Politics

In the Mailbox

Reception/Cocktail Party
Dominican New Yorkers for Diaz for Bronx BP

Dominican New Yorkers in support of Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. for Bronx Borough President, invite you to a cocktail and networking party at 6 p.m. May 8. The candidate is expected to attend the party at The American Legion Hall at 3035 Corlear Ave, bet. 230th & 231st. St. There will be an open bar. This is a fundraising event.
For more information, contact the party host Giovanni Puello at 347-964-6511.

Community Calendar

A Chat with Tato Torres of YERBABUENA
An Informal Discussion on Contemporary Puerto Rican Music in New York

6-8 p.m., Wednesday, April 30
Admission: $5
Cemí Underground, 1799 Lexington Ave., NYC's El Barrio

Description:
Tato Torres, singer/musician/composer and founder and director of the renown Boricua Roots Music band YERBABUENA hosts an informal open discussion on the history, presence and future of contemporary Boricua Roots Music. YERBABUENA has ties to the Bronx, particularly to Rincon Criollo.

Boricua Roots Music is a musical movement in which Boricua musicians have combined and re-combined elements of traditional and/or "folkloric" music as contemporary musical expressions. This style of modern music, which reaches back to the roots of Boricua (Puerto Rican) tradition has come to be called "roots music" or "música de raíz" in Spanish. The movement is also often referred to simply as "roots" or "raíces" in Spanish.


For more information, call (212) 860-2820 or e-mail info@yerbabuena.biz


(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

Salsa Symphony

Salsa Symphony
Originally uploaded by clarisel

The Bronx Arts Ensemble perform "Fifty Years of Salsa A Symphonic Odyssey" at the Hostos Center for Arts & Culture in the Bronx. It was a packed house Saturday night with audience members enjoying salsa hits such as "El Bombon de Elena" (50's), "Oye como va" (60's), "Periodico de ayer" (70's), "Lluvia" (80's), and "Vivir lo nuestro" (90's). All performed with a symphonic twist. Boricua Raymond Torres-Santos served as the conductor and arranger.

'Fifty Years of Salsa'

Attention: Salsa lovers. The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, Inc. and William Scribner, executive/artistic director, will present "Fifty Years of Salsa, A Symphonic Odyssey" tomorrow night.

This so-called concert-celebration of the salsa tradition with a twist will be held at the main theater of the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture on the Grand Concourse in the South Bronx. The 7:30 p.m. show will feature Bronx Arts Ensemble Orchestra and Raymond Torres-Santos, conductor and arranger.

The show will include special guest soloists: Jerry Medina, Tito Allen, Isidro Infante, Nelson González and Ralph Irrizarry.

You will know the songs – Oye cómo va, Pedro Navaja, Anacaona, Así se compone un son, Cara de payaso, Periódico de ayer and many others. The concert promises to be a hit parade of all the tunes you danced back in the day. And, they will be sung and played by some of the great salseros of our times, but in symphonic form, accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra composed of musicians who play with some of the great orchestras of the New York metropolitan area.

Admission with free ticket
Main Theater
Hostos Community College
450 Grand Concourse

For box office and more information, call 718 518 4455.

Poetry Reading at Bronx Little School

Poetry Reading at Bronx Little School
Originally uploaded by cberengu1

Willie Perdomo Poet / Author engages Bronx Little School students. Reading from his book Visiting Lanston, he interacts imaginatively and entertainingly with students speaking in Spanish and English. The visit ends with the children spontaneously composing their own poetry as a group. -- cberengu1

Visit cberengu1's photostream at flickr for more shots of the day.

'El Grito de Poetas'

For more information, visit www.boricuation.com.

