2 Foto del Mes /Photo of the Month A Look Back at Summer 2019
3 Portada / Front Page Hunter College Names Yomaira Figueroa
Director of CENTRO
4 Academy of American Poets Names its First Latino Executive Director and President, Ricardo Alberto Maldonado
5 Mildred García Appointed 11th California State University Chancellor
6 Community Foundation Announces the New Members of its Philanthropic Services Committee
7 Opinion / Opinion
Concerns About the Well-Being of Children and Families in our Community
8 Educación / Education
Dedican Tercera Edición de la Revista Engineering Now a la portación de la Mujer en la Ongeniería
9 STCC Manufacturing Program adds 3D Printing to Curriculum
10 Política / Politics
‘Puerto Rico has been part of the US for 125 Years, but its Future Remains Contested
11 Finanzas / Finances
“It Happened!” Consumer Stories
Literatura / Literature
Mirando a Manuel Hernández Acevedo
13 Libros / Books
Formas lindas de matar
Diasporic Journeys: Interviews with Puerto Rican Writers in the United States
14 Música / Music
Art Jayko Clinton and Jonathan Suazo at Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival 2023
15 Deportes / Sports
Holyoke Old Timers Softball League 2023
Founded in 2004 Volume 19, No. 9 August 2023
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NEW YORK, NY | HUNTER COLLEGE | June 27, 2023 - Hunter College has appointed distinguished Afro-Puerto Rican writer, teacher, and scholar Yomaira Figueroa as the director of CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, President Jennifer J. Raab announced.
“We are so pleased that CENTRO will be led by Yomaira Figueroa, a talented historian and teacher with a body of research worthy of this important institute,” President Raab said. “After a nationwide search, we found that she was far and away the most impressive leader, and we’re confident she will bring CENTRO to new heights during its 50th year and beyond.”
“CUNY and CENTRO are fortunate to be able to welcome Yomaira C. Figueroa, an accomplished scholar who has advanced our understanding of Puerto Rican history, literature, and activism, and a dedicated educator with a passion for empowering her students,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Dr. Figueroa will take the helm at an exciting period in the evolution of CENTRO, which will begin its second half-century by expanding its archive, library and exhibition space and its presence in El Barrio, one of New York’s most vibrant Puerto Rican communities.”
CUNY Trustee Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, who was on the search committee, lauded Figueroa’s talents.
“Not only is Yomaira a brilliant scholar and electrifying teacher,” CortésVázquez said. “I am confident she will continue to advance Puerto Rican economic and political issues through scholarship and advocacy.”
Figueroa said she was thrilled to come to CENTRO.
“I am honored to serve as director and to work alongside the exceptional CENTRO staff as we attend to some of the most pressing needs of the Puerto Rican community across the archipelago and the diaspora,” said Figueroa, now an associate professor of English at Michigan State University. “CENTRO is a critical part of our cultural and intellectual heritage and I’m looking forward to continuing its groundbreaking legacy of fostering research, programming, arts, and community outreach.”
Figueroa succeeds Interim Director Yarimar Bonilla, CENTRO’s first female director who will now become a professor at the Princeton University Effron Center for the Study of America.
“We are so grateful to Dr. Bonilla for her inspiring vision,” President Raab said.
“We thank outgoing Interim Director Yarimar Bonilla for her strong stewardship, and wish her the best in the next chapter of her exceptional career,” said Chancellor Rodríguez, who served as the center’s director from 2000–2005.
Figueroa is the author of the award-winning Decolonizing Diasporas: Radical Mappings of Afro-Atlantic Literature (Northwestern, 2020) and the forthcoming The Survival of a People (Duke University Press). She has published work in journals including Hypatia, Decolonization, CENTRO, Small Axe, Frontiers, Hispanofilia, Contemporânea, Post 45 Contemporaries, SX Salon, and Dialogos
She is the principal investigator for the Mellon Diaspora Solidarities Lab a $2 million project focused on Black feminist digital humanities initiatives that support solidarity work in Black and Ethnic Studies. She also is the founder of the MSU Womxn of Color Initiative, #ProyectoPalabrasPR, the Mentoring Underrepresented Students in English recruitment program (MUSE), and the Digital Humanities project Electric Marronage. She has received fellowships from the Duke University Council on Race and Ethnicity, the Ford Foundation, and the Cornell University Society for the Humanities.
Now celebrating its 50th year, CENTRO is an internationally recognized research institute for the study, interpretation, and preservation of the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. CENTRO scholars have used its extensive library and archives to contribute to public policy and celebrate the rich art, culture, and history of Puerto Rico and its Diaspora.
—The Academy of American Poets, a leading publisher of contemporary poetry and funder of poets in the United States, is pleased to announce that it has selected Ricardo Alberto Maldonado to be its next Executive Director and President in a history-making appointment. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Maldonado is the first Latino to lead the Academy since its founding in 1934. He will begin his new role at the organization on July 17, 2023.
“We searched for a leader who was not merely seeking a job in poetry, but who was already fully invested in living out the vocation of poetry. As a poet, translator, and arts administrator, Ricardo Maldonado brings to the Academy of American Poets an intense passion for our mission, stellar nonprofit leadership experience, strong project management skills, a commitment to education and community-building, and a depth of knowledge about American poetry from the nineteenth century poets to the cutting-edge voices of today,” said Board Chair Tess O’Dwyer. “The Board of Directors voted unanimously and enthusiastically to appoint Ricardo based on our belief that he will not only sustain the Academy’s marvelous array of poetry offerings but will also strengthen, expand, and deepen them in the years to come.”
for high school students; a teacher’s workshop focusing on making poetry accessible to young readers through curriculum design; and a residency for Spanish-speaking poets. Since 2020, he has spearheaded 92NY’s online seminar curriculum, drawing thousands of scholars and readers from all over the world for literary discussions, lectures, and panels. He was a founding member of the organization’s DEI committee, overseeing staff training and supporting implementation of organization-wide initiatives, with an emphasis on collaboration between programmatic, support, and service centers. Among his projects of note, he coedited A New Colossus, an online anthology of emerging voices celebrating Emma Lazarus’s work, which was featured in the New York Times, as well as Joy and Hope and All That, a tribute to the iconic American poet Lucille Clifton.
