Jaleen Starling

After much anticipation, the “72 Block by Block” Diabetes Intervention Campaign will open the doors to its Diabetes Empowerment Center located at La Estancia (2753 W. Division) on Friday, April 23 with a community event from 2 to 4 p.m.

At the grand opening visitors will have the opportunity to experience the new space and get information on all the benefits and services that it will offer the community. The Empowerment Center will be a place where community members can learn about diabetes, a disease that affects many Humboldt Park residents, and also be informed on ways to prevent diabetes, like maintaining a healthy diet. The event will also offer diabetes screening tests.

Jaime Delgado, project director of “72 Block by Block” is excited to see the campaign around this serious health issue take a giant step forward with the opening of the Empowerment Center. “Diabetes is a serious problem in the Puerto Rican community,” said Delgado. “We need to take action and control to help prevent the high rise of the disease.”

For those that are interested in helping reach out to the Humboldt Park residents about the diabetes campaign there will be a “72 Block by Block” Kick-off event on Saturday, April 17 at La Estancia from 12 to 3 p.m. where volunteers will be needed to distribute flyers in the community.

Xavier “Xavi” Luis Burgos

Passing Western Avenue and entering through a humongous steel Puerto Rican flag, marking the entrance to Paseo Boricua and Humboldt Park, what one sees is totally dependent on who you are talking to.

Some see a ghetto. Others see a strong community, and there are those who listen to their iPods and stay clueless. What I guarantee most do not expect to find as they pass old men wearing well-pressed guayaberas is a window-front prison cell with volunteer prisoners.

In 2006, National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN) thought of an idea to bring the issue of the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners to the forefront of the community’s and city’s consciousness.  The organization, which focuses on issues of human rights in the Puerto Rican community in the U.S. and on the island, decided on a new type of performance art that would engage residents, activists, and of course the federal government. At that time one of the two political prisoners, Oscar López Rivera, was completing 25 years in jail. So NBHRN built a mock cell at the window-front of the Café Teatro Batey Urbano Youth Space, exactly 6 feet by 9 feet, with prison bars, a bed, and a toilet. For 25 days straight a volunteer stayed imprisoned for 24 hours with only books, paper, and pen to pass the time. The event even reached the pages of the Chicago Tribune.

“The response was overwhelming,” said NBHRN National Coordinator Michelle Morales, 34. “From the media [to the] community and it was positive! We decided to revisit it this year for the 30 years of incarceration of [political prisoner] Carlos Alberto Torres.” Now, four years later, as one walks down Division Street, white-shirt prisoners can be viewed again, imprisoned behind glass.

On one of my visits to the cell, I met a young woman sitting solemnly on the bed who was very much proud of her contribution. When first hearing about the prison cell project, Julia Montañez, 17, thought, “I wish I could do that. I want to be part of this movement to free the political prisoners.” When asked what her family thinks about her doing this, she said, “They support this and visited me. They support the movement also. We’re a very politically aware family.”

Although all this began in Chicago, it is spreading throughout the country. “I’ve been involved [in NBHRN] for 8 years and this is the first time I see the campaign in an upswing. We’ve developed new chapters in Detroit, New York City, and New England,” said Morales. New York City is also conducting a similar prison cell project in the El Barrio/East Harlem community.

On April 3 the last volunteer prisoner was released from the mock cell followed by a commemorative event at Batey Urbano. That date was chosen because it marks the 30th anniversary of the capture of Alberto Torres alongside 10 other political prisoners. After decades of activism and a swelling movement, all were released by presidential clemency in 1999, except Oscar López Rivera and Haydee Beltrán (who was released last year). April 3 is also the birthday of the last volunteer prisoner, who at one time was a real political prisoner in federal prison.

Ricardo Jiménez, 53, was 23 years old when he was captured by the police in Evanston, Illinois in 1980. “Based on international law, colonialism is a crime against humanity. We were part of a national liberation struggle for Puerto Rico,” said Jiménez in a strong tone. “The 11 who were captured in 1980 were sentenced with a peculiar crime called “seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government.” Though they were not charged with any particular violent crime, the group received sentences ranging from 55-105 years. Jiménez was sentenced to 98 years.

Now Jiménez spends his time ensuring that his two imprisoned compañeros get released just as he was. “We must bring them home,” he says with determination. He recently traveled through the East Coast with the NBHRN sponsored play, “Crime Against Humanity,” visiting the multiple NBHRN chapters, speaking at community centers and universities. The play, which offers firsthand accounts of the suffering the political prisoners experienced while in incarcerated, is co-authored by former political prisoner, Luis Rosa, who was also at the April 3 event.

