PRCC In-Person Counselors Present on Affordable Care Act at Town Hall meeting

 

The Puerto Rican Cultural Center was represented by our very own In-Person Counselors Ruth M�ndez, Leslie and Stefanie Rodr�guez at a Town Hall meeting held by State Representative Toni Berrios, Illinois President of the National Conference of Puerto Rican, Inc. Vilma Colom along with a presentation by Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace Regional Outreach Coordinator Salvador Cerna. 

 

PRCC's Leslie Rodriguez Interviewed on Affordable Care Act 

As the first day for open enrollment began for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), our very own Leslie Rodriguez represented the PRCC during an interview with NBC 5 news reporter Nasita Kwan. 

 

Hilda Frontany Women's Center Dedicated

Rincon Family Services names its new center the Hilda Frontany Women's Center in recognition of Hilda's Frontany's long time activism around issues that impact the Puerto Rican and Latino community.

Defensor incansable 
de la libertad
El soci�logo Luis Nieves Falc�n lucha contra la leucemia. 

 

Incansable y luchador son los adjetivos que usan allegados para describir al soci�logo y abogado Luis Nieves Falc�n, de 85 a�os, quien ha estado hospitalizado varias veces debido a la leucemia que le fue diagnosticada.

"Siempre ha tenido como norte la lucha por los derechos humanos, la libertad de los presos pol�ticos y el amor por la patria y por nuestra cultura", declar� el abogado y amigo de Nieves Falc�n, Humberto Pag�n Hern�ndez. Siga articulo aqui.

 
Paseo Boricua Apartment Listings


Centro Infantil 

Consuelo Lee Corretjer

Open Registration * Day Care Program * Head Start

We offer:

* Full day, Day Care for children 15 mos. to 3 yrs.

* Full day Head Start for children 3 to 5 yrs. 

* Research based curriculum

* Family involvement

* Nutritional Meals

* Parent workshops

Download the leaflet here.

 

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Palabras para 
Oscar L�pez Rivera
Eduardo Lalo

"Ning�n hombre es se�or de su para�so." Es una frase de Fernando Pessoa. A�adir�a que tampoco nadie es se�or de su infierno. En el lugar so�ado o en el m�s temido siempre hay otros, otros tambi�n est�n implicados.

�Qu� representa Oscar L�pez? �Qu� significan sus a�os en prisi�n? �Qu� conlleva ser un libertador en un tiempo en que los grandes discursos se han venido abajo? �Qu� es Oscar L�pez en las calles de R�o Piedras, en las calles que no ha pisado por 32 a�os, en las calles que para nosotros son parte ordinaria de nuestra cotidianidad?

 

�Qu� construcci�n de Puerto Rico se da en la aparente no posibilidad de que Oscar L�pez camine por estas calles, por esta Plaza de la Convalecencia, por esta plaza nombrada, gracias a la cercan�a de un antiguo hospital, por los enfermos y los agonizantes?

�A qui�n se "perdona" si se excarcela a Oscar L�pez? Lease articulo completo.

 

 
Regresan con medalla de la solidaridad
La hija de Oscar L�pez Rivera y la esposa de Norberto Gonz�lez Claudio se encuentran de vuelta en Puerto Rico tras viajar a Cuba en apoyo a la libertad de los presos pol�ticos. Vease video.
 
 
Philadelphia Network Celebrates GRITO DE LARES with Rafael Cancel Miranda and Andy Monta�ez

The evening began with an invocation by Pastor Roger Zimmerman calling for release of Oscar L�pez Rivera for all of those present and was followed by the playing of the message by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Laureate, also calling for Oscar's immediate release.

 

Michael Deutsch of the People's Law Office was then introduced to the audience. Michael, an internationally renown human rights lawyer, was a key component of the legal team that fought for Rafael Cancel Miranda's freedom, along with that of the other Nationalists- Lolita Lebr�n, Irving Flores Rodriguez, Oscar Collazo and Andr�s Figueroa Cordero, all of whom were released as a result of an international campaign demanding their freedom, by President Carter in September of 1979. Alicia Rodriguez was then brought on stage to a prolonged standing ovation to read some of the more than dozen solidarity messages and the event culminated with Rafael Cancel Miranda taking the stage, and in a powerful speech, condeming the continued colonization of Puerto Rico and imprisonment of Oscar L�pez Rivera.

