RicanWritings

Black and white photos of women wearing dresses surrounding a Venus statue.

The right to exist: Pablo Delano’s reclamation of colonial history

by María de Lourdes Javier Rivera

Porto Rico non existe! – exclaimed a frustrated mail clerk in Italy. I had been visiting a… Learn More

RicanWritings

Distorted self-portrait of the artist in the mirror. Their face is morphed into four squished-together faces. Their body remains mostly untouched.

Confronting authenticity and self-reflection in Gabriella Torres-Fe...

by Juan José Roque-Giraud

The mirror often provokes profound and unsettling feelings of discomfort. Its reflective surface confronts us with rarely… Learn More

RicanWritings

Ceramic pink orifices lined up on the wall in neat rectangles.

El roto como retrato: Roberto Márquez Jorge and the Inversion of Po...

by Melissa M. Ramos Borges

It is clear that the world is purely parodic, in other words, that each thing seen is… Learn More

RicanWritings

"[This] painting is a symbol of US-American colonialism. The house in the painting is emblematic of my Great-Grandmother's house in Patillas, Puerto Rico." - Saint Electric. The painting depicts a pink skeleton looming over a small orange house.

Memory, Space, [Be]longing: The Artistic Production of Estefanía Va...

by Carlos Ortiz Burgos

Her childhood memories are the raw material Estefanía Vallejo Santiago uses in her artistic production. To be… Learn More

RicanWritings

Five framed landscape paintings lined up on a wall. Each one is a mountain painted in an unnatural color with a corresponding unnaturally colored sky.

Material Cosmos: A Conversation with Gisela Colón

by Arianna Rosario Valentín

In an increasingly militarized world marked by ever escalating colonial contradictions, apathy and hyper-individualism have become the… Learn More

RicanWritings

The digital plane map inside a plane. The light it gives off is blue.

André Marcel Pagán - Untitled (2022)

by Carlos Rivera

Anyone who has traveled by airplane has seen the seatback screens that provide on-board entertainment. These have… Learn More

RicanWritings

Three cows painted in bright colors in front of a sprawling green landscape.

Diasporican Art in Motion: Interview with artist Marisol Ruiz

by Karelys C. Rivera Nieves

A lot of times when something shows up in a painting, it’s because I’ve been thinking about… Learn More

RicanWritings

Image of geometric art work with alternating grey and blue sideways triangles.

Efrén Candelaria

by Luis A. Bonilla Robles

In the ever-evolving landscape of Puerto Rican art, few voices carry the depth, rigor, and emotional honesty… Learn More

RicanWritings

"I show myself multiple as a cloned army, with a marked face, with scars, tattooed with images, photos..." - Brenda Cruz Díaz

Interviewing Artist Brenda Cruz Díaz

by Sol Bermúdez

Brenda Cruz Díaz is a woman of many hats. She is an interdisciplinary artist, (art) historian, and… Learn More

RicanWritings

Vejigante sitting in a tree. The chest of the figure is filled with colorful shapes.

Elisa Dore and the Figure of the Vejigante as a Reclaiming of her P...

by Adrián E. Torrens

The themes of Puerto Rican-ness and Puerto Rican identity are common in my work, and a lot… Learn More

RicanWritings

Centro's Logo

The Fire We Share: On Anthem of Evaporated Tears

by Maria Burgos

A review of the poetry collection by Xavier Valcárcel, translated by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera When I… Learn More

RicanWritings

A family bookshelf with photos and figurines. Some objects include rosaries, cassette tapes, books, small clocks, and a teacup.