Poetry

The NuyoRican School Poetry Jazz Ensemble will present an evening of bilingual poetry mixed with jazz and Afro-Cuban drumming at the Point’s Live From the Edge Theater, Friday, April 25.
This ensemble invites the public to come celebrate National Poetry Month as they pay homage to three of our most important and prolific Latino poets: Pablo Neruda, Julia De Burgos, and Mario Benedetti. Actor Luis Enrique Flores and vocalist Wendy Rossi-Fernandez provide a presentation of these poets' love poems accompanied by guitarist Octavio Kotan's rendition of Carlos Almaran's popular Spanish ballad: Historia De Un Amor. The poems will be recited in Spanish and printed translations will be available.
Balancing the ensemble's bilingual repertoire, poet Américo Casiano Jr. presents his award-winning urban poems intermingled with Charles Mingus' Nostalgia in Times Square.
The ensemble also pays tribute to Cuba's Alfredo Abrau of Los Papines with their rendition of Para Los Barrios a rugged Afro-Cuban rumba guaguanco interpreted by percussionist/vocalist Abe Rodriguez and percussionist Gene Golden.
Also performing with NuyoRican School is the "Last Puerto Rican Indian" author Bobby Gonzalez y Encuentro (made up by musicians Joe Falcon (bass) and Eddie Aponte (Saxophone).
NuyoRican School Poetry Jazz Ensemble is a not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to promote the creative literature of Puerto Rican writers in the United States while providing economic opportunities for performing artists of color.
The program starts at 7 p.m. and admission is by donation. Suggested donations are $10 adult, $5 college students and seniors admitted free.
For more information, contact Casiano at 646-281-7038 or e-mail
poetacasiano@yahoo.com.

source: Press Release

Saludos

Bronx Latino welcomes Pope Benedict XVI!

!Bienvenido Papa Benedicto XVI!

(photo by Milagros Gonzalez)

Artist Spotlight: Ricky Flores

South Bronx is a 'Refreshing Adventure' for this Boricua Photographer

Black and white images depict the story of Puerto Ricans living among the South Bronx rubble back in the day. Photos tell the stories of young people riding trains plagued with graffiti and playing on lots full of debris. Despite all the poverty and the urban decay all around them, many of these people, many of them young men and women, are seen smiling, dancing and having a good time in the photos captured by Ricky Flores.
Today, the South Bronx is not the same as the one captured in Flores' photos. It surely isn't as rundown as it was back then. The South Bronx has certainly changed for the better even though it is still considered one of the poorest congressional districts in the country.
Yet, those images of the Bronx of yesterday can and will probably never be forgotten.
While many young people didn't survive, many others not only survived but helped bring the South Bronx back. One such survivor is Flores who became a professional photographer, documenting, among other things, the story of Puerto Ricans in New York.
Puerto Rico Sun asked Flores, who is also known as rigglord and is a contributing photographer to the Puerto Rico Sun and Bronx Latino photo groups at flickr.com, to share some of his thoughts on the photos he has been posting on his site lately. This photojournalist has been uploading many of his old images of the South Bronx. The majority of the photos currently on the site were taken during the 1980's. Flores says that the photos mainly focus on Puerto Ricans in New York, specifically in the South Bronx. Flores is drawing a whole new worldwide audience to view images of the old Bronx, which he describes as adventurous, nostalgic and painful.
The photos in a way are a reflection of his journey in life as a Puerto Rican, Bronxite, New Yorker, and photographer.


Here is what Flores had to say in his own words: The photos that you see streaming (at his photo site at www.flickr.com/photos/rickyflores) were started from a series of photographs exploring the life of being a Puerto Rican in New York called Ser Puertorriqueño, a search for my own identity as a Puerto Rican. It spun off as a permanent installation called "License to Dream," which you can get details about at www.nyc.gov/html/dcla/html/panyc/flores.shtml .
Looking at them now is a refreshing adventure, tinged with nostalgia and pain. Many of the photographs show friends who died from drug abuse or of AIDS. Given the amount of time that has passed since I took them, they now have a historical value. Images that I would have never have shown then, now have a value simply because of what they show and the location of where they were taken. The photos I am streaming now are images of the South Bronx.
As time goes on, you will see more work of my coverage of demonstrations and riots that were centered around issues of racism and police brutality within New York City.
Currently, I'm a photojournalist at The Journal News in Westchester County and sit as a member of the Board of Advisors for En Foco (www.enfoco.org/ ) a Bronx-based non-profit organization dedicated to cultural diversity in photography.

To check out more of Flores' images, visit his photo site at www.flickr.com/photos/rickyflores. It is worth visiting. -- Clarisel Gonzalez

(photos by Ricky Flores)

Originally published in Puerto Rico Sun at www.prsun.blogspot.com.

Viewpoint

Serrano Reiterates Opposition to Bronx Jail

Congressman Jose Serrano has reiterated his opposition to New York City's plans to build a new jail in the southern end of the Bronx. Local papers reported that the city recently wrote to Community Board 2, asking for a meeting to present a newly-revised proposal for a jail.