About his appointment, Maldonado said, “I owe a debt of gratitude to the Academy of American Poets. Like the many millions of poets, educators, and readers across the world who have used its resources since 1934, I believe, to quote the
“For sixteen years, Ricardo has stirred the lifeblood of 92NY, the Poetry Center, and its community of writers and readers,” said Bernard Schwartz, co-director of the Unterberg Poetry Center. “And never was that more true—more life-giving—than during the pandemic, when he worked day and night to keep the community together, making sure we all had a safe place to be, providing not just ballast, but also beauty. While the 92nd Street Y will miss him terribly, I’m incredibly excited to witness this thrilling new chapter.”
Ricardo Alberto Maldonado A graduate of Tufts and Columbia University’s School of the Arts, Ricardo Alberto Maldonado is a seasoned translator whose titles include Dinapiera Di Donato’s Colaterales/Collateral (National Poetry Series / Akashic Books). He is also a poet whose collection, The Life Assignment (Four Way Books, 2020), was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award.
Maldonado is the board chair of the Poetry Project and serves on the board of directors of the New York Foundation for the Arts and on the poetry committee of the Brooklyn Book Festival. He was coeditor of Puerto Rico en mi corazón, a bilingual anthology that raised funds for grassroots recovery efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He is currently part of El Proyecto de la Literatura Puertorriqueña / The Puerto Rican Literature Project, a forthcoming online database collecting the creative output of Puerto Rican poets in the diaspora and archipelago, developed in partnership with the University of Houston’s Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Program and the Mellon Foundation.
Maldonado currently serves as the co-director of 92NY’s Unterberg Poetry Center in New York City, where he produces one of the nation’s most prestigious reading series, as well as a curriculum of workshops for emerging writers and an annual poetry contest that, throughout the years, has launched the careers of major poets. He founded the Center’s Young Writers Workshop, a three-week program
LONG BEACH, CA | CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY - OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR | July 12, 2023- The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Mildred García to serve as the 11th chancellor of the California State University. García currently serves as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and previously served as president of California State University, Fullerton and California State University, Dominguez Hills. García is the first Latina appointed to oversee the CSU’s 23-campus system. She will succeed Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester, who has led the university since May 2022.
university leadership for the 21st century and provided professional development opportunities for presidents, chancellors and their spouses.
García served as president of Cal State Fullerton from 2012 to 2018 and led the university to record improvements in graduation rates and nearly tripled new philanthropic gift commitments. As president of CSU Dominguez Hills from 2007 to 2012, she increased retention rates for freshman and transfer students and eliminated a structural deficit of $2.8 million—and became the CSU’s first Latina president.
Before her arrival in the CSU, García served as the CEO of Berkeley College, where she was the first systemwide president for all six campuses in New York and New Jersey. She has held both academic and senior-level positions at Arizona State University; Montclair State University; Pennsylvania State University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the Hostos, LaGuardia, and City Colleges of the City University of New York.
A recipient of myriad awards, García was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on several advisory boards, including the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, and by the U.S. Secretary of Education to serve on the Committee on Measures of Student Success.
García was raised in New York City by her parents who moved from Puerto Rico. A first-generation student and the first in her family to earn a degree, she received her associate degree from New York City Community College, a bachelor’s in business education from Bernard M. Baruch College and a master’s in business education from New York University. At Teachers College, Columbia University, she earned a master’s and a doctorate in higher education administration.
García will begin her tenure as Chancellor on October 1, 2023
“The California State University is a powerful engine of change and upward mobility for California and the nation, supporting hundreds of thousands of students in achieving their educational, career and personal aspirations,” said García. “I am honored, humbled and excited for this opportunity to serve the nation’s largest four-year university system and work alongside its dedicated leaders, faculty and staff, and its talented and diverse students to further student achievement, close equity gaps and continue to drive California’s economic prosperity.”
As AASCU president since 2018, García has been a strong advocate for public higher education at the national level, working to influence federal policy and regulations on behalf of 350 member colleges and universities. She is the first Latina to lead one of the six presidentially based higher education associations in Washington, D.C. During her tenure at AASCU, she restored the financial health of the organization through strategic leadership, bold decision-making and vision. She directed a strategic agenda that focused on public college and
SPRINGFIELD, MA | COMMUNITY FOUNDATION | July 19, 2023
— The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) is pleased to share that it has welcomed seven highly accomplished professionals to take part in the Foundation’s philanthropic work.
Xiomara DeLobato currently serves as the vice president and chief of staff for the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) where she facilitates the growth and development of a vigorous regional economy by encouraging, influencing, and sustaining capital investment and quality job growth in Western Mass.
DeLobato serves as an active board member for Girl’s Inc. of the Valley, as Trustee for Veritas Prep Charter School in Springfield, MA., as an advisory board member for the Jandon Center for Community Engagement at Smith College, and she is the town-appointed member for the Wilbraham Economic Development Committee and the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is a dedicated change agent and steadfast advocate for equitable access to economic and academic opportunities.
Since 2014, Jessica Holloway has been an invaluable member of The Jamrog Group. Previously she served as an investment consultant for MassMutual’s corporate headquarters. Holloway regularly researches and implements evidence-based planning strategies to best serve her planning clients. She serves as Secretary on the board of Directors for Girls on the Run of Western Massachusetts and is passionate about supporting organizations that empower young people to reach their full potential through health, knowledge, and confidence.
Terrell Joyner is the principal of RJ Consulting, a firm specializing in financial planning and business coaching services. As an entrepreneur, Joyner understands firsthand the struggle faced in balancing workloads and personal lives. For this reason, he believes that proper planning and understanding of one’s goals helps individuals to overcome financial restraints.
As a member of the LGBT community, Joyner has been a champion for equality and social justice. His charitable interests are a direct reflection of his passion for his work providing financial literacy to students. He currently mentors a first-generation college student who is applying to graduate schools, serves as the executive committee vice president for Junior Achievement of Massachusetts, and is on the advisory committee for his alma mater’s Center for Social Justice.
Amie Miarecki is executive director of Christopher Heights of Belchertown, an assisted living community. Prior to this position, she was the director of community relations for Sunshine Village and director of marketing and development at Porchlight VNA/Home Care. Miarecki has over 20 years of experience working in health and human services, serving vulnerable populations with her strengths in marketing, resource development, and advocacy.