Andina Marie Osorio

by Clara García Meléndez

On April 10th, 2025, I sat down via video call with artist Andina Marie Osorio and talked… Learn More

RicanWritings

"Large mixed media painting. An abstracted kitchen with a running leak and magnetic fridge with word magnets where the viewer can jumble the Puerto Rican anthem in spanglish to create a new poem." - Misla

MISLA

by Coral Ramos Delgado

Upon encountering Misla’s work, one may well be getting a glimpse into a very personal, yet instantly… Learn More

RicanWritings

"This is an oil painting based on the design of the Rider-Waite tarot card 'The Fool'" - Isabella Mellado. A person wearing a vejigante mask holds hibiscus flowers in each hand. They wear a yellow shirt with the progress pride flag on the right side of the shirt and a Taino symbol on the left. They stand ankle deep in thick grass with their back to a tree that has "The Fool" tarot card nailed to it. Mountains are sprawling in the background against a bright blue sky.

The Fool: A Journey between Identities

by Adriana Colón

The Fool (2024) by the Puerto Rican artist, Isabella Mellado, is a large format oil painting featuring… Learn More

RicanWritings

A blue wooden cabinet with paintings and keepsakes inside.

Diasporican Art: An Interview with Beatriz Amelia Whitehill

by Gabriela Bustelo

Raised in Boston, Massachusetts, twenty-six-year-old diasporic artist, Beatriz Whitehill carries Puerto Rico in every step she takes.… Learn More

RicanWritings

Cubist style portrait of the artist.

Amanda Carmona Bosch: In Transit, Against the Current

by Laura Bravo López

Amanda Carmona Bosch is a rara avis in the history of Puerto Rican art. In her work, her language,… Learn More

RicanWritings

Green landscape with houses on the mountainside. In the foreground there is a dark wood tree. "The tocororo (Cuban trogon) perches on the highest branch of the tree." - Miguel Trelles

Miguel Trelles Hernández’ Tocororo (2018); What Does Puerto Rican A...

by Mercedes Trelles

Miguel Trelles Hernández grew up on a diet of comic books, novels, and films. That sense of fantasy… Learn More

RicanWritings

Remembering Rafael Hernández: A Reflection on “Preciosa”

by Kiana González-Cedeño

Sitting in my living room like so many other Puerto Ricans watching the live stream of Bad… Learn More

RicanWritings

"Digitally collaging a photographic scene of models wearing ceramic and cloth garments with additional visuals of ceramic work" - Gabby Vazquez

Weaving with Memories: Mapping Gabby Vázquez’s Journey Towards Cult...

by Ariana García López

Gabrielle “Gabby” Vázquez is a creative researcher born in Brooklyn to Puerto Rican and Dominican parents. She… Learn More

RicanWritings

The More Things Change… Growth, Public Goods, and Hispanic Displace...

by Carlos Vargas-Ramos

Once again, the state of New York is asking Hispanic families to bear the inordinate costs of… Learn More

RicanWritings

A white dress patterned with text and lace.

Embodying Gabrielle Vázquez

by Jack Adam , Gabby Vazquez

Gabrielle Vázquez is having a lot more fun than you or me. Equal parts artist and art,… Learn More

RicanWritings

Yellow painting with two green borders. The center of the painting has a red square. Underneath the canvas, a cube pushes to the surface.

Causas y efectos según el artista Lope Max Díaz

by Jorge Rodríguez Acevedo , Lope Max Díaz

La obra se ha caído. Ha rebotado con el suelo. Su color se ha nivelado al fondo,… Learn More

RicanWritings

NUEVAYol: afterimages for the diaspora

by Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez

The much-anticipated video for Bad Bunny’s song “NUEVAYoL” premiered on the Fourth of July, an auspicious release… Learn More

RicanWritings

Dried palm with attached car air-freshener trees hanging over a branch of bananas/platanos. Under the overhang there is a golden steering wheel, groceries, and dominos. On the wall behind it all there is a bold tapestry of trees.

Memories Through Our Things

by Chenoa Baker

Collage is derived from the French verb coller, meaning “to stick” (Nguyen, 2024). Ephemeral evidence is rarely… Learn More

RicanWritings

A close up grayscale photo of artist Natalia Lassalle-Morillo standing in front of a tree with her hands behind her head. She looks at the camera with a neutral expression.

