brochure - Center for Puerto Rican Studies

Pura Belpré in Her
Own Words
Based on the books Pioneros I and II, this exhibit
chronicles the massive migration that took place
from Puerto Rico to New York after WW II.
Like the book, this exhibit
features a pictorial view
of the struggles, culture,
values, entrepreneurship
and the civic, political and
educational gains of the
first big wave of emigrants.
Contained are highlights of
Centro’s archival collections of papers, photos,
graphics and records from
the Puerto Rican’s government’s migration division.
This exhibit chronicles the professional life of Pura
Belpré, the first Puerto Rican/Latino librarian of
the New York Public Library System and the first
nationally admired
storyteller of Puerto
Rican folklore. She
is best known for
her version of La
Cucaracha Martina y
el Ratoncito Pérez and
for representing her
stories with the help
of handmade puppets.
Belpré published over
seven anthologies of
folktales, a short novel
and various translations, all targeted at
young audiences. The
captions and quotations in this exhibit are from her
words as they appear in her papers and interviews,
which are part of Centro’s archival collections.
curator: Pedro Juan Hernán-
dez, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 44 foam core panels in different sizes (ranging
from 8 x 10 to 11 x 15 inches)
Asserting Their Rights: Puerto
Ricans and African Americans in
Their Quest for Social Justice
A look at how Puerto Ricans, in their efforts to
validate their place in the United States as American citizens, developed networks and adapted
strategies of community activism. It thematically
depicts the evolution of the
interaction and collaboration
between Puerto Ricans and African Americans in their quest
for social justice. The exhibit
focuses on grass-roots organizations, such as the struggle
of the Congress for Racial
Equality and the United Bronx
Parents Inc. to lower the rate
of poverty among minorities
in urban centers; the Black
Panther and the Young Lords
parties, which inspired Puerto Ricans to demand
their rights and unite with African Americans; and
ASPIRA v. Board of Education of the City of New
York. In 1972 this landmark case established the
right of New York City public school students with
limited English proficiency to receive bilingual education. The series was developed in collaboration
with Hunter College Professor Milagros Denis.
curator: Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 8 scrolled panels (24 x 36 inches)
curator:
Alberto Hernández-Banuchi, Centro Chief
Librarian and Archivist
Set of 7 scrolled panels (24 x 36 inches)
Tabs on back/top for easy mounting
Puerto Ricans in Central Florida
From 1940s to 1980s: A History
This bilingual exhibit is drawn from the recorded memories of over 75 people of Puerto Rican
birth or heritage
in Central Florida.
The exhibit includes a DVD
with four digital
stories elaborating
selected themes
from the panels.
The project was
sponsored by the
Florida Humanities Council, the
Orange County
Regional History
Center, the University of Central Florida Digital
Ethnography Lab, and CREATE.
curator:
Patricia Silver, Centro Researcher
Set of 34 panels (17 English, 17 Spanish approximately of 24 x 24 inches)
Used with permission, University of Central Florida
©2011
center for puerto rican studies
Centro
traveling
exhibits
Professional Exhibitions on
The Puerto Rican Experience
Available for Your Organization
Eye-opening traveling exhibits that illuminate the history and culture of the Puerto
Rican experience on the U.S. mainland are
now available free to educational and notfor-profit organizations.
center for puerto rican studies
hunter college cuny
695 Park Avenue, Room E1429
New York, NY 10065
Pioneros: Puerto Ricans in
New York City
Created by the Archives of the Center for
Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter CollegeCUNY, each exhibit has been professionally conceived and curated. Each stands
alone as a major presentation or can be
used in tandem with related lectures, seminars or similar events.
The exhibitions, which both educate and
bring to your organization more traffic and
potential media interest, reflect a variety
of topics, from community life to the workplace, from the arts to religion, from demographics to politics.
mission
Understanding, Preserving and Sharing the Puerto Rican
Experience in the United States.
centropr.hunter.cuny.edu
The Legacy of Pentecostal Minister
Reverend Manuel Tomás Sánchez,
1933–1991
Orgullo in Organizing: Puerto
Rican Workers; Their History
and Legacy, 1930–2010
Forthcoming Exhibits
This exhibit honors the life and work of the
Puerto Rican religious pioneer Tomás Sánchez
and chronicles his years as pastor of the Iglesia
Pentecostal Antioquia in Brooklyn, New York. His
legacy, helping to
spread the movement and contributing to the rapid
growth of the Pentecostal church among
Puerto Ricans and
other Hispanics,
is represented. On
April 18, 2009 the
corner of Atlantic
Avenue and Court
Street was named in
his honor in recognition of his life and
dedication to Pentecostalism.