 

 

National Lawyers Guild Files Petition Against U.S. For Human Rights Violations in Vieques

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico and New York - The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) and four legal and human rights groups filed a petition today before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the United States for severe human rights violations in the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. For over 60 years, the United States Navy bombed and used biological and chemical warfare on Vieques as part of its military practices, causing decades of continuous contamination of the land, sea and air. As a result of the Navy's actions, residents suffer disproportionately from diseases like cancer, hypertension, and respiratory illnesses. The Caribbean Institute for Human Rights (ICADH), the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Western New England School of Law and the Alianza de Mujeres Viequenses joined the NLG on the brief. Finish reading.

 

 
El Grito de Lares Dedicated to Oscar L�pez Rivera (Spanish)
L�deres independentistas hicieron un llamamiento ayer, D�a del Grito de Lares, D�a del Grito de Lares, a retomar las causas de los protagonistas de aquella revoluci�n de 1868 que, mediante la liberaci�n pol�tica del pa�s, aspiraban a mejorar las condiciones de vida del puertorrique�o.

"Las grandes ense�anzas de los patriotas de Lares del 68 eran unir los problemas de d�a a d�a, el problema cotidiano de falta de libertad, la esclavitud, la libreta del jornalero, y unir eso con la lucha por la independencia. Eso es lo que debemos estar haciendo hoy, atar los problemas de un sistema universal de salud, de un sistema de educaci�n digna... todos esos problemas hay que vincularlos al colonialismo y la falta de poderes para defendernos", expuso H�ctor Pesquera, copresidente del Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano (MINH). Lease articulo completo.

 

The 76th Annual NLG Law for the People Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico

This year, Puerto Rico marks the 115th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. Since 1898, Puerto Ricans have struggled to end U.S. colonial control. Thousands have gone to prison in the name of independence. The NLG has a long history of supporting Puerto Rican independence activists and this fall, NLG members are invited to celebrate that history and build solidarity at the 76th Annual Law for the People convention in San Juan, the first ever Puerto Rico Guild convention.

 

Register for the 76th Annual Law For The People Convention Here!

 
Editorial en El Nuevo Dia
"Conspiraci�n sediciosa"
por SIGFREDO RODR�GUEZ
La ley del Congreso de Estados Unidos sobre conspiraci�n sediciosa se aplica cuando dos personas o m�s en cualquier estado, territorio o jurisdicci�n de su pa�s conspiran para derrocar o destruir por la fuerza el gobierno. Cada individuo se castigar� con una multa o con encarcelamiento por un m�ximo de 20 a�os. Nuestro Oscar L�pez Rivera sigue en prisi�n despu�s de 32 a�os. Lease el articulo entero.

 

Gutierrez reads from his memoirs, "STILL DREAMING: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill" to capacity filled gallery at IPRAC


Beloved by the immigrants and working people whose rights he has championed, eleven-term Congressman Luis Gutierrez is among Latinos, along with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the most recognized Hispanic public figure in America.

 

Community leaders and activists hosted the first reading of Still Dreaming: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill, the new memoir by Congressman Luis Guti�rrez on Saturday, Sept 28, at the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. 


The Congressman and his daughter, Omaira, read excerpts from the book to a capacity filled gallery with more than 200 people present and which included, some of Chicago's most prominent movers and shakers, such as Ald. Ed Burke, Ald. Danny Solis, Ald. Joe "Proco" Moreno, State Rep. Cynthia Soto, Josh Hoyt, Carmen Vel�zquez, Emma Lozano, Rev. Coleman, Marvin Garcia, Maria Pesquiera, Celina Roldan, and Nancy Aardema, among others.

The new memoir is published by W.W. Norton & Company, and will be available in bookstores on October 7. and for pre-order online at wwnorton.com and by major booksellers including Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Nearly 150 books were purchased and signed that day, the proceeds of which will benefit the programs of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. Anyone interested in acquiring a signed copy of the book which will continue to benefit the PRCC, please contact Alejandro Luis Molina at [email protected]. Books are $35.

The Congressman was received with a warm and resounding standing ovation by those present after an introduction by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center Executive Director, Jos� E. L�pez.
Gutierrez' memoir recounts his political awakening and ongoing efforts as a national leader in the fight for immigrants' rights. He writes of his formative years in both Chicago and Puerto Rico as he struggled with issues of language, ethnicity, and class; his battles with the Chicago Democratic machine; the inspiration he drew from working alongside the late Mayor Harold Washington; and how he has become the steadfast champion of the rights of immigrants and working people in the House of Representatives.