Rican(actments): Mourning, Kinship, and Existential Waiting in Nata...

by Isabel Padilla Carlo , Natalia Lassalle-Morillo

The coquí frogs’ chirping fills the audible space before any voices do. It’s a familiar noise for… Learn More

RicanWritings

Large red gates common in Puerto Rican culture intersect to create a corner.

Boundaries of Belonging: Reclaiming Place through Memory and Archit...

by Saint Electric; Estefanía Vallejo Santiago

The idea of place—a space where we belong—is a constant subject for many of us. For Afro-Puerto… Learn More

RicanWritings

Mural of people cooking. Food is in spoons and bowls.

Health & Wellness in the Community: The Art of Cindy Lozito

by Victoria Ramirez Rahbar

Arrivals Cindy Lozito is a South Philadelphia-based visual storyteller, creating comics, illustrations, and murals that speak to… Learn More

RicanWritings

Painting of a man burning in a patch grass.

Fuego y Cimarronaje en la obra Quema’o #3 del artista Jean “Baco” O...

by Ricardo Mariani

En el celebrado y destacado libro Esclavos Rebeldes. Conspiraciones y sublevaciones en Puerto Rico (1795-1873), el historiador… Learn More

RicanWritings

Mangroves painted in oranges and greens. Viewed from below.

Mi amigue el mangle: Un reencuentro con la obra migratoria de Lauri...

by Sara Rodriguez Rivera , Laurie De Jesús Lagares

Un invierno de 2022 recibí una llamada de la artista visual puertorriqueña Laurie De Jesús Lagares, quien… Learn More

RicanWritings

Orange drawing of roots taking hold of the bright ground.

A Reflection on the Work of Artist Bibiana Suárez

by Elizabeth Garrett

Bibiana Suárez, born and raised in Puerto Rico and now based in windy city Chicago, blows the… Learn More

RicanWritings

Installation shot of both Precario and Disertacion criolla.

Cocinando Suave: On the Visual Metaphor of Josué Guarionex

by Néstor David Pastor

With Precario (2023), a chair-like sculpture constructed from discarded pieces of wooden furniture, Puerto Rican-born, New York-based… Learn More

RicanWritings

A digitally compiled image of four photographs. A bookshelf holds framed photographs and relics of the artist’s father, with some items on the floor. One photo shows a black-and-white Puerto Rican flag, a woman standing in front of a door, and a framed Puerto Rican flag in front of her, with office supplies below and a smaller framed Puerto Rican flag below. An image of a notebook with PR PASSION in orange lettering and a blue outline overlaps this photo. Another image features trinkets, a stuffed bear, and a projector on a chair where her father last sat, projecting a Bacardi bottle. Tola’s Room is written in white on a red square in the bottom left. A yellow backdrop frames the images.

Not Your Typical House Museum: Puerto Rican Space Making through Ar...

by Amanda J. Guzmán

I first met Christina in 2018. We were Innovative Cultural Advocacy Fellows at the Caribbean Cultural Center… Learn More

RicanWritings

Ink drawing of medical diagrams, figures, text, on a green background.

Con ES-MERO: La línea La línea diversificada y meticulosa de Pseudo...

by Mariel Quiñones Vélez

“Cuando una obra tiene una sola interpretación para todo el que la mira, no es una obra de… Learn More

RicanWritings

A bowl, grater, and various tools mixed with root vegetables and platanos are set in a radial position in the middle of concentric charcoal circles on canvas.

(Re)mejunje: In Conversation with Valeria Tizol Vivas

by Carlina Perna

To say remejunje:requemar begins or ends with a particular gesture would be misleading. Throughout the performance, Valeria… Learn More

RicanWritings

A bartender looks sadly into the distance.