Currently, Miarecki serves as a board member for the East of the River Chamber of Commerce and the Business Segment Committee for Living Local 413. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Ludlow, the Springfield City Library’s Civic and Community Engagement Committee, and the Baystate Children’s Hospital Golf Committee.
Lillian Ortiz previously served as vice president of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Engagement at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Over the past 30 years, she has worked in the areas of education, training, employment, and philanthropy, within community colleges and non-profits across Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has extensive background working with legislatures and foundation boards and brings widespread experience working in urban cities among highly diverse demographics. Ortiz is a committed servant leader who is invested in building opportunities through the lens of social justice for all.
Kathryn Wakefield, JD, joined Advanced Sales in 2010 and currently serves as the CLU Director. She began her career as a financial advisor for American Express Financial Advisors prior to joining MassMutual, as well as working for the US Attorney’s office in Springfield. Additionally, Wakefield has spent time in private practice offering estate planning, business succession planning, and entrepreneurial law.
Wakefield is a member of the Pioneer Valley and Hampden County Estate Planning Councils, and she is a frequent volunteer at the Hampden County Probate Court Lawyer for a Day program. She also serves on the Advisory Committee for It Takes a Village.
This is one in a series of guest opinions that will be offered by two brothers who are bringing attention to the issues of racial bias and inequity in the welfare of children and families. The guest views in these ongoing series of articles explore the well-being of children and families and identify goals and problems faced by them. As a whole the views not only describe the goals and problems but provide reflections on efforts of individuals to remedy social injustices. Solutions are offered. A central example is that the articles in the series provide an on-ramp leading to an upcoming forum/workshop conference. The conference, to be held during the spring of 2024, will be a collaborative effort bringing together public health agencies, private sector companies, professional organizations, consumer/patient advocates, and academic experts to develop strategies to keep children safe from both intentional and unintentional harm.
We grew up at a time when we were protected and supported. Our well-being was shielded by our community, our parents and each other. Our parents and citizens in general saw it as their duty to keep us safe from injury. Safeguarding children was built into values, beliefs, and daily practices. Nonetheless we experienced racial bias and inequities based in class. All the inequities imperiled our futures and all other vulnerable children. So, while these vulnerabilities existed during our youth, at present there has been a radically growing chasm between those with resources and those without. Currently, there are social policies that are especially mean-spirited denying at risk children their dignity. The solutions promoting the well-being of children and their families need to take into consideration the structural barriers including racial bias and inequity.
A manifestation of the racial bias and inequity is segregation.
On closer inspection there exists an intersection and interdependence linking structural barriers and human vulnerability. Structural barriers have an accumulated impact on individuals, youth and families. Housing in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Puerto Ricans and other Latino populations are some of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. There is a strong correlation between residential segregation and lack of services including food, transportation, health access and other essential social rights. Residential location functions as a barrier for all the families living in those marginalized neighborhoods.
Residential segregation impacts social networks and important community interconnectivity. It is impossible to get “the foot in the door” without “appropriate” connections. Often at-risk populations don’t even know that there is a door to be kept open. Social networks are essential, but they are often impenetrable without others who are well-placed providing admission. So, where the child and family live impacts access to networks leading to employment, better education and health care and other essential resources. Because of the huge disparities that exist between “the haves and have nots” access to inner circles is difficult, if not impossible; zip code matters a great deal. Outside of ethnic enclaves that are set apart, linguistic profiling and discrimination is directed towards individuals with limited English proficiency.
Furthermore, residential segregation is a structural obstruction resistant to change. Systematic structural barriers have an accumulated impact on children, youth and families. Puerto Rican and other Latino low-income communities disproportionately lack access to essential social, political, medical and educational resources. Geographic and social isolation are telltale signs of structural barriers that make the low-income Latino and Puerto Rican communities vulnerable. Again, residential segregation undermines the quality of life and constantly wears down all living in such neighborhoods. Racism and poverty are life threatening.
Segregation is present in Springfield, Massachusetts. A study conducted by the University of Michigan found that the SSMA had the largest White-Hispanic segregation in the country in 1990, 2000 and 2010. This racial inequity is expected to persist in 2020. Children and families have the right to live a full life. By all moral standards, children ought to be treated with dignity; however, the children who live in Springfield suffer from some of the highest poverty rates. A large portion of family monthly income goes to housing, leaving fewer funds for all other needs, for instance basic food requirements. Children live in food-insecure households with no reliable access to sufficient, nutritious food. Tragically, this is a residual legacy of historically ill-informed social welfare policies. Each day, there is a long list of dreadful consequences of our inaction. Every day, children die before their first birthday with Springfield having some of the highest infant mortality rates. Every day, children are born into extreme poverty with unimaginable environmentally adverse childhood challenges. Every day, children are suspended or children drop out of school or are arrested or commit suicide. Every single, blasted day.
As brothers, as a community, what do we do? Throwing up our hands and giving up is not an option. As brothers, as sisters, as a community we must identify and exploit opportunities in the environment and exert a locus of control over the future. One solution is to initiate a community dialogue about child welfare that would culminate in a regional forum/conference. Nevertheless, without widespread community participation the effort will be meaningless. Gathering together to share problem solving skills and processes have a multiplying effect that increase the likelihood of identifying successful interventions. Conversations among the different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds of participants, and a diversity in participatory methods will lead to better collaborative decisionmaking. This guest opinion opens one such dialogue.
There is magic for community leadership to gather with the defined purpose of improving the lot of a socially definable vulnerable group. Springfield College will host a college-community conference. An interdisciplinary team of trained academics, community leaders, elected officials, and community-based organizations will come together to assist in the identification of targeted solutions to the systemic inequity experienced by Puerto Rican and other Latino families, particularly evident at varying points through the child welfare bureaucracy. There will be opportunities for critical problem continued on page 13
MAYAGÜEZ, PR | UNIVERSIDAD DE PUERTO RICO – MAYAGÜEZ | 7 de julio de 2023– Como un tributo a la fuerza femenina que integra el Colegio de Ingeniería, del Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM), la revista Engineering Now publicó su tercera edición dedicada en su totalidad a resaltar a las mujeres profesionales, docentes, estudiantes y empleadas administrativas por su aportación a las distintas disciplinas que componen esa facultad.
