| ¡Saludos Amigues de CENTRO! |
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| | Antonia Pantoja, Photographer Unknown, Antonia Pantoja Papers. Helen Rodríguez-Trias, Photographer Unknown, Edward "Eddie" González Jr. Papers. Elba Cabrera, Photographer Unknown, Elba Cabrera Papers. Iris Morales, Photographer: Michael Abramson, Iris Morales Papers. Suleika Cabrera. Photographer Unknown. Tato Laviera Papers. Ruth M. Reynolds Portrait. Photographer Unknown. Ruth M. Reynolds Papers. All photos from the CENTRO Archives. |
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| It's Women's History Month and we are excited to honor the women who have carried us to this moment. Puerto Rican women, on the archipelago and throughout the diaspora, have long been the roots sustaining our communities and the bridges connecting generations. Rooted in culture, language and history, they have safeguarded spaces where memory is preserved contributing to shaping our families, communities, and movements while imagining futures beyond what was once thought possible. This month we are guided by the words of Ángela María Dávila Malavé in her dedication for animal fiero y tierno/fierce and tender animal translated by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera: a mi abuela,
la fundadora de la ternura;
a mi madre,
fuente de vida inagotable;
a sylvia y a julia
por la canción interminable;
a lolita lebrón
por la fiereza;
por lo que han hecho de mí
como animal terrícola, hembra,
americana, antillana, boricua,
para SIEMPRE. for my grandmother,
the foundress of tenderness;
for my mother,
inexhaustible lifesource;
for sylvia and julia
for their interminable song;
for lolita lebrón,
for her fierceness;
for what they have made of me
as a female, earth-sown, earthling,
americana, antillean, boricua
animal, FOREVER. The legacy Ángelamaría brings to fore the lived experiences of women who have kept organizations running, the researchers who safeguarded histories at risk of being forgotten, and the leaders who challenged power while remaining deeply connected to our communities. Our archives stand as living proof of this legacy. The collections of Suleika Cabrera, Helen Rodríguez-Trías, Antonia Pantoja, Iris Morales, Elba Cabrera, and Ruth Reynolds, to mention a few, reveal lives devoted to dignity and the betterment of our community. Through their words and work we see how women have shaped not only our history but the very conditions in which our communities flourish. If you'd like to learn more about feminist figures who have laid the groundwork for community-centered activism, don't miss our upcoming panel with authors Vanessa Pérez-Rosario and previous R+R Fellow Emma Amador who will discuss their recent publications respectively, I Am My Own Path: Selected Writings of Julia de Burgos and The Politics of Care Work: Puerto Rican Women Organizing for Social Justice.
This March we also celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Centro de Investigación y Archivo Digital en Afrodescendencia's Cumbre Afro at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras. . We are proud that our Directora, Dr. Yomaira C. Figueroa-Vásquez, Research Director, Dr. Cristel Jusino Díaz, Press Editor Dr. Vanessa Váldes,and Project Manager, Dr. Essah Díaz will be part of this year's gathering, contributing to the theme Humanismos negros: somos raíz y futuro, reflecting our ongoing commitment to scholarship and community in conversation with one another.
¡Pa'lante!
-Your friends at CENTRO
P.S. Want to receive updates on specific topics at CENTRO? Click here to sign up! Artists & Art Enthusiasts: dedicated emails about our upcoming exhibitions, Arts & Culture events, and updates on Diasporican Art in Motion. Researchers & Scholars: dedicated emails about our archival collections, Rooted + Relational updates, new books, upcoming symposia, and opportunities for researchers & scholars. Educators: dedicated emails about educational resources, free lesson plans, educational events, and more.
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Juanita Lanzo. Remains (Restos), 2003-04. Collage on BFK Paper, 15" x 22 1/4". Image courtesy of the artist and Hidrante, San Juan, PR. |
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February Featured Artist for Diasporican Art in Motion: Juanita Lanzo |
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Our featured artist of February is Juanita Lanzo. Lanzo is a Bronx-based, Afro-Puerto Rican visual artist, educator, and independent curator. Her work resides in permanent collections in Puerto Rico at Museo de Arte de Caguas, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California. Lanzo's artwork exists in constant conversation with biology, human organics, and interpersonal relationships. Lanzo's microscopic view of cellular bodies and organs reflects the intertwining connections between people and their culture as well as their bonds with each other. |
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New #OnThisDay entries added to Nueva York Chronicles map! |
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We're excited to share that CENTRO has added new entries to the platform, contributing to Historias' growing digital map of Latinx presence across New York City. Through these contributions, CENTRO contributes to expand Nueva York Chronicles as a living map linking memory and histories across the boroughs. |
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Download our free CENTRO Militarization Reader |
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The Caribbean faces rapid re-militarization as US military presence grows under the guise of drug trafficking, impacting Puerto Ricans. The "Paz para Vieques" movement highlights decades of struggle as former demilitarized lands are reactivated. At CENTRO, we explore the socio-political impact of over 125 years of military occupation and the relevance of the Vieques conflict today. |
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Sign up for our free online course + curriculum about the Puerto Rican Diaspora |
