Join us Tuesday, November 30th at 3 PM EST for part II of Accion UPR! After discussing some of the most urgent problems affecting the UPR in our previous event (Town-hall-event-accion-UPR, in this follow-up meeting we will convene in break-out rooms to outline specific actions that the diaspora and alumni of the University of Puerto … Continued
Historian Anibal Sepulveda Rivera argues that San Juan, capital of Puerto Rico, has been re-founded twice. There is the first well-known re-foundation of 1521, when the capital was moved from a mosquito-infested swamp unto the islet it currently occupies; but there was a second re-foundation that happened around the late 1940's, when the capital first … Continued
On December 6th, 2022, Centro hosted a free advanced screening of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story for our friends and members of the community. Over 200 people attended and were able to view the movie in full for the first time.
Join us on Wednesday, December 8th at 4:30 PM EST for our first December Afternoon Tertulia- #CienciaPR: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Response. We will be joined by members of Ciencia Puerto Rico: Giovanna Guerrero Medina, Monica Feliu Mojer, and Greetchen Diaz Muñoz to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the archipelago, Puerto Rico's quick … Continued
Join us on Monday, December 13th at 3:00 PM EST for our second December Afternoon Tertulia- Reimagining West Side Story: A Critical Discussion of the Remake. We will be joined by Dr. Virginia Sanchez-Korrol, Dr. Frances Negron-Muntaner, and Dr. Brian Herrera, with Dr. Jillian Baez as moderator. This panel will provide a critical discussion of … Continued
Join us on Tuesday, December 14th at 12 PM EST for our December Library Lunch Hour on La Navidad Puertorriqueña. Puerto Ricans celebrate the holidays like no other people on earth. Join us as we talk about our traditions, music, foods, and drinks that are so special to us during Christmas and Three Kings Day. … Continued
On Wednesday, December 15th at 2 PM EST, we will be hosting a very special Data Hub Coffee Hour, where our data hub team will highlight their Fall 2021 research work and the research associates will present their research plans they will undertake during their Centro residency. Dr. Matthew Nicdao, Dr. Jose A. Laguarta Ramirez, … Continued
Gather around with us for a Centro Town Hall event on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022 at 3 PM EST. Centro’s Mellon grant coordinator, Cristel Jusino Díaz, and the Co-conveners of Centro’s new Decolonization Study Group for a brief discussion of Centro’s new program “Bridging the Divides” funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Andrew … Continued
Join us on Tuesday, February 8th at 12 PM EST for the first Library Lunch Hour of the Year! We will be joined with documentary filmmaker and President of Balestra Media, Christina DiPasquale, and Centro Library Manager, Aníbal Arocho, as they discuss the groundbreaking PBS series executive produced and hosted by Humberto Cintrón, Realidades. Realidades … Continued
Join us for an Afternoon Tertulia: The Lettered Barrida on Thursday, February 17th, 2022 at 4 PM EST. We will be joined by author and professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo and Centro researcher José Laguarta Ramírez who will be discussing Meléndez-Badillo’s newest book, The Lettered Barrida. In his book, Meléndez-Badillo tells the story of how a cluster … Continued
Join us for another Library Lunch Hour, Unboxing the Archives: Contemporary Lit Curated by the Library and Archives on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 at 12 PM EST! We will be joined by Centro Library Manager, Aníbal Arocho, as he unboxes and displays the contemporary literature pieces that we have at our Library and Archives. Aníbal … Continued
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re kicking it off with a Library Lunch Hour on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 at 12 PM EST. In this installment of the Library Lunch Hour, we celebrate the Puerto Rican women represented throughout the Centro Archives. The lives and legacies of these individuals are crucial to the understanding of … Continued