“Our community has said no to a new jail once before and will continue to do so,” Serrano said. “What these officials seem to believe is that if they just get the details of the proposal right, community opposition will melt away. That’s not the case. And it shows that they are missing the point: we will not accept a new jail in the South Bronx of any size or design. We’ve borne the burden of hosting much of the city’s infrastructure, facilities, and heavy industries for years, and we’ve had enough.”

“On top of it all, the symbolism of building a new jail shows a lack of faith in our community. The Bronx is on the rise. Our community is rebuilding for a better future – a more positive and hope-filled future. We need good jobs, clean industries, schools, art museums, and new parks and greenways, not new jails. We are fighting for hope. We are fighting against pessimism. We will not stop fighting a new jail.”

Source: The Serrano Report

'Azucar!'

Film and Music on a Beautiful Bronx Day

In collaboration with the Havana Film Festival of New York , First Fridays! presents a night of live band performances and DJs celebrating the arts and music of Cuba, and a screening of the film "Havana Kidz II."

With DJ Cato aka Congrí (Salsa, Afrolatin Soul, AfroBeat) and Grupo Habana Tres (Afrocuban, Salsa, Son)

Tonight at 6 p.m.
South Wing—Lower Gallery, The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Admission: Free

For more information about The Bronx Museum of the Arts events, visit www.bronxmuseum.org

The Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse

'Game Over' @ Pregones

Theater

Who will win the bet over J?


Pregones Theater announces its new production. Running from May 8th through May 18th, "Game Over" will showcase the dynamic actors and musicians of Pregones Theater’s Ensemble.
"Game Over" is a musical theater piece about the choices we make when confronted with the unexpected. The play is conceived and directed by Alvan Colón Lespier and the musical score is composed by Pregones Theater’s Musical Director Desmar Guevara.
"Game Over" is the story of J, a man who had everything. Suddenly, everything is taken away from him and he is driven to the depth of despair. What he doesn’t know is that it is all a game of chance being played by two powerful beings. J is the pawn.
"Game Over" is about a wager between two super powers. Super D bets that J will resist all punishment. Super P bets that J will be destroyed by it. The game is on. Who will win the bet?
"Game Over" will delight audiences with a cast headlined by José Joaguín García in the role of J along with veterans Jorge B. Merced, Rosalba Rolón, Sol Marina Crespo and Yarani Del Valle. Live music is played by Desmar Guevara in piano, Juan Carlos Acosta in string bass, Anthony Garcia in percussion and Milton Ruiz in electric guitar.
When: May 8th, 9th and 10th @ 7:30 p.m.; May 11th @ 3 p.m.; May 16th, 17th @ 7:30 p.m. and May 18th @ 3 p.m.
Where: Pregones Theater, 571-575 Walton Avenue
For tickets: call 718-585-1202 or visit www.pregones.org .

source: press release from Pregones

Featured story

St. Rita's parish in the Mott Haven section, which is a largely Latino church, anticipates the Pope's visit to the South Bronx on Sunday and hopes he will make a stop at their humble church.
For more, go to
http://www2.nysun.com/article/74785

Legends of Salsa

Lehman Center For The Performing Arts Presents Legends Of Salsa/ The Gathering Of Salsa Royalty

Musician and producer Jimmy Delgado has assembled a blazing All-Star line-up of legendary titans of salsa. This once in a lifetime union of some of the most exciting salsa and tropical music makers spans four decades of artistry and history with Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz, Adalberto Santiago, Ismael Quintana, Orestes Vilato, Nicky Marrero, Mike Collazo, Papo Lucca, Luis "Perico" Ortiz, and Andy Gonzalez, all performing with the Jimmy Delgado Orchestra.

The finale would be a memorable DESCARGA (Jam Session.)

Time: 8 p.m., April 26
For prices and more information, go to http://www.lehmancenter.org/event_details.php?id=12

Education

South Bronx Education Forum

Thursday, April 17
Come to the Patterson Community Center to learn more about public schools closures, increasing access and engagement, as well as getting into and paying for college!

South Bronx Education Forum
Presented by State Senator José M. Serrano
& the Patterson Houses Tenant Association
From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Patterson Community Center, 340 Morris Avenue bet. 141st and 142nd Streets

The first half of the forum will discuss closures at local Bronx public schools, and how to increase parental engagement and involvement. The panel will feature Dept. of Education, the Community Education Council and local education advocates.

The second half is all about getting into and paying for college. Including a presentation on state-funded programs like EOP, HEOP, and SEEK. The panel will feature representatives from City College, as well as the Attorney General's Office.