“Para mí es un privilegio compartirles esta edición. El pasado 23 de junio se celebró el Día de la mujer en la ingeniería, así que no podíamos dejar pasar esa importante fecha sin celebrar las hazañas sobresalientes de las féminas del Colegio de Ingeniería, y mostrarle así a las jóvenes y niñas que existen increíbles oportunidades para ellas en esta apasionante industria y en nuestro Recinto. Mis respetos y admiración para todas estas valerosas y excelentes profesionales que hacen la diferencia en todas las facetas de su vida y que hoy engalanan esta tercera entrega”, aseveró la doctora Norma
I. Gómez Echandy, editora de la publicación y ayudante especial del Decano en Asuntos de Investigación y Desarrollo Empresarial, de Ingeniería.
Asimismo, la doctora Cristina D. Pomales García, decana asociada de Asuntos Académicos, reiteró su orgullo por la publicación que da a conocer el trabajo y los logros de las investigadoras, el personal no docente, y las catedráticas que dirigen instalaciones de vanguardia, así como proyectos especiales y asociaciones estudiantiles que se enfocan en resaltar sus valores.
“Cuando miramos las estadísticas de la American Society of Engineering Education, nuestro Colegio de Ingeniería se ubica dentro de los primeros 50, en número de mujeres en la facultad con tenure y tenure track. Además, a nivel de doctorado, para el año 2020 contábamos con un 50 por ciento de grados otorgados a mujeres. Así que esta edición de la revista es una celebración de nuestro arduo trabajo, de la diversidad y los talentos con los que contamos. No solo resalta esa labor en nuestro Recinto, sino que va a recorrer Puerto Rico y el mundo como nuestra cara de presentación. Qué mejor que celebrar el poder de la mujer en la ingeniería y dejar plasmado en el tiempo lo que hemos hecho”, destacó la doctora Pomales García.
“Ustedes representan el motor de la innovación y el progreso. Su trabajo tiene el potencial de cambiar el mundo y confío en que continuarán haciendo descubrimientos revolucionarios que darán forma al futuro. Reconozco que la discriminación de género aún existe en muchas áreas de la academia y que las mujeres no están representadas con igualdad en puestos de liderazgo y enfrentan
IDEM OSORIO DE JESÚS (idem.osorio@upr.edu) Prensa RUMobstáculos para obtener fondos para su trabajo. Mi sueño es que juntas puedan crear una comunidad de investigación más equitativa e inclusiva. Con esta edición, queremos asegurarles desde el Decanato que su trabajo es valorado y apreciado y que estamos comprometidos en apoyarlas en sus esfuerzos de investigación”, expresó, al tiempo que agradeció al equipo de trabajo editorial por su dedicación y pasión. Según se dio a conocer en la presentación, esta edición especial cuenta con un total de 60 páginas y cubre los temas del cumplimiento desde la óptica administrativa y cómo crear una cultura de mejoramiento continuo. Asimismo, da a conocer investigaciones de impacto en la sociedad como: un estudio sobre la red eléctrica luego de un desastre natural; el efecto de las municiones sin explotar (UXOs) en el océano costero; el diseño y desarrollo de materiales funcionales compuestos por nanopartículas; e impresionantes trabajos que buscan tratamientos para erradicar enfermedades como el cáncer, entre otros.
Además, se comparten trayectorias de impacto que han dejado huellas en la historia del Recinto, así como en el alcance a las comunidades y escolares con aspiraciones universitarias. También, se resalta a las líderes a cargo de centros de vanguardia como el Laboratorio de Óptica Computacional y el Turbo Lab, primer centro de excelencia en aeroespacial en Puerto Rico y el Caribe, y se destaca a una exalumna con aportaciones importantes en misiones de la NASA.
“Celebro junto a ustedes esta edición que resalta la labor de tantas profesionales, cuyas contribuciones ponen en alto la educación competitiva de primera que ofrece nuestro Recinto y la Universidad de Puerto Rico, a la vez que impactan a la sociedad. A todas, las admiro, las felicito e insto a que sigan inspirando a la próxima generación de ingenieras, científicas y universitarias en la disciplina que sea y que logremos tener la mayor inclusión y equidad en la academia. Enhorabuena por este merecido reconocimiento”, apuntó. Por su parte, las doctoras Maribella Domenech García, de Ingeniería Química; Sheilla N. Torres Nieves, de Ingeniería Mecánica; Heidy Sierra, de Ciencia e Ingeniería de la Computación; y Sylvia Rodríguez Abudo, de Ciencias de Ingeniería y Materiales, aprovecharon su asistencia a la presentación para agradecer su selección como representantes de tantas colegas ingenieras exitosas en esta edición especial.
“Gracias por este reconocimiento que es mejor que un premio como profesora distinguida porque tiene un impacto fuera de la Universidad, ya que otras féminas y estudiantes pueden conocernos, verse reflejadas y reflexionar que rompemos ese estigma de vernos
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SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY
COLLEGE | July 17, 2023 –– How passionate is instructor Alexander Lozada about 3D printing? The Springfield Technical Community College assistant professor and 2020 graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Technology program loves the technology so much that he bought a 3D printer to design and produce parts at his home. He has created a lot of parts he uses around his house, including a custom silverware holder to fit into a kitchen drawer.
“I used the skills I learned here when I was a student at STCC,” Lozada said. “Being able to turn your ideas into reality is super fun and satisfying.” Lozada brings his enthusiasm for 3D printing every day to his job as an assistant professor. After joining STCC’s faculty in the fall of 2023, he suggested and obtained approval for the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department to create a 3D printing lab, also known as an additive manufacturing lab. This equipment complements existing rapid prototyping materials and technology already used by the manufacturing program.
The Department already was using 3D printers, but it was not a formal part of the curriculum which is known throughout the region for design and quality control elements. Lozada suggested creating a dedicated lab and purchasing three more 3D printers similar to the one he has at home. They are relatively inexpensive ($210 each). The lab now has nine printers.
“3D printing is becoming more common in the industry, so it’s important for us to stay up to date,” Lozada said. “Students should be aware of 3D printing before they graduate.”
STCC’s Dean of STEM, Lara Sharp, said a 3D printing lab will benefit students and the college’s industry partners. “Creating and visualizing student projects will connect design skills with application,” Sharp said. “I am excited to have the additive manufacturing lab as part of the MET program at STCC.”