March is Women's History Month and we’re starting off right on Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 at 4 PM EST with a Cafecito con Dr. María Teresa Vera-Rojas! In this very special Cafecito, Centro Researcher Dr. Celiany Rivera Velázquez and Dr. Vera-Rojas will explore María’s book “Se conoce que usted es ‘Moderna’” where she not only focuses on … Continued
Join us on Wednesday, March 16th, 2022 at 6:30 PM EST for a Town Hall - Reclaiming Puerto Rico. This town hall brings various young people fighting for social justice across the Puerto Rican archipelago to express the impact that years of colonialism and austerity have had on their lives and the lives of their … Continued
Grab your lunch and join us for another Library Lunch Hour on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 at 12 PM EST! Centro Library Manager, Aníbal Arocho will be joined by Archivist Juber Ayala to explore the Puerto Rican Community Archives!! Founded in 2002, the New Jersey Hispanic Research & Information Center at The Newark Public Library … Continued
Join us on Friday, March 25th at 4 PM EST for an Afternoon Tertulía: Reggaetón, Race, and Cultural Politics. Let’s explore Puerto Rican contributions to reggaetón, a musical genre that has reached worldwide attention and transformed the music scene and popular culture for the past few decades. Using an intersectional approach to class, race, gender, and diasporic … Continued
Join us as we close off the month of March with an Afternoon Tertulía on Tuesday, March 29th, 2022. Set in the wake of Hurricane Maria, Xavier Navarro Aquino’s unforgettable debut novel follows a remarkable group of survivors searching for hope on an island torn apart by both natural disaster and human violence. Velorio—meaning “wake”—is … Continued
Join us for Town Hall X: Inclusivity Across Language on Thursday, March 31st, 2022 at 4 PM EST. We will be joined by Dr. Ana Celia Zentella, Dr. Irma Olmedo, Dr. Jose Luis Vega, and Dr. Lawrence la Fountain-Stokes to discuss proponents and opponents of the use of inclusive language (Latinx, Latines, Latinus, etc.) among … Continued
Play ball! Join us for a Library Lunch Hour: Raul Ramos - Baseball Writer on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 at 12 PM EST. In this event, Centro Library Manager, Aníbal Arocho and baseball writer, Raul Ramos, will discuss legendary baseball player Francisco Pancho Coímbre and Raul’s book, Francisco Coímbre, Los Bates Grandes se Respetan. As … Continued
Join us on Thursday, April 7th, 2022 at 5 PM EST for an Afternoon Tertulía: PR Studies in CUNY - 50 Years. We’ll be joined by Dr. Virginia Sanchez-Korrol and Dr. María E. Pérez y Gonzalez, Conor Tomás Reed, and Edna Acosta-Belento discuss the creation of the book Puerto Rican Studies in the City University … Continued
Join us on Saturday, April 9th, 2022 at 4:30 PM EST for an Afternoon Tertulia Casa Pueblo at The Clemente. We’ll be joined by Centro Research Associates Jennifer Hinojosa Pueblo in discussing community self management and the importance of protecting natural and cultural resources. This event will be streamed on The Clemente’s platforms as well … Continued
Join us on April 20th, 2022 at 2 PM EST for a Town Hall - Expanding the Curriculum: Supporting Connecticut’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum. During this event, Centro Education Policy Researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Taveras Rivera will interview Paquita Jarman-Smith and Nitza Diaz, Consultants for Connecticut's State Education Resource Center, SERC, to learn about their work with … Continued
Join us for a Cafecito con Amor y Anarquía on Wednesday, April 27th, 2022 at 2 PM EST. We will be joined by Beatriz Llenín-Figueroa, Julio Ramos, Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, Luis Othoniel Rosa, Teresa Peña Jordán, and Raquel Salas Rivera in discussion of Luisa Capetillo’s book, Amor y Anarquía, a century after Capetillo’s death. This book … Continued
Join us on Thursday, April 28th, 2022 at 4 PM EST for a Cafecito con William Caballero: Big Stories with Small Figures. We’ll be joined by filmmaker William Caballero and Dr. Jillian M. Báez to discuss William’s 2017 short film Chilly & Milly, which explores the director’s own experiences with his chronically ill father and … Continued
Join Professor Carmelo Esterrich and Professor Bayram Gascot Hernández on Star Wars Day (May the 4th!) at 4 PM EST for un Cafecito con… Carmelo Esterrich: Star Wars Multiverse. Moderated by Centro Outreach and Partnership Manager (and resident Star Wars fan), Rosa Cruz, Cordero this Cafecito con will explore Esterrich’s latest book, Star Wars Multiverse, … Continued
