It is with a sad heart, and the most profound emotions that I share my personal condolences, and that of my entire family, as well as that of the National Boricua Human Rights Network and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center Juan Antonio Corretjer, on the physical loss of one of Puerto Rico's towering intellectual figures- Dr. Luis Nieves Falcón.

Nieves Falcón was not only a teacher of teachers, a psychologist to psychologists, a lawyer to lawyers, and a sociologist to sociologists; he was, indeed, an organic intellectual.

Nieves Falcon's life was totally committed to the struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico, and, particularly, in defense of those who suffered persecution in their quest to make Puerto Rico a free homeland.

He dedicated the past 35 years to freeing Puerto Rican political prisoners- he masterminded the campaign that excarcerated more than a dozen of them in 1999, and continued this quest, until his final hours, to see my beloved brother: Oscar López Rivera, free in "nuestra Patria."

Everywhere Nieves Falcón lived, he left an indelible mark. He was a world traveler, visiting almost every continent. In each, Nieves Falcón left a part of himself.

He invested a great deal of his time and efforts in the empowerment of the Puerto Rican Diaspora.

In Philadelphia, in 1999, he helped to articulate the vision that would ultimately free the Puerto Rican political prisoners through Ofensiva '92.

In New York, he pioneered many of the struggles that would improve the quality of life of Puerto Ricans whether in the Bronx or El Barrio or in organizing tribunals around human rights violations and political prisoners.

In Chicago, he lived among us in the community, shaping and creating some of the most innovative ideas about curriculum and overall educational praxis that would make Clemente High School a model to be emulated in the 1990s.

We fondly remember his last visit to Chicago in April 2013 where he made three major speeches, and even sang, with his melodic voice, a song for Oscar's freedom.

Nieves Falcón, you will always be our Quixote confronting the windmills of oppression and our Cimarron building a community of resistance, hope and change.

Mensaje de José E. López, director del Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño Juan Antonio Corretjer

Es con mucho pesar que doy mis más sentidas condolencias, y las de mi familia, como también, es de la Red Nacional Boricua Pro-Derechos Humanos y el Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño Juan Antonio Corretjer, por la pérdida física de una de las figuras intelectuales más valiosas de Puerto Rico, el Dr. Nieves Falcón.

Nieves Falcón no fue solo maestro de maestros, psicólogo de psicólogos, abogados de abogados, sociólogo de sociólogos; fue, sin duda, un intelectual orgánico.

Nieves Falcón comprometió su vida a la lucha por la independencia de Puerto Rico; especialmente, a la defensa de las víctimas de persecución en la jornada por hacer de Puerto Rico una patria libre.

Dedicó las pasados 35 años a liberar a los prisioneros políticos puertorriqueños. Planificó la campaña que excarceló  a más de una docena de ellos en el 1999 y continuó esta jornada, hasta con su último suspiro, para ver a mi querido hermano, Oscar López Rivera, libre en nuestra Patria.

En todo lugar que Nieves Falcón vivió, dejó una marca indeleble. Era una trotamundos, visitó casi todos los continentes. En cada uno, dejó parte de sí mismo.

Invirtió gran parte de su tiempo y esfuerzos al fortalecimiento de la diáspora puertorriqueña.

En Filadelfia, en 1999, ayudó a articular la visión que fue lo que, a la larga, liberó a los prisioneros políticos puertorriqueños a través de Ofensiva '92.

En Nueva York, fue pionero en las tantas luchas que mejoraron la calidad de vida de los puertorriqueños, fuese en el Bronx o El Barrio u organizando tribunales sobre la violación de los derechos humanos y los presos políticos.

En Chicago, vivió con nosotros en la comunidad, moldeando y creando algunas de las ideas más innovadoras sobre currículos y prácticas educativas que hicieron a la Escuela Superior Clemente un modelo a imitar en la década de los noventa.

Con mucho cariño, recordamos su última visita a Chicago en abril de 2013, donde dio tres grandes discursos e incluso cantó, con su melódica voz, una canción por la libertad de Oscar.