Source: Serrano's office

Metropolitan Hospital Center
National Crime Victims Awareness Week
New York City Immigrant Heritage Week
The Victims and Counseling Services Program
present The Phone Call



UPCOMING SHOW:
Wednesday, April 16, 12-2 p.m.
6th Fl. Auditorium, Metropolitan Hospital Center
1901 First Avenue @ 97th Street, Manhattan
Reservations:
Angela Montague, LCSW-R, 212-243-7802

THE PHONE CALL enacts dramatic scenarios drawn from the testimony of real-life survivors of domestic violence. Members from the audience get to learn about the options they have to overcome and help others triumph over domestic violence; determine the best course of action under different circumstances in dialogue with peers and legal experts; and take action on behalf of safety and domestic justice. In THE PHONE CALL, you get to intervene directly into the action by replacing any of the actors on stage and working out a solution.
THE PHONE CALL is written and directed by Rosalba Rolón of the Pregones Theater in the Bronx. The play is performed in English by a cast of four professional ensemble actors, and recommended for mature audiences.
Admission is free.

source: Pregones Theater

Things to Do in the BX

Click on image to see larger text.

Film

Short Films by Bronx Filmmakers Screened by BCA

The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) and Hostos Center for Arts & Culture present a screening of short films by Bronx Filmmakers on Saturday, April 19, at 4 p.m. at the Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos located on the campus of Hostos Community College at 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street. Admission is free and all are welcome.
In response to the limited opportunity for Bronx Filmmakers to showcase their work, the BCA is providing the chance for these artists to put their work in front of an audience. The films selected for the April 19th screening are EVEN STEVEN, by William Lappe, HIGHBRIDGE, Jose M. Gonzalez; and REPENTANCE, by Julio Toro. The filmmakers will participate in a Q&A session following the screenings.
EVEN STEVEN (2007, 14 minutes) was written and directed by William Lappe. It is a tale of justice, injustice, and fate stepping in to balance things out.. A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.revver.com/video/189953/even-steven/
William Lappe is a retired 2nd grade NYPD detective and an honors graduate from the School of Visual Arts. He is a director, writer, editor and visual effects designer who has worked for the NYPD's video production unit. Most notably, he produced and directed a short for then Mayor Giuliani entitled "Operation Juggernaut” to help illustrate the largest drug enforcement initiative in U.S. history. Bill recently founded Verinoble Productions Ltd., a Bronx-based production company producing an award-winning short and several new programs for The Italian American Network, a high-definition cable and satellite channel launching soon.
HIGHBRIDGE (2007, TIME) is a documentary film produced and directed by Jose M. Gonzalez (co-produced Chauncy Young) which provides the world with a chance to glimpse the development of this vibrant community, including important historical, sociological and political events in its history, and how it influenced the history of New York City. A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.freewebs.com/highbridgedocumentaryfilm.
Jose Gonzalez’s early participation on a television program in his native Dominican Republic uncovered his love of capturing life on film. He began working with other television stations and quickly gathered the skills and experience to forge his career path, moving out of his field on news production and into the realm of documentary films. A tragedy, in the form of a neighborhood fire that took the live of ten West African immigrants, encouraged Jose to make a documentary telling the story of his Highbridge community, attempting to understand the problems, social, political issues, both inside and out of the Highbridge section of the Bronx.
REPENTANCE (2007, 13 minutes) is a mystery, written, edited, directed by Julio Antonio Toro (2007 BRIO winner for screenwriting). It is the story of a mysterious wanderer who seeks the confession of an old priest, whose ultimate secret turns out to be his greatest sin. A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.myspace.com/repentancemovie.
Julio Antonio Toro attended the School of Visual Arts as a student in the Illustration/Cartooning program. He served as a writer/director at the Mezcla Latino International Film Festival, a not-for-profit media organization which promotes Hispanic artistic and literary works. Toro is also the co-founder of the movie production company Holly Hood Productions, Inc. “The Phenom” is his first feature-length screenplay.

For more information, contact Lydia Clark at 718-931-9500 x35 or lydia@bronxarts.org or visit www.bronxarts.org.

Source: Press release from the Bronx Council on the Arts

CINE_REAL

FILM

A curatorial series on cinema and new media

* Judith Escalona's "Bx3M: a work in process" (Bx3M is the story of three Latino teens coming of age in a city going up in flames by filmmaker Judith Escalona, a boricua who grew up in the Bronx. Many of the scenes for this independent film were shot in the Bronx.)