Join us on Tuesday, May 10th, 2022 at 6:30 PM EST for a Cafecito con… Christopher Sorrentino: Now Beacon, Now Sea. In this event, we will be in partnership with the Calandra Italian American Institute, to discuss Christopher Sorrentino’s memoir: Now Beacon, Now Sea. This memoir depicts the death of Christopher Sorrentino’s mother in 2017, marking the … Continued
Join Centro for a Cafecito con… Arcadio Díaz-Quiñones on May 11th, 2022 at 4 PM EST! This conversation between Dr. Diaz-Quiñones and Sofía Gallisá Muriente will explore Arcadio’s extensive history in Puerto Rican studies across various genres including memory and resistance throughout the diaspora. Dr. Díaz-Quiñones has explored topics of colonial capitalism, militarization, ecocide, massive … Continued
Join The Puerto Rico Syllabus Research and Curricular Fellows Abner Aldarondo, José Gabriel Figueroa Carle, Tania Ríos Marrero, and Daniel Vázquez as they present their extensive work on accessibility, translation, and research which improved The Puerto Rico Syllabus website across a variety of disciplines and contemporary topics. The improved and more accessible website features updates … Continued
A special memorial celebration honoring El Barrio native, Hiram Maristany. The memorial event honoring Hiram Maristany will be held at El Teatro in El Museo del Barrio from 1:00PM to 3:00 PM on May 15. Please join as we celebrate his life, his work documenting the Puerto Rican experience in New York City, and his … Continued
Join us on Tuesday, April 26th at 12 PM EST for a Library Lunch Hour: Puerto Rican Poets. Did you know? April is Poetry Month! Tune in to this Library Lunch Hour to learn all about the Poetry Collections that are housed in our archives. Our library manager, Aníbal, will review the meaningful works of … Continued
Join us on May 26th at 12 PM EST for a Data Hub Teach In: Socio-Demographic data of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. and PR: 2010 to 2019. Centro’s Data Hub developed a dashboard showcasing Puerto Rican population data, including in-and-out migration from Puerto Rico, educational attainment and language proficiency, income, employment, housing, health and … Continued
Catch us at the 152nd Street Cultural Festival on Saturday, May 28th from 11 AM - 6 PM EST, where we will be tabling alongside many others. Set in The Bronx, “El Condado de la Salsa,” The National Puerto Rican Day Parade has hosted this annual cultural event since 1995 where we welcome all families … Continued
Catch Centro at the 35th Annual Loisaida Festival! After a 2 year hiatus, the festival is back on with this years theme of “Taking it back to our streets! – ¡Regresando a nuestras calles!”, highlighting the return of the festivities to Avenue C – renamed Loisaida Ave. in 1987. This conic community celebration will bring … Continued
Join us for a Cafecito con Rocio Zambrana on June 8th, 2022 at 4 PM EST. Professor Rocio Zambrana will be in conversation with Dr. Raquel Salaz Rivera in presenting her new book Colonial Debts. Colonial Debts explores neoliberal coloniality out of Puerto Rico’s debt crisis and the ways in which debt functions as a … Continued
Join us on Saturday, June 11th at 10 AM EST for the 37th annual 116th Street Festival. This in person event will take place on 116th Street and Third Avenue, and will feature live music performances, community art, and food influenced by Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. The 116th Street Festival started in 1985 as … Continued
Join us on Sunday, June 12th at 11 AM EST for the 65th National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP)! In this yearly in-person event, the NPRDP will highlight Puerto Rican culture, achievements and legacy with music, dance and colorful displays of cultural pride before an estimated 1.5 million spectators. After a mandatory two-year hiatus due … Continued
Join us on Thursday, June 16th at 4 PM and Friday, June 17th through Saturday, June 18th starting at 11 AM EST for Jornadas Educativas - 2nd Conference on Art, Research, and Multidisciplinary Creation. In this event, the applicants of our collaborative call with el Museo del Arte de Puerto Rico will come together to … Continued