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The Diasporican Educational Program is a self-guided course teaching the social history of the Puerto Rican Diaspora throughout time across borders, language, identity, histories, and more. It is completely FREE, 100% self-paced, beginner-friendly, and developed by educational experts at CENTRO, building upon 50+ years of scholarship & research while utilizing archival materials, reports, and more! Diasporicans often straddle two cultures, languages, places, and identities. Whether you're starting your journey today in learning about Puerto Rican history or hoping to deepen your knowledge, you're in the right place! |
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P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance
Thursday, March 5th 6:00 PM ET
Virtual tix still available | FREE, RSVP required Join CENTRO and El Museo del Barrio for the exciting launch of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance! Through a series of original interviews that include artists like De La Ghetto, iLe, Jowell & Randy, Tainy, MAG, and others, the book traces Bad Bunny's career from his early days on SoundCloud to the release of DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS in January 2025. This book, authored by professors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau (creators of the "Bad Bunny Syllabus") and published by Duke University Press, utilizes Bad Bunny's body of work and subsequent explosion as a global superstar to provide a deeper analysis of the past thirty years in Puerto Rican politics and history. Join the authorsas they explore Bad Bunny's place in a long tradition of infusing both joy and protest into music and honor the many evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. |
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Shifting Social Work To Social Justice: Feminism, Care Work, And Puerto Rican Women's Community Building
Tuesday, March 10th 6:00 PM ET
Virtual | FREE, RSVP required Pivotal Puerto Rican feminist figures like Julia de Burgos, Yolanda Sanchez, Antonia Pantoja, and countless others have laid the groundwork for community-centered activism. Don't miss our upcoming panel with authors Vanessa Pérez-Rosario and previous R+R Fellow Emma Amador as we work to understand and contextualize the stories of women like Burgos, Sanchez, and Pantoja and how they overlap in the struggles of national liberation in a patriarchal society. |
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Diasporic Puerto Rican Communities in Transformation
Wednesday, March 26th 6:00 PM ET
Virtual | FREE, RSVP required Tune in as we explore the Fall 2025 CENTRO Journal on Puerto Rican migration. Recent decades have witnessed economic, political, ecological, and socio-demographic changes that have engulfed Puerto Rico, with out-migration being a common response to such transformations. While the Puerto Rican diaspora was once concentrated in New York City and Chicago, Puerto Ricans from the States and the archipelago continue to migrate to non-traditional destinations across the country, with the current majority residing in Florida. In the last decade, states like Georgia, Ohio, and North Carolina have experienced significant growth in their Puerto Rican population. |
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Library & Archives Lunch Hour: Mi Puerto Rico & Cerro Maravilla
Tuesday, April 14th 12:00 PM ET
Virtual | FREE, RSVP required Join CENTRO Rooted + Relational Archives Fellow, Gianna Brassil, as they explore the connections between the Raquel Ortiz Mi Puerto Rico Film Collection and the Cerro Maravilla Hearings VHS Video Recordings Collection. Brassil seeks to understand how each collection contributes to distinct yet important facets of Puerto Rican history, especially in relation to US imperialism and the struggle for Puerto Rican self-determination. Come learn more about the richness of the CENTRO Archives and what archivists do behind the scene. |
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| | | | Diasporican Educational Program
Monday - Friday
10 AM to 5 PM
On view through Spring 2026
CENTRO in El Barrio | FREE
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La Casita 11x17 Print + Matching T-Shirt
Bring Puerto Rico to your home by purchasing our Casita Print and T-shirt, designed by CENTRO Graphic Designer Brandon Chacon. This print is a celebration of our heritage both in Puerto Rico and New York City! |
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CENTRO Journal vol. XXXVII, no. 3, Fall 2025
Titled "Diasporic Puerto Rican Communities in Transformation," with Elizabeth Aranda, Delia Fernández-Jones, and Simone Delerme as guest editors. The Fall 2025 issue explores how Puerto Rican diasporic communities are reshaped through race, place, art, migration, aging, and digital spaces. Featuring new scholarship, interviews, book reviews, and an in memoriam honoring Blanca Vázquez (1947–2025). |
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| | | | Artwork by Brandon Chacon. |
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| | Cándida González, Caldero Familiar, 2024. Photo credit: Rik Sferra. Mixed media installation of found and altered objects with printed digital collage. |
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Comité Noviembre
Women Legacy Awards Presentation & Reception
Comité Noviembre is proud to invite you to its Puerto Rican Women Legacy Awards Presentation & Reception. Thursday, March 26, 2026 6 PM - Presentations 7:30 PM - Reception.
CENTRO Hunter College, CUNY
The Silberman School of Social Work 2180 Third Avenue, New York City |
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Puerto Rico|Puerto Ricans in Connecticut
Building a Collective Economic Agenda
The summit is divided in two days. During the 2025 legislative session, Connecticut lawmakers passed legislation creating a Connecticut|Puerto Rico Trade Commission, to among other things, strengthen the economic relations between Puerto Rico and the state of Connecticut. Day one of the summit (Friday, 23 January 2026) will focus on a series of panels that begin to outline the challenges and possibilities for the development of Puerto Rico's economic sovereignty. |
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The National Conference of Puerto Rican Women
Affordability: Housing, Energy & Food
RSVP to Alyse: 646-520-5033 or nacoprwny2vp@gmail.com
CENTRO Hunter College, CUNY
The Silberman School of Social Work 2180 Third Avenue, New York City |
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| Help preserve our past and forge nuestro futuro. |
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