Still Dreaming has drawn early praise from reviewers. Kirkus Reviews called it "funny, feisty and heartfelt," and Booklist called it "engaging." Senator Bill Bradley's recommendation is on the book jacket, saying, "Read Still Dreaming and you'll feel better about America." Novelists Julia Alvarez and Helena Mar�a Viramontes, columnists Juan Williams and Juan Gonzalez and Senate majority leader Harry Reid have also enthusiastically recommended the book.

###

Advance praise for Still Dreaming

"Read Still Dreaming and you'll feel better about America.  Luis Guti�rrez-a man full of passion, humor and fascinating insights-has never forgotten where he came from, even as he has ascended to the highest levels of public power.  Make no mistake, this is the story of an extraordinary American." -Senator Bill Bradley

"Gutsy, truth-telling, passionate about his Latino community, his multicultural USA, as well as his native Puerto Rico, Guti�rrez is our David, all five feet six inches of him, brave enough to speak truth to the Goliaths of power and influence.  At every stage of his heartwarming, honest, wise and funny memoir, we are witness to the journey of a talented and big-hearted boy of conscience who becomes the man of integrity he is today. I have no doubts he should be our first Latino president -- a president who not only has the talent to express himself and stir our hearts, but also to walk that talk. But if he's President, he won't have time to write more books, and he's too good a storyteller to lose." -Julia Alvarez

"Congressman Guti�rrez's gripping, inspiring story is proof that tenacity is the key that unlocks the American Dream." -Senator Harry Reid

"In an age of political polarization, Luis Guti�rrez tells stories about the crazy people, the wild deals, the joy of rising from cabdriver to having a vote in Congress. This book is good company." -Juan Williams, Fox News Political Analyst, columnist for The Hill

"Luis Guti�rrez is not only one of our nation's most influential Latino leaders, he is a first-class storyteller. He mixes hilarious coming-of-age vignettes of a Puerto Rican kid from the barrio searching for his own identity, astonishing behind-the-scenes accounts of the battles that shaped Chicago's legendary machine politics, and his own amazing rise to the halls of Congress into a single spellbinding memoir." -Juan Gonz�lez, author of Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

"Mesmerizing, sometimes funny, but always passionate, Still Dreaming will inspire us to dream for years to come." -Helena Mar�a Viramontes, author of Their Dogs Came with Them  
VidaSIDA Raises Over $2000 at Annual AIDS Walk/Run!

On Sunday October 29th the Vida/SIDA team showed its love at Soldier Field for those that have passed, and those that continue to live with HIV. The annual AIDS walk/ run started with cold winds, but warm hearts, and ended with hot sun, and fun memories. The Vida/SIDA team was proud to display part of our cultural heritage as we costumed up in "Jibara" gear and marched the 3 miles singing, dancing and remembering how Vida/SIDA rooted itself the Humboldt Park community breaking with the fear of AIDS and working to end the epidemic once and for all. To all of the Vida /SIDA staff and friends that proudly marched as a team, congratulations!

Clemente now a Level 2 School

Roberto Clemente Community Academy is once again a Level 2 school per the CPS Performance Policy.  Clemente attributes the success to comprehensive reform measures over the past two years.  Major areas of improvement that contributed to the Level 2 score include: diminishing one-year dropout rates to 1.9%, increasing attendance to 81.5%, and supporting freshmen with a 89.0% on-track rate.  Additionally, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate enrollment more than doubled, and will continue to increase as the school adopts a wall-to-wall IB program.  Congratulations, Wildcats!  

UrbanTheater Offers Free Outdoor Community Performance

This Saturday UrbanTheater Company (UTC) takes their work to the streets for a free community performance at La Casita de Don Pedro | 2625 W. Division. It may rain and if it does, our performance will continue at 2628 W. Division. If you live in Chicago and love theater, do not miss this production! This powerful play is packed with tons of heart and we want to share it with you.

 






Municipality of Aguada Passes Resolution in Favor of Freedom for Oscar (Spanish)

Gracias al alcalde Jessie Cortes y el pueblo de Aguada, por el apoyo expresada hacia la libertad inmediata de Oscar Lopez Rivera. View pictures on Facebook.

Di�logo entre comunidades excluidas: Desaf�os y esperanza para la transformaci�n social - Dr. Cornell West y Dr. Sam Cruz
After an epic visit to Puerto Rico with Dr. Sam Cruz, filled with talks, interviews and festivities, Dr. Cornel West goes back home with a special T-shirt and the warm gratitude and appreciation of the Puerto Rican people. Special thanks to Dr. Cruz, Maritza Stanchich and La Mesa del Dialogo Martin Luther King Jr. for their effective and efficient coordination of this historic visit. Free Oscar Lopez Rivera! View their panel discussion here.