“In the name of all the Puerto Ricans that came over on steamships like the Marine Tiger. In the name of Tito Puente, and Albizu Campos, and Julia de Burgos – I herein now and forever name this place “La Mariposa!” (The Butterfly) – so declares the protagonist in Eugene Rodriguez’s play about an East…
Fernando Salicrup, Executive Director of Taller Boricua/Puerto Rican Workshop died on Thursday, January 1, 2015 Mr. Salicrup was born on August 6, 1946 in East Harlem, where he lived throughout his life with his loving wife of over 40 years, Zoraida Salicrup and their two sons Fernando and Daniel. Mr. Salicrup was a proud veteran…
Note: There has been some controversy for some time over charges of the mismanagement of the city-owned building housing the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center in Manhattan’s East Harlem. In a highly controversial move, alleging mismanagement by Taller Boricua, New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverto intervened to change the management of the center working through…
Council Member Mark-Viverito’s campaign to “reform” a sizeable portion of cultural programming space in a city-owned building has accelerated into a full-blown, East Harlem-style political brawl. On September 30th, the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), on behalf of the Council Member, issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to rent, operate and maintain 8,000…
On Friday, October 27, 2006, Iris Consuelo Burgos unveiled an historic mosaic by artist Manny Vega honoring her sister, Julia de Burgos, the revered Boricua poet. The ceremony took place in the heart of East Harlem’s “Cultural Corridor” on the northeast corner of Lexington Avenue and East 106th Street. The mosaic initiative was organized by…
Don Otilio Díaz, executive director of La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña, died peacefully on Monday, August 21, 2006. He was 75. Mr. Díaz had no children, but is survived here in New York City by a sister, a nephew, and many nieces and cousins. A public memorial was held Wednesday, August 30 and…
The City Properties Committee of Community Board 11 was the scene of another heated debate on Monday, October 17 as board members and residents deliberated the merits of a plan by El Barrio’s Operation Fightback to develop an artists’ residence through a partnership with ArtSpace Projects, Inc.—a Minneapolis-based real estate firm specializing in housing for…