In Direction of the Sun: An analysis of the monochromatic high key ...

by Harold J. Leonard Navarro

Since color became the default in cinema, using black-and-white is now a deliberate choice (Misek, 2010). In… Learn More

RicanWritings

Installation of works that look like the square and blocky aerial view of farmland from a plane.

Navigating Noise, Diasporic Mappings, and Ruptured Spaces: The Prac...

by Ana Hilda Figueroa de Jesús

Nayda Collazo-Llorens (b.1968, San Juan, PR) is an artist based in Michigan who works on paper, canvas,… Learn More

RicanWritings

A layered quilted collage of flowers, people, and rainbows.

Digging Deep: The Archeology of Identity in Amber Robles-Gordon’s Art

by Fabiola R. Delgado

Working in the arts was something I never envisioned for myself, considering my background as a Human… Learn More

RicanWritings

Collage on paper of images of Puerto Rican flags, religious figures, someone wearing sandals, colorful paper, and seashells. There is a note in the middle that reads "Your sad eyes always radiates/ed a smile/s. Your hands always healing and your soul ever forgives/ing. Your feet righteously grounded. I was so blessed but now I'm missing you now Mommy I am so thirsty now. All that you are is/was gone/joy."

Collage as Common Ground: Juan Sánchez’ "Poema para Mami" (2013)

by Mercedes Trelles

So many things are familiar to me in this image: the chanclas, a staple of my childhood,… Learn More

RicanWritings

Decorated and painted spiked mace weapons sit on pink display boxes in a gallery.

Arming the Contemporary Through Memory and Fantasy: A Look at Tools...

by Joseph Kattou

If one was to enter the Caribbean history wing at a museum, assuming said museum would even… Learn More

RicanWritings

Three women, two with fluffy dresses and one with a patterned blouse sits on a couch at home.

Christopher López’s Hoboken Fires: From Ashes, a Counter-Archive Em...

by Tamara Cedré

On October 25, 1981, Ana Mercado lost her life along with her father, husband, and four children.… Learn More

RicanWritings

An image of the interior of a plane. A sand pile in the shape of a child sits in one of the plane chairs.

The Formation of Islets as a Metaphor Against Distance and Oblivion...

by Juan José Roque-Giraud

Islands arise through dynamic geological processes, including volcanic activity, tectonic plate shifts, and erosion. These forces not… Learn More

RicanWritings

Culture Under Siege: Policing Culture

by Dr. Sarah Bruno

What happens when the state attempts to regulate culture under the guise of protection? In our latest… Learn More

RicanWritings

Palestine in the Nuyorican Literary Imagination: Pedro Pietri’s “Wi...

by Joseph Cáceres

Tomorrow will always be / Within reach of us all // Because the many are / Plenty… Learn More

RicanWritings

Reseña Debí Tirar Más Fotos (2025) por Bad Bunny

by Alex Sastre-Rivera

Uno de los coros más populares en la época Navideña en mi Puerto Rico es la canción… Learn More

RicanWritings

Hoy Te Recuerdo: Mapping Femicides in Puerto Rico

by Adrianna Ríos

Adrianna Ríos has developed an interactive Google Map documenting femicides in Puerto Rico between January 2021 and… Learn More

RicanWritings

Aquí y allá: Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rico, and the 2024 Elections

by Ivelisse Cuevas-Molina

Puerto Ricans were in the national spotlight during the last weeks of the US presidential campaign at… Learn More

RicanWritings

A mosaic of a bomba dancer moving her red dress. The sky is starry and blue.

An East-Harlem–Diasporic–Renaissance: Manny Vega at the Museum of t...

by Carlos Ortiz Burgos

captured by author Carlos Ortiz Burgos in Nov. 2024 Learn More

RicanWritings

Inaugurating RicanWritings: A Ceremony for Relations

by Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez

In a time where the humanities, ethnic studies, books, and even knowledge itself are being banned, regulated,… Learn More