Mechanical Engineering Technology degree-seeking students are learning about 3D printing in their second-level SolidWorks class. SolidWorks is a solid modeling computer-aided design and computeraided engineering application.
3D printing allows for the construction of threedimensional objects from a CAD (computer-aided design) model or a digital 3D model. Under computer control, the printers in the MET lab create models with plastic material being added layer by layer.
Students learn how to program the computers and operate the machines. The printers can design intricate objects with internal features that cannot be manufactured using conventional methods. Lozada points to one 3D-printed object – a fan with gears that were printed at one time.
“This is actually an impossible-to-assemble construction,” he said. “When you start 3D printing, the rules for how things are built are different, and it opens up new possibilities.”
Lozada displays several 3D printed objects in the lab, including a 3-foot model of a Saturn V rocket. Some of them such as a muscleflexing Pokemon character are fun and quirky. Others are practical and include gears and turning parts that could be used in machines. One class built a fender for a student’s wheelchair.
Lozada asked students to design a small toy-sized boat using a 3D printer. The goal was to see how many quarters their boat could hold without sinking. The 3D-printing exercise taught students engineering concepts about volume and physics.
“I made one too, because I wasn’t going to let them have all the fun!” Lozada said.
Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.
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de cierta manera como profesionales de la ingeniería”, subrayó la doctora Domenech García.
“Mi especial gratitud por darnos el foro para celebrar nuestra femineidad, algo que no ocurre a menudo quizás porque es difícil ser mujer en la ingeniería y nos mantenemos enfocadas en la parte profesional. Ser parte de la revista nos dio la oportunidad de vestirnos bien, maquillarnos, posar (algo fuera de nuestra zona de confort), relajarnos y demostrar ese lado femenino y lo que podemos aportar. Para mí es una oportunidad única en mi carrera”, aseguró la doctora Torres Nieves.
Como de costumbre, el diseño estuvo a cargo de la artista gráfica Junibeth Vélez Arcelay, de la Sección de Impresos del RUM, quien desplegó con gran elegancia y belleza estética esta edición que se destaca por hermosas fotografías y espacios amplios. De hecho, el
Museo de Arte del RUM (MUSA) transformó una de sus salas en un estudio para llevar a cabo una sesión de fotos que captó a las protagonistas, a quienes también se presentó en sus entornos de trabajo y laboratorios.
El equipo editorial estuvo compuesto además por las estudiantes colegiales Andrea N. Pérez Molina, asistente en la parte editorial y en la fotografía, quien estudia Ingeniería Mecánica; y Jaymarie Ramos Rivera, a cargo del Mercadeo, estudiante de esa rama en el Colegio de Administración de Empresas.
La presentación también contó con la asistencia de los doctores Bienvenido Vélez Rivera, decano de Ingeniería; Gustavo Gutiérrez, decano de Asuntos Administrativos, y William Hernández Rivera, ayudante especial del Rector en el área docente y no docente.
This article was originally published in THE CONVERSATION | July 13, 2023
I n the 125 years since U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico on July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the U.S. government has controlled the island militarily, politically and economically – with no end in sight or, for Puerto Rico, a clear path to statehood.
That has been an issue of contention for many Puerto Ricans living on the island and stateside.
As I have documented in my 2017 book “Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know,” the island of nearly 3.3 million people has a peculiar position in Latin American and Caribbean countries because of its dependent relationship with the U.S. Technically, Puerto Rico is an “unincorporated territory” that legally belongs to but is not a part of the United States.
In a case about the constitutionality of a tariff on goods trafficked between the island and the mainland, the U.S. Supreme Court defined Puerto Rico in 1901 as “foreign to the United States in a domestic sense” because it was neither a state of the American union nor an independent republic.
The court also ruled that the island was “a territory belonging to … but not a part of the United States.”
This decision meant that Congress would determine which parts of the U.S. Constitution applied to Puerto Rico.
In another case, the court declared in 1904 that Puerto Rican emigrants to the U.S. were not “aliens” and could move freely to the U.S. mainland.
Congress granted U.S. citizenship to all residents of Puerto Rico in 1917, but it did not extend to them all constitutional rights and obligations of citizenship, such as having congressional representation or paying federal income taxes.
In 1952, Puerto Rico became a U.S. commonwealth (or “Estado Libre Asociado” in Spanish) with a greater degree of autonomy than it previously had.
As the U.S. and Puerto Rico mark the anniversary of the invasion on July 25, 2023, the island maintains a status similar to a colony because it lacks sovereignty and full representation in the federal government.
Like the District of Columbia and other territories such as Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico elects a delegate – called a resident commissioner in Puerto Rico’s case – to the House of Representatives. But that delegate can only vote in congressional committees, not in full floor votes.
And Puerto Ricans living on the island cannot vote for the U.S. president and vice president.
But the president and Congress can determine policies about domestic programs, defense, international relations, foreign trade, and investment that affect people living in Puerto Rico. In the past, for instance, Congress has excluded or limited Puerto Ricans from access to federally funded programs such as Medicare, Supplemental Security Income and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The island’s colonial status became an even greater issue during the past decade.
In June 2015, then-Governor Alejandro García Padilla declared that Puerto Rico’s public debt of over US$72 billion was “not payable.”
But because Puerto Rico is not a state, it does not qualify for federal bankruptcy. In order to restructure the debt, Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act in June 2016, which placed the island’s fiscal affairs under direct federal control.
In August 2016, then-President Barack Obama appointed a sevenmember oversight board from a list of candidates nominated by Congress, including four Puerto Ricans.
This board, derisively called “la junta” by Puerto Ricans, is strangely reminiscent of the Executive Council, which ruled the island between 1900 and 1917 with little input from local elected officials.
The board will remain in effect until Puerto Rico has balanced its budget.
Puerto Rico has held six referendums about its political status since the 1960s.
Most voters rejected a status change in 1967, 1993 and 1998.
The 2012 results were unclear because many voters did not answer both parts of a two-part status question.
In 2017, statehood won decisively – over 97% of those who participated – but the turnout was very low at 23%.
In the most recent 2020 vote, almost 53% of the voters supported becoming the 51st state of the American union. But nearly half of the electorate rejected this option, underscoring the split among Puerto Rican voters.