When asked what she would say to Oscar López Rivera and Carlos Alberto Torres if they were released, Julia Montañez paused and thought carefully for a moment, and with a smile uttered, “I’d say, ‘We did it!’”

Marisol Rodríguez

On Saturday, March 20 Park West Theater was filled with Puerto Rican music enthusiasts and local community members for Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center’s annual Abolition of Slavery Concert, which featured plena music performances as well as an awards ceremony in recognition of talented pleneros of Chicago.

This year’s concert marked the 20th annual celebration of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico by Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC), a Chicago institution promoting the African influence in Puerto Rican music and culture for the past 39 years. The concert opened with performances by local bomba y plena group Nuestro Tambó as well as Los Pleneritos Del Son, youth pleneros/as between the ages of 10 and 14 who traveled all the way from Puerto Rico to be a part of the celebration.

A significant part of the evening’s program was dedicated to the awards ceremony during which Mirely Rodríguez, SRBCC Program Coordinator and Agustin Maldonado, SRBCC CEO/President recognized the following plena musicians: Ismael ‘Cocolay’ Rivera González, Félix Díaz, Hector ‘Tito’ Matos, Jorge Emmanuelli Nater, Victor Emmanuelli Nater, Ángel Fuentes and Mario J. Donate Jr.

Mirely Rodríguez noted that the musicians, who were each awarded a pandereta drum inscribed with a personalized dedication, were chosen from public open nominations. “[The awards ceremony] was an opportunity to acknowledge peers that met criteria that wasn’t just about being a great musician but also doing community work,” said Rodríguez.

One of the awarded musicians Ángel Fuentes has been creating bomba y plena in the Humboldt Park community for many years as part of Nuestro Tambó, which recently released their first album, “Otras Historias de Elena.” Fuentes explained that he, along with the other musicians, were highlighted for their skill as requinto drummers (the requinto is the drum in plena that improvises over the main beat of the seguidor and punteador drums).

Fuentes first learned about bomba y plena as a 16-year-old student at ASPIRA Antonia Pantojas High School where he took Puerto Rican history and culture classes taught by AfriCaribe Director Tito Rodríguez. “I remember hearing the drums and learning that it was our [Puerto Rican] music, said Fuentes. “The drums kind of called me.”

For more information on Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center visit: www.ruizbelvis.org and for more information on Nuestro Tambó visit: www.nuestrotambo.org

Eric López

The Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) opened a new exhibit entitled “Úteros” by the artist Richard Santiago on Saturday, April 3.

Santiago is a renowned Puerto Rican painter and filmmaker who resides in Puerto Rico and has exhibited work in galleries all over the world.  He has a B.A. in Art from Marist College in New York and an MFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

The artist recently returned to painting, after pursuing film for several years.  His return to this medium coincided with the birth of his son.  Santiago spoke about the symbolic meaning of pregnancy and compared the universe to a womb. He poses that there is a cosmic connection between women and the

universe.

“Úteros” is a collection of over 20 paintings that contrast retrospective pieces from the period before Santiago stopped painting with his most recent work.

The images in Santiago’s paintings range from surrealistic landscapes with human figures to cosmic phenomena like black holes.  Whether using vibrant colors to create abstract representations of space or depicting Puerto Rican peasants from the 1940’s, Santiago’s images are captivating and powerful.

The pieces in this exhibit show sensitivity to and an acute awareness of the intersection and inter-relatedness of the human experience, the universe, art and Puerto Rican historical memory.  “Úteros” can be viewed at IPRAC until June.

The Cocineros Unidos de Humboldt Park’s presence in the park was threatened when Park Concessions Management, a private company contracted by the Chicago Park District to manage its concession vendors, attempted to double their rent.  The Puerto Rican Agenda worked closely with the Cocineros in developing a response, and with the support and advocacy of 26th Ward Alderman Maldonado a victory was won in keeping the Cocineros in the park this year. Next year a new contract will have to be negotiated and the goal is to work with the Alderman, the community and the Chicago Park District to ensure that the Cocineros Unidos de Humboldt Park continues to be a institution of the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park for decades to come.

Xavier “Xavi” Luis Burgos

“I’m going to put Black as my race,” says Andrew Torres, 16, a student of the Barrio, Arts, Culture, and Communications Academy after school program in Humboldt Park. “But, you look white and got red hair!” I exclaimed with a smile of interest. “Yeah, but don’t Puerto Ricans got Black in us?” he responded with a look of confusion. “Yes we do,” I said.

The U.S. Congress requires for the counting of every person in the United States every 10 years and the U.S. Census Bureau puts a lot of work in making this happen. After everyone is counted the results play a very large role in deciding on how much funding is allocated to schools, special projects, political representation, among other important things. In many ways, the relationship between the government (on all of its levels) and communities are determined by who and how many live in those areas. For Latinas/os, the census plays a unique role.