Nieves Falcón, siempre serás nuestro Quijote, batallando contra los molinos de viento de la opresión, y nuestro cimarrón, construyendo una comunidad de resistencia, esperanza y cambio.

On Tuesday, February 25, 2014, PRCC-Vida/SIDA was honored with the 2013 Excellence in Care Award for its HIV counseling and testing services from The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA). 

DIFFA/Chicago (The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) is a not-for-profit fundraising and grant making foundation that distributes funds to Chicago area HIV/AIDS service agencies that provide direct service, preventative education and outreach to people who are HIV positive, living with AIDS or at risk for infection. Founded in 1984, DIFFA has granted more than $38 million to hundreds of community-based organizations.

Mensaje de José E. López, director del Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño Juan Antonio Corretjer

Founded by volunteers from the fashion industry, interior design, furnishings and architecture, supporters of DIFFA now come from every field associated with fine design. DIFFA has also been an innovative agent in drawing local and national corporations into the fight against the epidemic, and enjoys tremendous support from the business community. In Chicago, our Excellence in Care Awards funding focuses on those agencies that demonstrate extraordinary effectiveness in achieving their chosen missions in the HIV/AIDS arena.

Juan Calderón, Program Director of PRCC-Vida/SIDA and Maritxa Vidal, Manager of Outreach and Marketing

Professor Jose Lopez has been selected as one of the recipients of this year's Community Leader Award!  Congratulations. As you know this award is given at our annual MOSAIC benefit which will be on May 8th  at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport. The Alliance hopes that this coveted award will showcase two community leaders' who are often unsung heroes, dedicated to serving their community by enriching its social, civic and cultural health, and forging links to other communities. Congratulations to Professor Lopez and his remarkable contributions to the community and to The Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture. The nomination was submitted by the CEO of the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture (IPRAC), Billy Ocasio.

Se acaba el tiempo para registrarse a 'Obamacare'
 por Leticia Espinosa

Mayra Estrella, directora del programa "Affordable Care Act" (ACA) en el Centro Cultural Puertorriqueño, urge a la comunidad latina a no dejar para el último momento la inscripción al mercado de seguros médicos.

Desde hace varios meses Estrella promueve la inscripción a seguros médicos -u "Obamacare" como se le conoce a la ley ACA- en negocios, ferias de salud, escuelas y organizaciones comunitarias, y recomienda a comunidad latina a perder el miedo e informarse sobre la ley y las opciones en el mercado, antes del 31 de marzo, cuando vence el plazo de inscripción. Ver video y leer articulo.

Glasses Day at Centro Infantil daycare was a wonderful exciting day for all the kids to enjoy. They showed off their cool eyeglasses! They rarely get to wear glasses at school, so Glasses Day was the day for all. Chloe and Bella and other students posed for the camera and showed off what they brought to school. All the students were interested in what their friends glasses looked like. Glasses day turned out to be a wonderful day for Centro Infantil!

El Rescate would like to thank Dr. Yasser Elseweifi from Bucktown Dental Associates for providing our residents with free dental examinations, who unfortunately would not be able to afford this on

their own. "Thank you for your friendship to the PRCC and for your quick response to meet the needs of our youth." says Zenaida Lopez,

Senior Case Manager, El Rescate.

Bucktown Dental Associates

Dr. Yasser Elseweifi DDS, FAGD

2002 North Damen Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

773-530-3781

The Urban Agriculture program is getting ready to start the 2014 growing season. This week the Urban Agriculture class is planting hot crops like peppers, onions, tomatoes, basil and aji dulce in the green house that are going to be ready to transplant at the community gardens in May. 

On Friday, March 7th, over 60 community leaders and clergy members gathered at Roberto Clemente Community Academy to learn about the school's recent transformation and place within a larger education framework for the Humboldt Park community.  A three-course lunch was prepared and served by Culinary Arts students, and Pastor Wilfredo "Choco" Dejesus of New Life Covenant Church opened the meal in prayer.  During lunch, Clemente Principal Marcey Sorensen presented information on the current status of Clemente, focusing on the improved attendance rate, current 99% freshman on-track rate, recent ACT scores, and 100% college acceptance last year.  She also articulated components of the International Baccalaureate program, such as active service and global citizenship, which shape teaching and learning at Clemente during the school's first year of IB candidacy.