The Orgullo (pride) exhibit traces the participation
of Puerto Ricans in organized labor movements in
New York. Since the early 1900s Puerto Ricans and
other Latinos have played prominent roles throughout the United States yet they
remain virtually invisible in the
annals of labor history.
This ground breaking poet and founding member
of vanguard literary movement Atalayismo, Soto
Vélez (1905–1993)
also was a dynamic
community leader
in New York City.
His work, influence
and leadership
cover a wide range
of socio-economic
and artistic aspects,
from political and
business-community development
to literary works to
involvement with
cultural organizations. The exhibit
presents documents from his
personal collection, such as unpublished manuscripts, letters, interviews, speeches, photographs
and other relevant materials.
curator: Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 8 scrolled panels (24 x 36 inches)
Tabs on top for easy mounting
Carlos Arroyo: Mr. Cha Cha Taps
Carlos Arroyo, one of the greatest Latin rhythm
dancers of his era, dedicated twenty years of
his life to professional dancing. His passion
for dance took him
all around the world
while performing
with some of the
top Latin and North
American musicians
of the 1950s and 1960s.
After retirement as a
dancer, he reappeared
as part of the homage
to Tito Puente at Yale
University in January of 2000 alongside
Mercedes Ellington
(Duke Ellington’s
granddaughter). In
September of 2005
he was recognized by the Pierre Dulaine Dance
Club as one of the dance celebrities of the Palladium dance era.
curator: Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 7 foam core panels (various dimensions, from
24 x 36 inches to 24 x 23 inches)
This exhibit is drawn from the
collections donated by the Transit
Workers Union (TWU) Local 100,
1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Labor
Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), the Santiago
Iglesias Educational Society (Local
3, International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers-IBEW) and
others. Also included are documents related to
mutual aid societies like the Hispanic lodges of the
International Workers Order (IWO) from the 1930s
as well as present day unions and other workers’ affiliations and committees. Captured in the images are
the issues which have engaged workers throughout
history: economic justice, tolerable working conditions, political representation and cultural awareness curator: Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 7 panels (24 x 60 inches)
Luis Muñoz Marín: The New York
Years, 1927–1928
This exhibit records Muñoz Marín’s early years
as Puerto Rico’s economic commissioner in New
York City. New research documents the beginning of Puerto Rico’s industrialization initiatives,
led by Muñoz Marin, through
an office which was outside of
the island itself but created by
the Puerto Rican government.
Included are Marín’s negotiations with North American
Airlines to fly to and from
Puerto Rico, primarily for commercial, postal and transport
purposes and a collection of
letters that reflects the reaction on the island to the new
industrialization. This exhibit
was developed in collaboration
with Dr. Mario Pérez.
curator: Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro Senior Archivist
Set of 6 foam core panels (18 x 26 inches)
Clemente Soto Vélez: A Revolt
Through Letters
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Attracting up to a million participants every year,
the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the largest ethnic cultural manifestation in New York
City. Since its
inception in
1958, the parade
takes place
annually along
Fifth Avenue in
New York City
on the second
Sunday in June.
Other parades
and festivals are
held nationwide
to recognize
and celebrate stateside Puerto Ricans as well as
those who live on the island. This exhibit portrays,
through photographs and manuscripts, the historical path of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade
and celebrates its standing as a permanent fixture
of the stateside Puerto Rican experience.
For more information contact
Centro Library and Archives 212-396-7876
Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Centro is a research institute which is dedicated
to the study and interpretation of the Puerto Rican
experience in the United States and produces
and disseminates relevant interdisciplinary
research. Centro also collects, preserves and
provides access to library and archival resources
documenting Puerto Rican history and culture.
We seek to link scholarship to social action
and policy debates, and to contribute to the
betterment of our community and enrichment
of Puerto Rican studies.
Centro Library and Archives
The Centro Library and Archives’ collections
include over 5,000 cubic feet of books, newspapers, periodicals, personal papers, government documents, broadsides, programs, oral
histories on video, audio and other video tapes,
manuscripts, photographs, prints, recorded
music, family ephemera, and other resources
that chronicle the history and contributions of
stateside Puerto Ricans.
The Archives’ collections include original records
of major community and civil rights organizations, the papers of elected officials, community
activists, labor leaders, writers, artists and more
than 40,000 photographic images.
Finding aids and guides to the collections are
available so teachers, researchers, and the
general public, can search them online on the
Centro web site.
Center for Puerto Rican Studies
Hunter College
695 Park Avenue, Rm. 1429
New York, NY 10065
Voicemail: 212-772-5688
Fax: 212-650-3673
Library and Archives
2180 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10035
Library: 212-369-7876