Now that “Hispanic” and “Latino” are official options in the census since 1970, they are still ethnic options, not race options. In other words, the U.S. government recognizes that there are Latinas/os in the U.S. (now more than 40 million of us and growing!) but we are not at the level of “white,” “Black,” or “American Indian” as a category.

First of all, the idea of race is different in Latin America. My student could easily pass for white, but his entire life is not that of a white person, but of a Puerto Rican growing up in Humboldt Park among people of color. He also recognizes that Puerto Ricans are a mixed people – Taíno Indian, European, and African. The U.S. Census Bureau’s neat categories do not fit the Puerto Rican or Latin American reality of a beautifully mixed people. That is why we are forced to choose, but is that choice really reflective of our history; of our experiences?

I consider myself a “Black” Puerto Rican – my African ancestry is more obvious in my skin-color and facial features more so than other Boricuas, but is my experience the same as an African-American? What about my uncle Junior? He is very light-skinned, but was called “spic” when he was in the South because they knew he was not white. Is he going to put “white” on the census?

It also must be noted that being Puerto Rican is different from being Mexican or Dominican or any other ethnic group from Latin America. The grouping of all these different nationalities into one category like “Latino” is limiting, but making them all separate races will not solve anything. “Latino” is empowering. There is much that makes us distinct, but there is so much that binds us. The great show of solidarity between the Puerto Rican and Mexican communities in the Immigration Movement proves that.

In the end, my people, put on the census that you are “Latino” and do it proudly. We all must be counted – only then could we tell this country that we are a people to be recognized and our issues must be taken into account, from immigration to gentrification. Also, make sure you put what Latina/o grouping you are from. In communities like Humboldt Park, which is experiencing displacement because of rising rents and property taxes we need to know how many Puerto Ricans are still here so we can continue to build what we have struggled so much to build. Those Paseo Boricua Flags are not going anywhere! “¡Boricua, Házte Contar!”

As for the “race” question, put what you like. I put “other/ mixed” because that is what I/we are. As a Mexican educator put it, we are la raza cósmica, the cosmic race.

A Reflection by Raymond Rodríguez

On February 26 I went to Boston, Mass. to see Matt Rodriguez, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School principal, speak at Harvard University. He was one of four principals invited to speak about how the school practices social justice. I have been teaching Mathematics at PACHS for three years now. When I listened to Matt speak, I was very proud of our school. We are by no means a perfect school. We have many things to improve on, but I never realized all of the things that we are doing successfully.  

I felt like I was part of a process that helps students realize that they are human beings that deserve dignity. I never realized that we practice social justice because as Matt said, “Social Justice is not a book you can open up and do word problems from.” It is the words you use, the way you stand, the tone of your voice and how you answer questions. Social Justice is the way you live. When Matt was speaking, I could see the faces of the students that have been in my classroom over the past three years. I recalled the lessons I taught and how they have evolved from, “Let’s do this problem,” to trying to figure out, “How does this problem relate to my students?”

Then, Matt recognized one of our school’s founders Ricardo Jiménez (who was also in the audience) and I was forced to think about how many lives our school has touched over the past thirty-eight years. This school has not only improved the lives of our students, but of the teachers as well. Teachers and staff struggle through what social justice is and what it is not at PACHS. We challenge each other’s definitions almost weekly. This critical thinking has helped each one of us develop our own teaching philosophies and our students have helped us refine our teaching styles by always reminding us of the reality we face.

Magdaleno Castañeda –

On the eve of Three Kings Day, Humboldt Park witnessed a special visit by Puerto Rican artist, Osvaldo Budet, whose paintings were unveiled at the opening night of “Romantic Political Affair,” an exhibit of the artist’s work at the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC). Despite the cold of a typical Chicago winter, dozens of people, including a television camera crew, gathered at IPRAC for an evening of art and appetizers. The exhibit consisted of seven paintings that varied between color and black and white.

Ray Vázquez, president of the IPRAC Board of Directors, welcomed everyone to the opening of the exhibit, which will run until March 5. José E. López, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, introduced Budet and thanked him for his visit, as well as for the mural Budet created at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School. “How do we camouflage through art, messages we want to send about resistance,” was the question López asked the audience in explaining the themes behind Budet’s work.