In addition, community members learned about the academic pathways available to meet the diverse needs of Humboldt Park's youth.  From the intensive IB Diploma Programme to 3-year CTE courses in Culinary Arts, Broadcast Technology, and Allied Health, Clemente helps students pursue various college and career goals.  For those interested in both advanced academics and early career training, the IB Career-related Certificate is an additional option, melding components of both IB Diploma and CTE coursework.

Dr. José E. López, Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, also addressed the group and articulated the education framework promoted under the Community as a Campus initiative.  He shared the vision for networking schools in the community to provide coherent educational pathways from pre-K through college. Work is already underway to ensure instructional alignment and student support from local grammar schools, such as Moos Elementary, to Clemente, to post-secondary opportunities at Northeastern Illinois University.

Feedback from attendees was positive, and many community leaders expressed an interest in promoting Clemente as a viable educational option in the community.  Leaders such as José Sánchez, CEO of Norwegian Hospital, Joy Aruguete, Executive Director of Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp, Paul Roldan, CEO of Hispanic Housing Corp. and State Representative Cynthia Soto made commitments to partnering. Principal Sorensen and Dr. López, as well as the larger school community, expressed their sincere thanks to attendees for their open-mindedness in learning about the school's growth, and for their future efforts as advocates for Clemente and the Community as a Campus initiative.

Hospitals & Health Networks is a widely read national publication and this article clearly articulates the many accomplishments Norwegian American Hospital has collectively achieved over the last three years. I want to take this opportunity to thank our Board of Trustees, medical staff, clinicians, support staff, and community partners for helping us to reach this pinnacle.  In addition, I want to thank our community's elected officials who have been extremely supportive of this organization. Download the article here.

This past week chemistry students performed an inquiry-based scientific investigation on which antacid works best to relieve acid reflux. They began their investigation by researching six common antacids: Tums, Pepcid, Alka-Seltzer, Pepto- Bismol, Rolaids, and Maalox. Students then created posters which showcased the chemical formula, active ingredients, and side effects of the different antacids. With all of this newfound knowledge, students were able to begin their inquiry-based investigation.

Students selected an antacid to test and performed an acid-base neutralization titration, which determines how much acid can be neutralized by an antacid. This process entails carefully adding acid to a base (the antacid) until an end point is reached. Having completed this experiment, students then determined the average volume of acid neutralized per gram of antacid to determine which was the most effective.  After all of their hard work, students found that Pepto-Bismol was the most effective at neutralizing acid. After completing the investigation, Justine Torres shared her thoughts, "It was cool.  I liked working with antacids and acids." Maritza Estrada said, "Labs are better than actual work because it's hands-on." 

"A childless, Latino couple kidnap a young girl in order to create a family...but the little girl has ideas of her own...and when her imaginary friend, the Grinch, comes to life to help her, the couple ends up with far more than they bargained for! A dark and gothic fairy tale for the contemporary world."

Location: UrbanTheater Company | 2628 W. Division St.
Performances: Thursdays - Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 6pm
General Admission: $20 | Students: $15 | Seniors: $10 | Community Discount: $10 with 60622 Zip Code (must show ID)

Get your tickets today! www.UrbanTheaterChicago.org

The NBHRN is excited to invite artists to participate in postcards4oscar, an art exhibition and fundraiser for the freedom of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, who has been in prison for over 32 years. We hope that you will consider participating in this important event that will help to raise awareness for Oscar's release and we invite you to contribute to this unique invitational exhibition, and sale of original art.

postcards4oscar is a fundraising exhibition showcasing artists' work from throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Artists will submit 4" x 6" works of art on a postcard that we will provide. The artwork will be exhibited anonymously (signed on back) and sold on a first-come, first-served basis for $50. Only after selecting and purchasing a piece will a buyer learn the identity of the artist. Artists may work in any medium or style and may submit more than one postcard if so desired.

The exhibition will take place in New York at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center on May 24th, with an Artist Preview Event on May 23rd.

Final submissions of artwork must be received by May 12th.