*Hector Canonge's "Idolatries/Idolatrías" (Canonge, who is originally of Argentina, is a new media artist who was the recipient of the 2007 AIM Residency Program at the Bronx Museum of Art where he presented Idolatries, an installation exploring feminine iconography on food products through the use of barcode technology.)

Artist's talk: 6 p.m., Thursday, April 10
Exhibition: Until April 30
Closing Reception: Wednesday, April 30, 6 - 8 p.m.

MediaNoche is located in the corner store at
1355 Park Avenue, NE corner of 102nd Street, East Harlem

Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Friday, 3 - 7 p.m.,
and by appointment

For more information: 212.828.0401
www.medianoche.us


MediaNoche, East Harlem's gallery devoted to new media, presents Cine_Real: a curatorial series on the impact of new media on cinema. The two exhibiting works utilize digital technologies towards very different ends, altering our film sense.

A Mott Haven Bedroom is a Work of Art

Artist Blanka Amezkua, 37, who is of Mexican descent, has opened up her bedroom into a public art gallery right inside an apartment building on Alexander Avenue in Mott Haven. It is known as the Bronx Blue Bedroom Project.

The Bronx Beat recently featured Amezkua and her blue bedroom project. To read the article and to see a photo slideshow inside the space, go to "Bronx artist's gallery is home sweet home" at http://www.bronxbeat.org/cs/ContentServer?childpagename=Bronxbeat08%2FJRN_Content_C%2FRW1StoryDetailLayout2&c=JRN_Content_C&p=1175373852248&pagename=JRN%2FRW1Wrapper&cid=1175374512613&site=Bronxbeat08.

Bronx Latino also visited the bedroom project. Check out some photos inside Amezkua's bedroom at www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel and click on the Bronx '08 photo set.

Support local art.

(photo inside an exhibit at the Bronx Blue Bedroom Project by Clarisel Gonzalez)

New Life for Puerto Rican Rights Group

Victor Vazquez-Hernandez is seeking boricuas to help bring back and revitalize the historic National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR).
According to the April newsletter of the National Institute for Latino Policy, the goal of this organization is “to address what many perceive as a leadership vacuum in the stateside Puerto Rican community.”
Founded in 1981, the NCPRR has been inactive for a number of years.
But Vazquez-Hernandez is working to change that. He and other community leaders are seeking to reinvent the NCPRR to serve as a voice for Puerto Ricans today as the organization did back in the day.
The NCPRR will attempt to provide support for these local efforts by connecting activists through its newsletter, online and by mobilizing public opinion on issues relevant to Puerto Ricans nationally and in Puerto Rico.
According to an essay titled “A Brief Historical Overview of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, 1981-2004” by Vazquez-Hernandez, delivered in January in Miami, the organization played an important role in the history of Puerto Ricans.
“The NCPRR is a power resource that was created by our people’s struggle; it has history, legitimacy, and weight,” he wrote.
He delivered a laundry list of work the NCPPR was involved in, which included coalition building, lobbying, and dealing with the media. He also mentioned what he called “the groundbreaking work we’ve done around bilingual education, environmental justice, the right to representation, holding elected officials accountable, racial justice, against police brutality and Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination are part of our legacy.”
“Today, we have to determine what works in 2008,” he wrote, adding that key issues that need to be addressed are the organizational life-support and financial stability to make the NCPRR viable in the new century.
“Twenty-seven years after the NCPRR was founded a whole new generation of Puerto Ricans has come into being,” he wrote. “How do we identify ourselves as the continuation of a proud organizational tradition while simultaneously serving as an effective organizational tool and asset for them is our challenge? I am still up for it, how about you?”
An executive committee has already been set up, and Vazquez-Hernandez is serving as NCPRR’s president.
For further information and to join this effort, contact Vazquez-Hernandez at veteran712004@yahoo.com.
NCPRR is planning to conduct a national survey to get feedback from those interested in being part of the organization. “We will ask you to specifically identify how and in what matter you might be interested in participating in the organization,” he said. -– Clarisel Gonzalez

Sources: The National Institute for Latino Policy and NCPRR

(This article was originally published in Puerto Rico Sun, www.prsun.blogspot.com)

