, will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Sunday at the main altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.


For more information, www.saintpatrickscathedral.org

The Bronx Celebrates Puerto Rican Heritage Month at the new Tropicana

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión will celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage Month honoring Puerto Rican leaders. This year honorees are: Eddie Rodriguez, president DC 37, Local 1549; Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president, Hispanic Federation; Polito Vega, radio personality, Amor 93.1 & La Mega 97.1; Natalie Toro, Broadway actress/singer currently playing Madame DeFarge in A Tale of Two Cities at the Al Hirschfeld Theater and previously Eponine in Les Miserables. Carrion will posthumously honor David Melendez, Sr., founder, Starlight Dance Studios.

The celebration will be also a sneak peak at the borough’s newest night spot, the Tropicana Theater & Nightclub, located at 1061 Home Street. The venue pays homage to the famous Tropicana Club history with a carefully recreated art deco interior where guests can once again "dance under the stars.”

Admission is complimentary, but RSVP required: (718) 590-3522.

source: Bronx BP's office
6-8 p.m., Monday, November 17
The Tropicana Theater & Nightclub
1061 Home Street, Bronx

source: Bronx BP's office