“There is a duality between comedy and tragedy in Mexican life and cultural expression that resonates with Budet’s art in “Romantic Political Affair,” said López, who made also made connections between Budet’s work to that of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. When Budet spoke, he first thanked everyone for attending the exhibit and explained a little about his paintings saying, “I try to make politics more accessible to me and to all through humor.” This humor was visible in the “Where’s Waldo?” characteristic of Budet’s painting, which all include an image of himself. “Humor is a key to deal with anything,” Budet said. Many of his painting combine the humor with political events from the past like the Spanish Civil War as well as the Vietnam War. Budet also emphasized the importance of identity in his work. “The only thing we have is identity and we have to unite to keep our identity and respect other’s identity.”

After his speech, Budet socialized with the crowd and answered the public’s questions regarding his artwork. He also invited everyone to the community workshop and lecture at IPRAC held on January 9. It was great for Budet to have taken time from his busy schedule of studying art in Germany to visit Paseo Boricua. IPRAC was a very fitting place for the “Romantic Political Affair” exhibit because as Budet said, “Here is a place that preserves our culture.”

José Luis Rodríguez –

On December 9, 2009, the Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) sponsored its first annual NaviJazz Concert held at VLive nightclub (2047 North Milwaukee). The concert will become a regular feature of the Institute’s work in promoting Puerto Rican musicians who have, and continue to make, significant contributions to the musical genre of Latin Jazz.

The very first concert featured the legendary William Cepeda, Puerto Rican trombonist, composer, and arranger. Cepeda brought with him a legend in his own right, pianist Edwin Figueroa, formerly of Batacumbele. These two legends were backed up by Chicago’s very own Latin jazz band, Latin Inspiration, led by Johnny Rodríguez, who has been recognized as one of Chicago’s top trombone players, along with Afri-Caribe, Chicago’s premier bomba group, led by Tito Rodríguez.

The night outside was in a deep freeze with temperatures bottoming out to the single digits. Inside was quite another reality. The temperature was beyond hot—slowly rising with each melody and each note that the musicians played. Cepeda showed his mastery as composer, arranger, and conductor by effortlessly fusing the genre of Latin Jazz— its emphasis on the trombone, trumpet and saxophone— with the rhythmic heart beating percussions of bomba.

On stage, Cepeda challenged each musician to give their absolute best performance. The crowd, which included more than 500 people, was awed while treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience in seeing Cepeda not only lead these musicians, but watch as he himself put down the trombone and picked up his shells and began to blow into them. He played the shells as if they were his trombone, blowing melodic sounds that combined and blended smoothly with every note. It was a showcase of the best that our musicians have to show, both from the Puerto Rico and from Paseo Boricua/Humboldt Park, Chicago—the common denominator certainly being they were all Boricua. This was undoubtedly a memorable night—one that has set the bar high for the future of NaviJazz.

Eduardo Arocho –

Hundreds of children, parents, and community members endured the freezing temperatures to participate in the 15th Annual Three Kings Winter Festival & Parade held on Wednesday, January 6.  This tradition on Paseo Boricua is one of the highlights of the New Year and has grown to be one of the most anticipated family festivals in Humboldt Park. 

As in previous years, families gathered at Rebaño Compañerismo Church (2435 West Division) to register, enjoy some hot chocolate and rosca de reyes, a sweet bread traditionally served on Three Kings Day, as they waited to board the double-decker bus and trolley for the parade. This year, recently appointed 26th Ward Alderman Roberto Maldonado and his family rode on the horse and wagon with the Three Kings who are always represented by members of the Latin American Motorcycle Association (LAMA), a key sponsor of the parade and a major contributor of toy donations along with the Chicagoland Toys For Tots.

The Three Kings celebration on Paseo Boricua first began in 1995, when the first bandera was inaugurated on the corner of Artesian and Division. On that day, snow fell upon the flag that was still being welded together up until the press conference that afternoon, attended by Congressman Luis Gutierrez, then-Alderman of the 26th Ward Billy Ocasio, and Mayor Richard M. Daley, among a host of other political leaders. Paso fino horses were brought in from a suburban stable to be ridden by the Three Kings down Division Street after the press conference. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Three Kings Day began to be celebrated as a winter festival and parade, with trolleys, horse and carriage and an immense toy drive.

This year, the parade procession marched a mile along Division Street until it reached the Humboldt Park Field House, where music and gifts were given to the delight of the children of the community. The parade was organized by the Three Kings Parade committee, consisting of the Division Street Business Development Association, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, LAMA, the Chicago Park District, Alderman Roberto Maldonado, Chicagoland Toys for Tots, and Rebaño Compañerismo Church. Moreover, this year’s parade enjoyed the sponsorship support of Extra newspaper, the 2010 Census, Verizon, Comcast, and La Voz Del Paseo Boricua. The success of this year’s parade is a good omen for the New Year. ¡Felicidades!