 We are giving away 2 more tickets to this event this week!
First to email us wins!
First come, first serve!
SALSA NIGHT!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Excalibur Night Club - Tickets only $30!
632 N. Dearborn Ave., Chgo, IL
For more information or to purchase tickets, call 773.296.7157.
Proceeds benefit the Hispanocare Scholarship Fund. Scholarships awarded Saturday, December 1, 2012 at the 24th Annual Gala
"Nuestro Compromiso"
Our Commitment at the Chicago Downtown Marriott Hotel.
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Picture of the Week 
Guess the year and occasion of the event above and win a Luis Rosa print! Email your answer to news@prcc-chgo.org |
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Our Websites:
View our Photos on Flickr!
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos HS (Over 13,000 pics!)
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Closing Event for IPRAC
Photo-Exhibition
Friday, Feb 24, 2012 @6pm
IPRAC, 3015 W. Division Street
Food and beverage provided.
The purpose of this doctoral research project was to unpack the meaning and role of "place attachment" in promoting the participation of Puerto Rican and Latino/a youth in activities that seek to improve the well-being of their peers and the Humboldt Park community. A sense of attachment or belonging may be critical in shaping the ways in which youth interact with their community, thus, fostering civic engagement for a community of wellness.
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| Saturday, Feb 25th
Noche de Libertad II
Doors open at 6:00pm
Event starts at 6:30pm
Featured Artists:
Corali Caro
Reggie Eldridge
Casandra
Lyrikal
All poets, spoken word artists, rappers, singers, musicians are welcome - if you have talent, express it on the 25th! This event is being sponsored by Latina/o-focused organizations on college campuses throughout the city. We are also encouraging high school students from the 'hood to join us in order to create a multi-generational cultural and educational experience.
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Support the OLR Kickstarter Project
Our goal is to publish, in cooperation with renowned human rights activist and author Luis Nieves Falcón, the English-language edition of the recently published book Oscar Lopez Rivera: Between Torture and Resistance (San Juan, Comite Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico). It is the story of one of Latin America's longest-held political prisoners, a Puerto Rican pro-independence activist who was convicted of the political "crime" of seditious conspiracy, not of harming anyone. Lavishly illustrated with photos of his life and artwork (he has become a painter during his now over thirty years behind bars), the book is an easily accessible introduction to U.S.-Puerto Rico relations and contemporary prison issues.
Read more and contribute at the Kickstarter site... |
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Network Meets in Cleveland; Charts Next Stage in Campaign to Free Oscar
Over 30 activists from 5 different cities met in Cleveland last weekend to chart the next stage in the campaign to free Oscar López Rivera. Network representatives from Philadelphia, New England, San Francisco, Chicago and Cleveland met at Dennison Avenue United Church of Christ over a full agenda, which included an update on the events in Puerto Rico, a legal update from Oscar's lawyer, the upcoming elections in the swing states of PA, OH, and FL and the role Puerto Ricans and Latinos will play in them.
The upcoming April 4th commemoration in Chicago, the national May 29th commemorations (the day that Oscar was arrested in 1981) and the introduction of two new educational pieces, a curriculum for HS and university students as well as a slideshow, were reviewed by the body. A national coordinating committee was established and the next meeting was set for the end of March.
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Get Well Soon, Stan!
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School wish a speedy recovery to Stanley Kustra, owner of Joe's Hardware. We encourage everyone to please stop in with your well wishes.
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Puerto Rican Cultural Center 2739-41 W. Division St Chicago, Illinois 60622 P 773-342-8023 F 773-342-6609
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Unpacking the Tipsy Cake Crack House
by Xavier "Xavi" Luis Burgos
On February 21, I like many others, discovered their Facebook pages and e-mail inboxes full of brewing outrage and frustration. Then the text messages and phone calls began. Claims of racism, calls for protest! And it all started with a mix of ill-humor and coded language from a mere Australian pastry chief, Naomi Levine. The infamous words: "I bought a bakery in Humboldt Park in 2006 and there were just too many gunshots in the cakes...." said on the City Soles TV promotion of her bakery, Tipsy Cake. To make matters worse, Levine laughingly advertised her "crack cakes," popular among the area police officers, which is distributed by the Whole Foods market chain. Some disregarded this "slip of the lip" as misguided, ironically tasteless, or even unintentional. But for many, this is impossible if one is mindful of the greater historical, social, and economic paradigms that informs such comments.
Link to full article here.