Join us on Tuesday, June 21st at 12 PM EST for the final Library Lunch Hour of the year: Queer Identity in Media. This Library Lunch Hour stars Heriberto Gonzalez, the host of HoMoVISIONES, the first television program to cover LGBTQ+ issues from the Latino/Latina/LatinX perspective, as the host of this event. James King, Artistic … Continued
In this hybrid event, Hunter College President Jennifer Raab and CENTRO’s Directora, Dr. Yarimar Bonilla, will welcome U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres (NY 15th), to the historic Hunter College Roosevelt House to discuss Rep. Torres' legislative initiative to bring an end to the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board (known locally as La Junta). … Continued
Join us on Wednesday, June 29th at 4 PM EST for an Afternoon Tertulia - Basquiat: King Pleasure through a Decolonial Lens. This event will feature a conversation between Dr. Yasmin Ramirez and Dr. Frances Negrón-Muntaner as they discuss the career, legacy, and impact of Jean-Michel Basquiat as portrayed in the current exhibit: Jean Michel Basquiat: King … Continued
CENTRO's Digital Collections is an ever-growing resource of material digitized from the Archive's holdings. It provides access to over 32,000 photographs, documents, artifacts, art, maps, oral histories, moving images, audio clips, and other material pertaining to the Puerto Rican diaspora. This Library Lunch Hour explores the process of how we digitize collections at CENTRO, an … Continued
The Hell Lady of the Bronx Exhibition at the CENTRO Reading Room Join CENTRO, Hunter College, Hostos Community College, and the Evelina Centennial Committee on September 15th, 2022 at 3 PM EST at the Silberman School of Social Work to celebrate the life, legacy, and immensely impactful work done by The Hell Lady of the … Continued
The year 2022 marks the centennial of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Balzac v. People of Porto Rico, one of the most consequential Supreme Court rulings that shaped the status of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans within the US empire. Tune in for this Afternoon Tertulia as we unravel the latest CENTRO Journal, Back to … Continued
no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria is on display at the Whitney Museum of Art from November 23rd, 2022–April 23rd 2023. The exhibition explores how artists have responded to the transformative years since that event by bringing together more than fifty artworks made over the last five … Continued
This teach-in, the first in a series of public events organized by the Mellon funded Bridging the Divides Decolonization Study Group, asks our community to think about the lessons we have learned in the 5 years since Hurricane María made landfall in Puerto Rico and how those lessons can be applied in light of Hurricane … Continued
The rise of the digital era has allowed us to capture and share everything and anything in real time. But then, the unthinkable happens, your hard drive crashes, you lose your thumb drive, or you can't log into your Instagram account. Join this Library Lunch Hour and learn how to best preserve your photos, manuscripts, … Continued
Mariposa María Teresa Fernández is an award-winning Afro Puerto Rican poet, spoken word performance artist, visual artist, educator, activist, scholar and Bronx native. Join her and fellow Nuyorican Poet, Urayoan Noel, as they discuss Fernández' poetry and the themes of identity, belonging, decolonization, social justice, blackness and the Puerto Rican experience in Nueva York. Mariposa … Continued
Use code PRSA2022 for 20% off your purchase! Join CENTRO on October 26th at 3 PM for an Afternoon Tertulia on the new journal - Beyond Corruption: From Colonial Practices to Emancipatory Futures. This special issue opens a space for understanding and challenging corruption in Puerto Rico, but through an unconventional lens. One that asks … Continued
Join CENTRO Library Manager, Anibal Arocho in exploring new books that contribute to the richness of Puerto Rican studies. The books featured in this Library and Archives Lunch Hour offer a variety of topics including growing up in the 50s in El Barrio, colonialism in the wake of Hurricane Maria, biographies on revolutionary leaders, and … Continued