In December 2022, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8393, proposing yet another referendum on Puerto Rico’s political status, which would have been the first to bind Congress to implement its results. But the Senate failed to consider the bill.
As it is now, only Congress can add new states to the Union, via an Admission Act or House Resolution that requires approval by a simple majority in the House and Senate.
Another bill – the Puerto Rico Status Act or (H.R. 2757) – was introduced in May 2023, but given the lack of congressional bipartisanship, it is unlikely that the bill will obtain enough Republican votes in the Senate.
As a result, 125 years after the U.S. occupation, Puerto Rico is still considered “foreign in a domestic sense.”
DR. JORGE DUANY is Director of the Cuban Research Institute and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies at Florida International University. Born in Cuba and raised in Panama and Puerto Rico, he previously served as Acting Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (UPR).
July is usually a quiet month for me but this was not the case this summer. In fact, I participated in the most outreach events in my 22+ years at the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information, allowing me to engage face-to-face with about 100 consumers of all ages and hear their concerns. I want to share with you a few details of their stories. One elderly male consumer explained how an unsolicited salesperson came to his home. Although he did not invite him in, the salesperson managed to make his way in. He explained how the individual was persistent and pushy with the heavy sales pitch. Ultimately, the male consumer signed several documents. It was minutes after the salesperson left that the consumer realized how he had “caved” into pressure. The consumer immediately called the company to ask to have the contract canceled but was unsuccessful in speaking with anyone.
A female consumer was concerned about her credit score rapidly declining although she had not been applying for credit. After she followed my suggestion and requested her three free credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, she discovered that she was victim of identity theft. Apparently, a perpetrator had opened a new credit card account, maxed out the credit limit, and left her owing the debt. Another male consumer downloaded a free app on his personal laptop and within minutes the laptop crashed. He turned off the computer and turned it back on only to have flashing pop-ups. The consumer had the laptop “swiped clean” at a computer repair shop and then downloaded what he believed to be a free spyware software. But the only thing he got for free was yet another virus, leaving him with another $400 repair bill.
I think it’s fair for me to say that one thing all the consumers I met had in common was fear. Fear of falling victim to a scam, fraud or identity theft. Fear of suffering financial hardship due to a scam.
Esta vez lo hice a instancias de mi amiga Ileana. Fue fácil. En Puerto Rico no necesitaba Google Maps para llegar a la Liga de Arte, en contraste con mi experiencia buscando cómo llegar a la embajada de México en Madrid, donde se exhibía el trabajo de Nacho López, fotógrafo mexicano.
Tienes que ir a verlo pues es un artista extraordinario, me dijo Ileana, con su característico susurro. Su voz siempre era una invitación: al deleite, a la amabilidad, a las posibilidades del placer, al recuerdo que te complace o te abruma y te dice “qué chévere” o “Nene, eso está fuerte.”
De inmediato me tiré pal Viejo San Juan. No sé si Ileana se sorprendió
S. JOHNSONThey’re also expressed their worries about the high cost of housing, food and utilities and how it may increase the likelihood of more scams. These are legitimate consumer concerns.
As your consumer advocate, and being your local eyes and ears, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of your knowing that scams come to us via telephone, email, mail, text and, as I just described, in-person. Criminals do not rest. They do not take vacations. Actually, they vacation at your expense. This is why it is of utmost importance for you to stay informed, share with others what you learn, and use your consumer power to walk away when your gut or your senses tell you to. Go with your first intuition. As I’ve said many times before, criminals and scam artists have stepped up their game, and it’s time that you do the same.
I told an audience this week that, “It’s time to get mad when your peace and quiet, and privacy are being invaded by an imposter.” By the way, they all clapped! I told them never to hesitate disconnecting the call; tell a family or friend when something is unsettling; and, report it to the police, if necessary. Please always remember that “Education is the best prevention!”
For more information, or to speak with a Consumer Specialist, call (413) 787-6437 or email us at moci@springfieldcityhall.com.
MILAGROS S. JOHNSON is the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Consumer Information in Springfield, a Local Consumer Program funded by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
ante mi resolución. Por lo general, cuando alguien dice tienes que hacer esto, o tienes que ver esta película, o tienes que leer este libro, uno asiente con una sonrisa sabiendo que no lo hará porque a nadie le gusta hacer nada cuando lo mandan. Yo no. Especialmente cuando la que da las órdenes es Ileana que nunca me ha dicho que haga algo de lo que termino desilusionado.
Y así fue con la exhibición de Manuel Hernández Acevedo. No me arrepiento de haberme llegado hasta allá un día en que habría sido mejor buscar un sitio como la biblioteca pública de Carolina, donde ponen el aire a to meter y uno tiene que ponerse un suéter de lana para no congelarse. Los extremos de la isla, ya tú sabes: afuera muerto del calor y adentro muerto del frío. Aunque no siempre, pues no todo el mundo se puede dar el lujo del aire acondicionado y entonces se mueren, pero no del frío sino de pura flama (lo cual Virgilio Dávila no anticipó pues a él lo que le interesaba era añorar el calor de Puerto Rico). De otra parte, tal vez se mueren, como decía Palés Matos, de nada.
Entré al parking amarillo al lado del de Doña Fela, detrás de un camión gigantesco que casi no cabía. Era tan ancho y tan alto que entre los espejos de las puertas y el umbral del edificio el chofer solo tenía como un cuarto de pulgada de espacio para maniobrar y entre la capota y el plafón lo que había era una ranura, que si el camión daba un brinquito de seguro chocaba contra el cemento y se abollaba. Cada vez que se
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acercaba a una viga transversal en el plafón, el chofer se detenía como pensando “¿pasaré, aunque se me güaye la capota, o me quedaré atascado?” Iba a paso de tortuga para evitar los rebotes que harían que la capota hiciera contacto con el plafón, y yo impaciente y mentándole la madre, imaginaba una escena de película de esas en las que un perseguido entra a un túnel y la cabina del camión que lo persigue se estrella contra la parte superior del umbral. Imaginé al jodido camión blanco destrozado, los cristales volando por el aire, el chofer decapitado y yo sonriendo en silencio y con satisfacción malévola. Pero no tuve que seguir pensando en todas las maneras en que la suerte del chofer podía terminar pues ya en la segunda planta del parking encontré un espacio para impedidos y aunque el permiso era de mi hermana, ahí dejé el carro. Al dirijirme a la salida, me pregunté para qué rayos era necesario tener en el área metropolitana ese camión bestia, que no tenía trazos de ser un vehículo de trabajo. Especulé que era un símbolo: de masculinidad, de machismo exacerbado, de poder, un fetiche que quizás compensaba deficiencias sexuales. Rápido me dije que me dejara deso y me dispuse a subir por la calle Tanca, rumbo a la Liga de Arte.