Humboldt Park Community and Businesses Press Conference & Call for a Boycott of Tipsy Cake
Feb 23, 2012 at 12pm on the sidewalk of 1043 N. California
"Humboldt Park residents and businesses and the Puerto Rican community are outraged at the pejorative comments made by Tipsy Cake owner, Naomi Levine, while promoting her bakery on City Soles TV. Her statements depicted our community as a savage no-man's land that shoots guns into her bakery and makes her clients nervous. However, she still expects her business to thrive through our service! In response, Humboldt Park residents and community businesses call for a boycott of her business and products until she issues a sincere and public apology that counteracts her racist portrayal of Humboldt Park. Join us!" DOWNLOAD FLIER HERE  | | Tipsy-Cake-Interview |
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Memoria Workshop Resonates with Attendees
Bibiana Suárez, professor of art in the Department of Art, Media and Design at DePaul University led an exciting educational workshop with a game feature from her exhibit "Memoria" (Memory) now at the Hyde Park Art Center. Over 50 students participated, and by the end of the event had an in depth understanding of topics like Latinidad, the Bracero Program, and Frito Bandito. Students were also able to recognize their importance in the shaping of contemporary American Identity.
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| Thursday, February 23rd
Café Society with WBEZ: Greening Humboldt Park's Rooftops
Join us for an intimate conversation with Carlos R. DeJesús, Assistant Principal and Director of the Urban Agriculture initiative at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School. Last March, the school opened its first rooftop greenhouse and produced 400 pounds of food within its first year. Come learn more about the urban agriculture initiative and how it is addressing health disparities associated with Humboldt Park's food desert. Space is limited.
Get the details here.
Reserve your spot now.
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In Puerto Rico Thousands Protest Pipeline: Oscar López Rivera: ¡presente!
Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar López Rivera was present on Sunday, February 19 as thousands of Puerto Ricans marched to La Fortaleza, the governor's residence in San Juan, to protest governor Luis Fortuño's plan for a 92-mile, $450-million natural gas pipeline cutting through the island. A contingent of family and supporters, including former Puerto Rican political prisoners marched with several visual reminders of Oscar, including several posters painted by Elizam Escobar himself a former political prisoner, and a giant key, signifying the key to his freedom that we all hold. The march included Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), and Puerto Rican senator Alejandro García Padilla, the gubernatorial candidate of the centrist Popular Democratic Party (PPD); environmental activists like Alexis Massol, founder of Casa Pueblo, which has organized opposition to the pipeline; and youths in street theater acts representing potential dangers of the pipeline, which is popularly known as the "Gasoducto."
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Oscar is Present at Occupy the Jails in Oakland and Chicago
Oscar López Rivera was present and on the minds of those activists and sympathizers who attended Occupy the Jails on Monday, Feb 20 in both Oakland, CA and Chicago, IL. In Oakland, Claude Marks of the Freedom Now Archives read a message from Oscar accompanied by environmentalist Dr. Deborah Santana at the rally in San Quentin. In Chicago, National Boricua Human Rights Network coordinator Alejandro Luis Molina read the same message from Oscar, accompanied by Jan Susler from the People's Law Office, to a crowd of 60+ that gathered at the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center after a short march. Below is the message.
"I'm inviting every person who loves freedom and justice and believes that a better and more just world is possible to join me in solidarity with the OWS movement. If we are indignados, who believe in the power of righteous indignation, we should be supportive of the OWS movement. This movement has been able to galvanize the people's righteous indignation and has successfully activated and mobilized a mass force that has shaken the foundation of the one per cent that controls the wealth and the political power at the expense of the 99 percent that doesn't have any wealth or any control of the political power. The one percent is already using its muscle to try to repress the OWS movement and to disorganize it. Our solidarity is crucial. If you aren't an indignado or occupier there is no good reason why you shouldn't share your solidarity with OWS. If you want a better and more just world then you have to dare to struggle to make sure it becomes a reality. En resistencia y lucha, OLR"
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IPRO-Puerto Rican Cultural Center update
The IPRO team is making progress on developing a process to Document, Digitize, and Distribute the PRCC archival documents. In the last two weeks, we have set up a scanning machine that will be used to digitize the documents. The team also came up with a method to categorize the digital documents for sorting and searching purposes using a tagging system. The team created umbrella tag categories, which are Date, Organization, People, Events, Location, Name, Title and Media.
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Enjoy "Don Oscar" Coffee available at La Cosecha and IPRAC
Enjoy a cup of coffee with Oscar López Rivera, one of the founders of the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School, 40 years ago. He cannot join you quite yet... he is still in U.S. prison, after 31 long and difficult years, for his commitment to the independence of Puerto Rico. Yet he continues to think, write, and paint, affirming life, loving life, affirming all that humanity is about... and even savor the instant coffee available in prison.
Join the growing campaign for his release. Ask President Obama to let Oscar come home! Contact www.boricuahumanrights.org for more information.
With your help, he'll soon be able to enjoy a cup of coffee with us. Cafe Don Oscar can be purchased for $5.99 at:
La Cosecha: 2703 W. Division St
IPRAC: 3015 W. Division St, 773-486-8345
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Did you know that
Asthma cannot be cured but it can be controlled-children with asthma can live without symptoms.
If you know a child who suffers from both asthma and weight problems, contact Project CURA today to learn about local service. 312-942-9980. |
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