Puerto Rican Voices Season 5, produced by CENTRO, launches in November of this year! This season, which will be broadcasted on CUNY-TV, focuses on investigative storytelling, looking at the Puerto Rican experience through a transnational lens, building a bridge between the diaspora, and the archipelago. This season features five mini-documentaries focused on current issues in … Continued
Puerto Rican Voices Season 5, produced by CENTRO, launches in November of this year! This season, which will be broadcasted on CUNY-TV, focuses on investigative storytelling, looking at the Puerto Rican experience through a transnational lens and building a bridge between the diaspora and the archipelago. Join CENTRO Directora Yarimar Bonilla, filmmakers Juan C. Davila … Continued
November 2022 marks the 90th anniversary of the first bilingual book published in the country, Pura Belpre’s “Perez y Martina”! This Puerto Rican folktale regales the adventures of Martina, a Spanish cockroach of high degree, and her many suitors. Join William Walker of SUNY Oneonta, Paloma Celis Carbajal of the New York Public Library, and … Continued
Bianca Graulau is a Puerto Rican independent journalist who has worked with a variety of media outlets, reporting on Puerto Rico's political climate. After working as a local TV reporter in the states, she moved back to Puerto Rico to care for her family and produce independent media. Her work on austerity measures, colonialism, and … Continued
Join CENTRO & The Whitney for a FREE community viewing of the exhibition, "no existe un mundo poshuracan": Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria, on February 2nd from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM. The exhibition, on display at the Whitney Museum of Art from November 23rd, 2022 – April 23rd 2023, explores … Continued
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library dedicated to the collection and preservation of Black life in America and a partner of CENTRO. It's founder, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, was an Afro-Puerto Rican determined to uplift our stories. Nearly 100 years later, we have the Schomburg and CENTRO, whose collections ensure … Continued
A new in-person series in celebration of our 50th Anniversary! Join us once a month on Saturday afternoons at our Evelina Antonetty Reading Room in the CENTRO Library & Archives for La Meriendita, a story hour dedicated to children's books. This month's story hour book is Vicki and a Summer of Change! (¡Vicki y un … Continued
Drops of Inclusivity examines race and racism on the island of Puerto Rico by combining a wide-angle historical narrative with the individual stories of Black Puerto Ricans. While some of these Afro-Boricuas, such as Roberto Clemente and Ruth Fernández, are well known, others, such as Cecilia Orta and Juan Falú Zarzuela, have been largely forgotten, … Continued
Join Centro's Project Archivist, Herbert Duran, for a virtual tour and presentation of Centro's archive, focusing on Puerto Rican migration to Hawai'i. Spurred by depressed economic conditions and a hurricane that devastated the island in 1899, between 1900 and 1902 over 5,000 Puerto Ricans left their home island and traveled to the islands of Hawai'i … Continued
Dr. Caraballo Cueto’s latest research evaluates some of the macroeconomic prospects that Puerto Rico could expect after a change in its political status. This shift would probably result in considerable changes in education, health, transportation, environment, housing, and other aspects of life quality. However, this research is only concerned with the economic consequences of changing … Continued
Puerto Rico’s natural environment and political landscape are fertile terrain for many artists in no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria; their works explore how the archipelago’s ecology and infrastructure are entwined. In this panel moderated by Yarimar Bonilla, Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at … Continued
Join Yarimar Bonilla, Director of CENTRO, in kicking off CENTRO’s 50th Anniversary Symposium by reflecting on the last few years in the Diaspora and at CENTRO. Dr. Arcadio Diaz-Quiñones and Dr. Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez will provide valuable insight on the institution's emergence during the civil rights movement; the birth of “Aprender a Luchar, Luchar es … Continued
CENTRO turns 50 this year! We're kicking off our 50th Anniversary with a symposium aimed at reflecting on our vibrant history as a hub for activism, academic research, and community-based leadership.