Hostos to Celebrate its 40th Anniversary

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, the Hostos Community College Foundation will host its 2008 Benefit Gala on Thursday, April 17, at Marina del Rey.
The event will begin with a welcoming reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and dancing to the music of nine-time Grammy Award-winning artist Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra.
“Turning 40 is a major milestone in the life of this college,” said President Dolores M. Fernández. “Over time, Hostos has progressed from being ‘the little college that could’ to ‘a jewel in the South Bronx.’ Our 2008 Benefit Gala will be a wonderful opportunity to thank those who founded this institution, those who kept the faith during its formative years, and those whose continuing commitment to excellence ensures an even brighter future. Moreover, the scholarship funds raised by this event will help many deserving students attain their educational goals. What better reasons could we have for celebrating in the Hostos style?”
At the gala, the Hostos Foundation will honor four individuals who have made contributions to society in keeping with the spirit of Eugenio María de Hostos (1839-1903), the great Puerto Rican educator, writer, and patriot for whom the college is named. The awardees are Ms. Agnes Gund, Chair, Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Affairs; Charlotte Frank, Ph.D., Senior Vice-President, McGraw-Hill Education; Miguel Fuentes, President & CEO, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center; and Carlos Velazquez, Publisher and President, G.A.L.O.S. Corporation.
The gala is expected to attract over 500 guests. In addition to current Hostos students, faculty, and staff members, attendees will include alumni, past presidents of the college, and business and community leaders.
The gala will feature a special video presentation that outlines the college’s history and also pre-recorded remarks from some of the political leaders and community advocates who took part in the struggle to establish and preserve Hostos.
Hostos Community College, which has more than 5,000 students, has experienced a positive transformation in recent years.
For more information, go to www.hostos.cuny.edu/gala.

source: press release from Hostos

A Message to My Mentor

In the Mailbox
(Letter originally published in Puerto Rico Sun at www.prsun.blogspot.com)


Dear Editor:

After reading Puerto Rico Sun's November 30, 2007 entry about a documentary on Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, I realized that one of the interviews featured in "Migration: The Puerto Rican Experience" happens to be with one of the most inspirational people in my life.
I met Alma Torres-Warner back in 1986 at a school in the Bronx. The New York City Board of Education had a program called the Auxiliary Services for High School (ASHS). The program offered preparations for the General Educational Development (GED), and I attended the one at 383 Willis Avenue on 138th St called The Roberto Clemente Center, where Torres-Warner was at the time the center administrator.
I remember I had just arrived that year to New York from Puerto Rico. I wanted
to something with my life and quickly decided to prepare for the GED, so I enrolled in Roberto Clemente Center. I was excited that I was doing something with my life, but I didn't have any idea as to where I was headed.
I used to arrive very early to Roberto Clemente -- sometimes before the staff. I remember Mrs. Torres-Warner would arrive and open the doors and allow me in. We would converse (which is a word she taught me) on the way up to the third floor.
Every morning, never missing a day, I arrived early to Roberto Clemente and met up with Mrs. Torres-Warner.
She later offered me a job with the New York City Board of Education as a
student aide, which I accepted. After obtaining my GED and attending Bronx Community College, she promoted me to a paraprofessional (assistant teacher).
Mrs. Torres-Warner became my mentor. She would always remind me of my potential. She saw something in me and gave me a chance, always telling me that I could do whatever I set my mind to do. But most of all she believed in me.
After working with Torres-Warner for a few years, she later transferred to ASHS headquarters, where I later joined her. I remember working for Marty Blum,preparing Lotus 123 spreadsheet documents. But it just wasn't the same. He wasn't Torres-Warner, so I decided to move on. I left the NYC Board Education and moved to the State of Virginia where I decided to pursue a degree in psychology.
Along the way, I lost contact with Torres-Warner.
I would like more than anything for Torres-Warner to know that I appreciate everything she did for me. She didn't know it at the time but she became my inspiration.
I never stopped trying. I have faced many obstacles but I never stop trying.
I thank her for being a great employer, a true mentor, and a dear friend.
I know she's out there helping and inspiring someone who needs it.
May God bless her.
I'm currently in NYC.
I am hoping to reconnect with my mentor.
I may be reached at hernandez.walter@gmail.com.
Thank you Puerto Rico Sun and God Bless.

Sincerely,


Walter Hernandez


Editor's Note: For more information on Bronxnet's documentary on the history of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, go to the PRSUN's archive section (www.prsun.blogspot.com) and click on the November 30, 2007 posting entitled "Migration" and visit www.bronxnet.org.