El trecho era familiar. Mil veces había subido por la Tanca. No sé por qué, cuando me dirigía hacia la Plaza Ponce de León o hacia El Morro, nunca me iba por otro lado. Mi trayecto era subir hasta la Calle Sol, detenerme frente al número 275 para recordar la época en que viví ahí, esperando la llegada a la vez prevista y espontánea de Mariasol, mirando la gente que entraba a La Tea, que ahora era El Jibarito, escuchando al güirero que acompañaba las canciones de la vellonera del Café Marrero, y después de saborear esas memorias, seguir por la Sol hasta la Calle Cruz, mirar el edificio donde estaba la Tahona, subir hasta la San Sebastián y por ahí caminar hasta mi destinación haciéndome las preguntas de siempre: ¿quién vivirá en esa casa?, ¿veré una cara conocida en el Bar Seda? ¿cuánto costará rescatar ese edificio? Ahora no podía decir “nunca” ni “preguntas de siempre” pues doblé a la izquierda en la San Francisco para ver si habían abierto La Bombonera y cantando bajito, esquivando turistas y sin preguntarme nada, llegué hasta la Calle Del Cristo, saludando a la gente que me salía al paso, hasta el edificio de la Liga de Arte. Estaba empapado, comulgando con el sudor como si estuviera nadando en la playa. Me alegré de no tener que pagar para ver la exhibición. Era una muestra de una obra más extensa. Habían óleos, serigrafías y un grabado sencillo, de líneas muy precisas y figuras un poco caricaturescas, no en un sentido jocoso sino más bien genérico, como las figuras de un cuadro medieval en el cual todas las caras y todos los ojos y todas la bocas son iguales. Mirando las diferentes imágenes, que parecían ser versiones variadas de la misma imagen, pensé que la distinción entre lo representativo y lo abstracto era falsa. Me pareció curioso que, con una excepción, en las pinturas de calles o edificios o vecindarios, siempre había una chiringa atorada en un cable. Inicialmente, lo que mi mente sucia vio fue un brassiere colgando en el aire, hasta que más de cerca pude percibir lo que Hernández Acevedo en realidad había pintado. Digo yo “en realidad”, como algo definitivo, a la vez que la construyo. Al mismo tiempo, me dije que ver una chiringa en el cuadro no era un mandato y podía ver un brassiere si me daba la gana. Concluí que con ese acto voluntarioso colapsaba la barrera que separa lo que es y lo que a simple vista no es. En la mirada, las casas del arrabal que Hernández decidió inmortalizar poco a poco se transformaban, quedando reducidas a colores, líneas y ángulos. ¡Hasta en la representación hay arte
abstracto!, proclamé de manera triunfal sin que nadie se enterara. Quise indagar si esa idea ya había sido formulada en la literatura de arte pero desistí pensando que conque yo viera el arte de esa manera era suficiente y si no era una idea original o si era ridícula no me importaba. “Las casas del mangle” era un cuadro cubista. Como en el cubismo, era una imagen plana que daba la impresión de tener múltiples dimensiones. Las casas eran figuras geométricas entretejidas, ininteligibles para quienes no pudiesen concebir la esencia de una casa. En todas las casas apiñadas en el cuadro yo vi la casa de mi abuela, la cual siempre consideré mi casa. Esa serigrafía me hizo feliz y me recordó que para que la memoria no cause dolor tiene que ser incompleta y hay que adornarla. El “Paisaje del campo” era una serie de manchas rojas, verdes y azules con tres árboles (parecían quemados), desprovistos de hojas, de su verdor, pero con retoños de flores. Me hicieron pensar en las tres cruces del Monte del Calvario y en el mito de la muerte y la resurrección. El árbol que quizás representaba a Cristo tenía menos flores que los otros dos, que podían concebirse como los ladrones crucificados a su lado. Eso me pareció interesante. Si fue cierto que Cristo inclinó su cabeza hacia la derecha, mostrando así el perdón que le otorgaba al supuesto ladrón bueno, la imagen no lo sugería pues los árboles de los lados tenían la misma cantidad de flores. De otra parte, la flores en el árbol del centro estaban todas en el lado derecho de la imagen. Al terminar de recorrer el salón le di un marcao de nalgas a Ileana. Pulsé el botón rojo de mi celular (decir que colgué o que enganché el teléfono sería anacrónico) antes que ella contestara.
Ella me llamó de inmediato. Le dije te llamé sin querer y ella dijo pero yo quiero. Hablamos de la exhibición con entusiasmo. Antes habíamos conversado sobre la práctica artística, sobre lo que significaba ser artista, y lo que hacía que un artista fuese exitoso. Ese diálogo terminó sin resolverse. Después yo recordé la definición de Bolaño de un escritor joven––que lo es porque no tiene nada en qué apoyarse, ni amigos, ni maestros, ni becas, ni premios, ni publicaciones––y pensé que, a pesar de las lecciones de Irene Delano, y de ser un tipo muy popular y querido, a Hernández Acevedo se le podía considerar como un artista joven. Entonces lei lo siguiente en el ensayo que explicaba la exhibición: No importa su carencia de conocimientos anatómicos, si las figuras tratadas con frontalidad guardan proporciones incorrectas o si ignora las reglas básicas de la perspectiva renacentista, las imágenes de Hernández Acevedo son creadas desde el alma y es ahí donde radica la veracidad y belleza de su obra. No me digas, pensé. ¿Y cómo sabe el ensayista que la obra sale del alma? ¿Del alma? ¿En qué parte de nuestra anatomía pulula esa alma? Después me calmé y le di el beneficio de la duda al ensayista, adjudicándole un impulso cartesiano. De todas maneras, ese pasaje me hizo comprender por qué Hernández Acevedo fue un artista puro, sin necesidad de que nadie dijera que lo era “no obstante” sus varias incapacidades: ser artista es hacer las cosas bien hechas, crear belleza, emoción e inspiración, sin saber cómo se hace. Después de escribir la oración anterior, llamé a Ileana.