Edith Diaz, Miriam Colon, and Tina Ramirez, amongst others, are all Puerto Rican actresses and performers for whom the concept of working twice as hard for half as much is not foreign. Despite being critically acclaimed and leaving a lasting impact in the world of performing arts within the U.S, they all faced an uphill … Continued
Can grief and mourning be catalysts for political change? This conversation with artists Garvin Sierra Vega, Gabriella N. Báez, Sofia Córdova, Awilda Sterling-Duprey, Elle Pérez, Lulu Varona, and Edra Soto considers aspects of loss, whether personal or societal, and the inextricable relationship between art and politics in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria. The discussion is moderated … Continued
Known as the island donde hasta la piedras cantan – “where even the rocks sing” – Puerto Rico is home to a dizzying breadth of musical expression. From the lyrical boleristas of the 1930s, to the electric salseros of the ’70s, to the reggaetoneros of today who have taken music from the margins and made … Continued
Despite Puerto Rico’s fertile land and year-round tropical climate, the archipelago has poor conditions for farming. Beginning with the displacement of farmers and destruction of farmland to make way for a wave of industrialization coupled with natural disasters that are growing in intensity as a result of climate change, it’s easy to see how we’ve … Continued
CENTRO has launched a new in-person series in celebration of our 50th Anniversary! Join us once a month on Saturday afternoons at the Silberman School of Social Work for La Meriendita, a story hour dedicated to children's books. This month's story hour book is The Journey of Pura Belpre's Tales by Manuel Morán, a story … Continued
Gather around with us for a Centro Town Hall event on Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 2 PM EST. Centro’s Mellon grant coordinator, Cristel Jusino Díaz, and the Co-conveners of Centro’s new Decolonization Study Group for a brief discussion of Centro’s new program “Bridging the Divides” funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Andrew … Continued
What would be the implications of Puerto Rico shifting its status from an unincorporated territory to a state? As part of the Bridging the Divides Decolonization study group, CENTRO Directora will have a conversation with Prof. Christina D. Ponsa Kraus and Rep. José Bernardo Márquez. This event is part of a series including discussions of … Continued
Join CENTRO and Hunter East Harlem Gallery for the opening night of “Ida y Vuelta: Experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo” at the Hunter College East Harlem Gallery on March 30th. The exhibit, whose name translates to “Arrivals and Departures: Migration Experiences in Contemporary Puerto Rican Art,” is curated by Dr. Laura … Continued
Join Anaida Hernández as she explores her work, La rueda de la fortuna - el sueño americano (1999), on display as part of the exhibition, Ida y Vuelta: Experiencias de la migración en el arte puertorriqueño contemporáneo at the Hunter College East Harlem Gallery. La rueda de la fortuna was part of Hernández solo exhibition … Continued
How can painting, and art more broadly, be a method for resisting imperialism and colonization? In this conversation, artists Armig Santos, Danielle De Jesus, Gamaliel Rodríguez, Rogelio Báez Vega, and Miguel Luciano discuss their individual practices and collectively explore painting’s possibilities as a medium of opposition to and critique of Puerto Rico’s colonial condition. The … Continued
The U.S. Census Bureau has collected data on race since the first census in 1790 and on Hispanic or Latino origin since the 1970 Census. How these topics are measured, and statistics on them are collected and coded, has changed nearly every decade throughout the history of the census, reflecting social, political and economic factors. … Continued
Join CENTRO and the UPR - Ponce Campus Choir at the People's Church in East Harlem for a live musical performance! The University of Puerto Rico in Ponce concert choir is a non-profit organization that works as a creative space of excellence, where students of different specialties with economic needs come together to perform traditional … Continued
Looking for a new book to read? Look no further! Join us for another Library & Archives Lunch Hour on new books in Puerto Rican Studies. The field of Puerto Rican studies is rich and diverse in both its subject matter and those who write about it, and there's something for everyone this lunch hour. … Continued