Worth the Trolley Ride

IMG_7014
Originally uploaded by clarisel

Photo taken @ the Congos, Guloyas y Altares: Afro-Dominican Images art exhibit at the Longwood Art Gallery inside Hostos Community College in the South Bronx. This exhibit runs till May 10.

This art exhibit highlighting Dominican culture was among the rich lineup of activities that visitors enjoyed as part of this month's Bronx Culture Trolley activities on Wednesday night.
Other attractions included a meet-and-greet with Bienvenida (Beni) Matias, a boricua filmmaker and the new executive director of the Association of Hispanic Arts in East Harlem.
The Bronx Council on the Arts launched its new online literary journal CrossBronx, which showcases Bronx talent. Oscar Bermeo's poetry "In the City, you can't help but think of God" and "About B-Boys in the Boogie Down" are among the published works in the inaugural edition of CrossBronx. Born in Ecuador and raised in the Bronx, Bermeo is a 2004 BRIO (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) award-winning poet and founding curator of the Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase. He now makes his home in Oakland, where he is the poetry editor for Tea Party magazine and lives with his wife, poeta Barbara Jane Reyes.
Trolley riders made stops at a number of local destinations, including the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Alexander Antiques District and the Bronx Blue Bedroom Project, an artist-run project by artist and 2007 BRIO winner Blanka Amezkua who has turned her bedroom into an intimate art space for contemporary artists to exhibit their work.
The trolley guide explained that the Bronx Council on the Arts intentionally programs a lot of activities, knowing that visitors will not get to see them all in one night. The idea, she said, is to expose residents and visitors with the art and cultural venues that are available right here in the Bronx so that they would want to come back and visit these destinations on their own.
Several of the exhibits that are highlighted regularly are the work of Latino artists.
For more info. on the Bronx Culture Trolley, go to www.bronxarts.org.
The next trolley is May 7. This is one of the best tickets in town. You get to enjoy different types of artwork right here in the Bronx for free.
-- Clarisel Gonzalez

Artists Wanted

for East Harlem Arts Symposium
& Arts Festival

For more info., call 212 828 5829 or e-mail nyssenate28@gmail.com.

The Bronx is Home to Me

Sean Baez enjoys traveling to places such as Puerto Rico, but he considers the Bronx home.

Read on

In the First Person

The Bronx is Home to Me
By Sean Baez

A 26-year-old Nuyorican, born and raised in the Bronx, I have traveled many times outside of my barrio, but I always end up coming home. I ask myself why.
I have been to different parts of New York State. I have visited about 19 states. I have gone to four different countries. Despite all my travels, I always return because there is so much more out there to explore and to learn about my hometown. There is so much to grasp and to teach others who live in the Bronx and New York City as a whole.
It is astonishing to see that many urban young people have not really experienced what this Mecca of the World has to offer, including in their Bronx backyard.
Many Bronx young people don’t stop to take in the beauty all around them and don’t know about the existing treasures. For instance, many people, including adults, don’t know that the Bronx is home to the biggest park in all of NYC: Pelham Bay Park, which is a real gem.
Historical sites are located all over the five boroughs and many are free of charge or low cost. But many people don’t take advantage or don’t know about these enriching resources.
Many of our young people have not even visited well-known New York City landmarks. Why is it that some of our young people have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State building? That is puzzling.
We must get to know this metropolis better and educate our youth that there is more out there.
Sure, it isn’t easy to take time off from our busy schedules in this hectic city. But it is worth taking a little time to relax and not ignore all the beauty the Bronx and this city has to offer. After all, this is our home.
Isn’t it amazing when you are around Pelham Parkway area in the Bronx around the Christmas season and you see people from all walks of life stopping to view the glamorous dolls decorating the front yard of a local family’s house? You can’t help but wonder why this Bronx family continues to decorate their Christmas House every year. While this house is not even a NYC landmark, it is known to many Bronxites as a popular place to visit every Christmas. It is an annual Bronx tradition in community spirit.
It’s OK to explore the world but remember to take the time to explore your hometown too and share what you know. I will continue to document my memories and take snapshots of the wonders I encounter.
I hope that many others will continue to open their eyes and see what the Bronx and this great city has to offer. And, I hope they also go beyond the Bronx to see many of the places they have only been reading about or watching in the news.
Always accept an invitation to open your mind and never reject a new learning experience.

Sean Baez is a Bronx-based freelance writer who contributes to Bronx Latino.