JOSÉ EDGARDO CRUZ FIGUEROA (cruzjose5319@gmail.com) es natural de San Juan y criado en El Fanguito y Barrio Obrero en Santurce. Tiene una maestría en estudios latinoamericanos con una concentración en literatura de Queens College-CUNY y un doctorado en ciencias políticas del Graduate Center-CUNY. Es profesor en el Departamento de Ciencia Políticas en Rockefeller College, University at Albany-SUNY.
La capacidad amatoria es la fuerza que transita en Formas lindas de matar. Los personajes se entrecruzan en reflejos generados por los intervalos de la memoria que no cesa de reaparecer para cuestionarse a sí misma. Aquí, leer es indagar la intimidad de la confesión. Mirarnos ante los espejos que reproducen la vida… distorsionada, es como pasar de una dimensión a otra. La propia existencia es una neblina hasta la llegada del final, inevitable. La isla es su metáfora; su teoría es Volver a empezar. Presenciamos la fragmentación de un migrante, un puertorriqueño que se ha ido para olvidar, que luego de andar por el mundo se sintió ajeno a todo. Será desde ese sentido de extrañeza que se nos develan historias compartidas, sea de un periodo, o la de los orígenes de nuestra música como registro de contacto por las calles y los paisajes urbanos de Carolina a Santurce o al Viejo San Juan. Con la misma facilidad, la trayectoria vital en los desdoblamientos de la voz narradora enlaza el tránsito de Carolina a Madrid como uno, tan fluido como torpe, comparable al movimiento de unos amantes imposibles, amantes por venganza o quizás solo porque ha sido vertida la gota que desborda el vaso.
La grafía del escribiente traza en sinuosidades el volver a lo que no se quiere recordar porque horroriza de dolor y de vergüenza. Morir, matar o suicidarse, es una polémica persistente, tan humana que nos acompaña a lo largo de la vida, como si estar vivo fuera estar en constante estado sonámbulo, sin acertar a explicarlo. Es que morir depende de lo que se entienda por morir, morir también puede ser un oficio.
José Edgardo Cruz Figueroa nació en San Juan, Puerto Rico. José Edgardo tiene una MA en Estudios Latinoamericanos con una concentración en Literatura de Queens College, CUNY y un PhD en Ciencias Políticas de Graduate Center, CUNY. El es profesor de Ciencias Políticas en University at Albany, SUNY.
Su trabajo académico ha sido publicado por Temple University Press, CELAC, Lexington Books y Centro Press. Su trabajo creativo ha sido publicado en las revistas Confluencia, Sargasso, 80grados, Cruce, El Sol Latino, Siglo22 y Latin American Literary Review
Description:
Diasporic Journeys is a collection of interviews on contemporary Diasporic Puerto Rican authors publishing and performing throughout the United States and abroad, with particular interest in the ways in which history, traditions, geographic dispersal, cultural/national identity, and linguistic merging converge in their lived experience and in their writing. The collection includes interviews with varied topics, thematic concerns, and accomplishments in each author’s life and works. Taken as a whole, the experiences of these writers provide insights into the effects of Puerto Rican migration and displacement from a national culture but also highlight a progressive socialization process that informs their writing and worldviews.
The interviews simultaneously display how the reality of those born and/or raised in the US is informed by an earlier generation of Puerto Rican writers, while at the same time creating a distinct style pertinent to a new age of PuertoRican literary production in the United States.
The writers included in the collection are: Giannina Braschi, Rodney Morales, Luisita López Torregrosa, Lawrence La Fountain-Stokes, Javier Ávila, José Luis Torres-Padilla, Aya de León, María Teresa “Mariposa” Fernández, Caridad de la Luz, Migdalia Cruz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Raquel Salas Rivera.
CARMEN HAYDÉE RIVERA, professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. She is coeditor of Writing Off the Hyphen: New Critical Perspectives on the Literature of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. and a critical biography on Chicana writer Sandra Cisneros, Border Crossings and Beyond: The Life and Works of Sandra Cisnero (2009).
solving, expanded thinking and exploration of best practices. Ideas about how to work effectively with others will be sparked, be they small and simple or global and far reaching in their impact. Who knows what ripples will be created?
The following is an excellent example of how a simple declaration of rights might impact on social reform. In 1959, the United Nation’s General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children’s rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition. The Convention, i.e., resolution, is the most rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in
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history. The Convention changed the way children are viewed and treated – i.e., as human beings with a distinct set of rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity. The unprecedented acceptance of the Convention clearly shows a wide global commitment to advancing children’s rights. The United States, along with 196 other countries, has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; however, United States remains the only United Nations member to have not ratified the Convention. We signed but did not ratify. How is that rational? How is that moral? How is that possible? What seems to be an impossible moral contradiction not only survives but improbably thrives in our country. Why?
The 10th Annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival held on July 20th – 22nd, 2023 in Springfield, MA featured two Puerto Rican musicians, Art Jayko Clinton y su KomboLoko “La Banda”, y Jonathan Suazo.
Jayko y su KomboLoko “La Banda” have been around since early 2000. In March of 2009, they launched their first major recording, “Dime Lo Que Quieres” with special guest legendary singer Ray De La Paz, and band members Alvin Santos and Eddie Temporal. Their participation at the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival was a tribute to the music of salsas greatest musicians Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, and Rubén Blades.
Jonathan Suazo is a Puerto Rican Saxophonist, Composer, Arranger and Flow Artist. His new Ricano project highlights traditional rhythms from his Puerto Rican / Dominican roots and ancestry within a Cross-Cultural Fusion. Jonathan has performed with artists such as: Giovanni Hidalgo, Christian Nieves, William Cepeda, ILé, Miguel Zenón, Paoli Mejías, Humberto Ramírez, Silverio Pérez, Charlie Sepúlveda, and many others.
The Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival produced by Blues to Green, a nonprofit organization that harnesses music and the arts to celebrate community and culture, build shared purpose, and catalyze social and environmental change.
Juego entre Los Humildes y Borinquen • Julio 22, 2023
