CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, received two New York Emmy Awards October 28 for “Puerto Rican Voices,” an investigative series about colonialism in Puerto Rico aired on CUNY TV, the university’s public television station.
One of the winning episodes of the series chronicles the story of Tito Matos, a famed Puerto Rican musician and mutual-aid organizer who died in 2022. The second winning episode was “Living Under Austerity” which uncovered the lives of Puerto Ricans in the wake of disaster and debt.
“We are thrilled to have received these prestigious awards for material that grapples with the complexity and richness of the Puerto Rican experience,” said CENTRO Director Yomaira Figueroa-Vásquez. “It was an honor to document the exemplary life of Tito Matos, whose music contributed so much to Puerto Rican culture and to use our platform to reveal the entanglement of colonialism in the everyday lives of Puerto Ricans.”
CUNY TV received six New York Emmy Awards across three shows during the 66th annual awards gala hosted at the New York Marriott Marquis, bringing the station’s total count of Emmy Awards won to 41.
The recognized shows include one of the station’s signature series, “Nueva York,” which earned three awards; and which collected two awards. The documentary series “I Am a Dreamer,” also brought home a New York Emmy Award.
“We are excited to see CUNY TV once again recognized for the high quality of work it produces to ensure that New Yorkers from all backgrounds know about the many stories that comprise our great city, including many from right here at CUNY,” said CUNY Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Maite Junco. “Congratulations to the entire CUNY TV team on yet another successful showing at the New York Emmy Awards.”
In all, CUNY TV garnered 18 nominations for this year’s awards, one shy of the record number of nominations received last year.