I met Frank Bonilla soon after I started teaching at The City College of New York in 1982. Frank welcomed me into the family of El Centro in ways that allowed others to accept a Cuban American whose history and background did not match theirs. What I remember most about Frank was his smile, and his way of making me feel part of a Puerto Rican “family,” regardless of who I was. He always listened. Despite his fiery political writing, Frank, as a human being, was gentle and quiet. I was surprised when I first met him, having read his work previously. And yet, it was his gentle disposition, combined with his great ideas, his thinking beyond his time, his commitment to the Puerto Rican and Latino community, his attitude of always remaining firm in his political and social convictions, that made such a big impact in my professional life. Without Frank, I would have never become part of the Puerto Rican intellectual family that allowed me, an outsider, to feel part of a community with which I had grown up in New York. I’m sorry that I will be missing this great occasion of remembering a great man and intellectual, a great Puerto Rican, and beyond it all, a generous man. We will remember him always!

Ofelia García

Frank Bonilla was a deep listener who embraced the creative and political spirit of independence as proaction, not oration. He was instrumental in facilitating grassroots advocacy while celebrating our Puerto Rican/Latino intellectual unanmity of being. He gave well-known and emerging poets, writers, visual and performance artists an opportunity to showcase our commitment to racial identity, preservation, and unity.
Frank Bonilla was a mentor and a greater friend whose integrity inspired me to higher horizons as a poet, actor, and educational facilitator. We were all blessed, then and now, that such a rare visionary crossed our path so we may counteract against cultural amnesia. Frank: Mil gracias! - Jose Angel Figueroa

I will always be eternally grateful to Dr. Frank Bonilla for helping me to secure the position as Head of the Periodical Division of the Hunter College Library back in October 1987. Dr. Bonilla's gracious letter of recommendation was the deciding factor in giving an unknown Puerto Rican from Canarsie, Brooklyn the opportunity to work as an academic librarian in a prestigious CUNY library. He was a colleague, mentor, and dear friend. May he rest in peace.

When I first met Frank, he was answering phones at the Centro. I think it was then at 500 Fifth Ave As a freshly minted Ph. D, I arrived for what might have been a job interview -- I think that is what it was because I started working there soon after. I didn’t expect to see him working as a receptionist. But the Centro was working as a collective then, and Frank was doing his part with the shared work. I had read just a little of his work before going to the Centro but what I had read drew me to the Centro and to working with him. While there, and subsequently, I think about how his words, both written and spoken, always seemed to incorporate so many of the issues that resonate with so many people. His words also often penetrated to the core of the issues at hand and often sought to move others to action. Supportive of my professional travels in so many ways, he was a committed, intelligent scholar, a wise and accepting elder, and a fighter for social justice on all levels. I’ll miss him greatly and we will all miss his ability to encircle, embrace and envelop one and all.

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