El Sol Latino | December 2021 | 18.1

December 2021

Volume 18 No. 1

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Holyoke’s First Latino Mayor

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

Joshua García Un Periódico Diferente / A Different Kind of Newspaper

“We are ready to grow as a community and that process needs to begin now. Voters agreed that we do not have time for learning curves and that we need someone with the experience to get the job done. As your mayor, I will work relentlessly to make good on my campaign promises to offer sound municipal management, to bring people to the negotiating table, and make City Hall work for you.” November 15, 2021

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Editorial / Editorial

Breaking Barriers in Holyoke – 2 Latinos Elected to At-Large City Council Seats Almost three decades ago, in 1992, two community organizations - Los Vecinos del Barrio Uno, and Latino Citizens United for Holyoke - along with seven Holyoke residents (Lillian Santiago-García, María Santiago, Sonia Rodríguez, Piculín Rolán-Cruz, Ana Ramos, Gloria Caballer Arce, and Luis-Orlando Isaza) sued the city and certain individuals in U.S. District Court claiming violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1982. This Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices.

contents

2 Editorial / Editorial Breaking Barriers in Holyoke – 2 Latinos Elected to At-Large City Council Seats 3 Portada / Front Page Paper City Elects Josh Garcia, Making History & Starting a New Era… 4 Oath Taken, Holyoke Has a Mayor & Lies in Garcia’s Hands Now…

The lawsuit challenged the At-Large component of the city elections for both the School Committee and the City Council.

5 Turning the Page: Double At-Large Latino Wins Are a Paper City First…

In1995, the court issued an opinion holding that the At-Large component of the Holyoke City Council elections, by which a majority of the Council is elected, did violate the Voting Rights Act. However, no violation was found regarding the School Committee elections. The judge then ordered the city to reduction the number of At-Large seats in the City Council from eight to two.

7 Educación / Education Alumna Returns to STCC to Help Students Succeed

Two years after this ruling, in 1997, the case was back in federal court. However, this time the outcome was different, as the court ruled against the plaintiffs. This time the court said that the interaction of race and the electoral system does not result in “significantly diminished opportunities for minority participation in elective government.”

In the years after the ruling, only two Latinos - Alex Sánchez and Aaron Vega - were elected to At-Large seats in the City Council at different times, and no Latino was elected to an At-Large seat in the School Committee.

Forward to 2021. For the first time, two of six City Council At-Large seats will be occupied by Latinos.

Israel Rivera, on his second try, obtained 3,513 votes, only 21votes behind former City Council President Kevin Jourdain (3,531), who obtained the largest number of votes overall.

Newcomer José Maldonado Vélez obtained 3,172 votes, occupying the sixth seat, and defeating veteran politician James Leahy, who obtained 2,972.

The election of Rivera and Maldonado Vélez to At-Large seats in the same election – 2021- represents a new era in Holyoke politics.

6 From Our 2011 Archives … Joshua García

8 STCC Course Takes Aim at Inequities in Society 9 HCC Culinary Arts Program Ranked Among Best in U.S. HCC Named One of State’s Top Women-led Businesses 10 Arte / Art El Museo de Arte de Ponce con nueva Directora: Digitalizarán Colecciones sobre Estudios del Caribe y Puerto Rico 11 Cultura / Culture El Museo de Arte de Ponce con nueva Directora: 12 Libros / Books Entre el ir y venir del corazón: Luis Rafael Sánchez 13 Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice 14 Literatura / Literature Martin Espada and Yara Liceaga-Rojas Among Puerto Rican Writers Who Received the Letras Boricuas Fellowship 15 Medios /Media Are people lying more since the rise of social media and smartphones

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Volume 18, No. 1 ! December 2021

Editor

Manuel Frau Ramos manuelfrau@gmail.com 413-320-3826 Assistant Editor Ingrid Estrany-Frau Art Director Tennessee Media Design Business Address El Sol Latino P.O Box 572 Amherst, MA 01004-0572

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Paper City Elects Josh Garcia, Making History & Starting a New Era… Originally published by WMassP&I on November 2, 2021 Reprinted with permission from WMassP&I HOLYOKE, MA —In an historic election at the edge of new era for the Paper City, voters sided with Joshua Garcia, installing the city’s first mayor of Puerto Rican heritage. The results bring to conclusion a drama that began 10 months ago when then-mayor Alex Morse retired and set off a scramble to fill the city’s top executive office.

On the trail, Garcia had leaned heavily on his municipal experience, first at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and then in Blandford. On the trail, the mayor-elect had said he helped the town out of a administrative morass after a former tax collected was arrested for embezzlement. Members of the Select Board and people in the municipal management community say Garcia won the trust of the conservative Hilltown.

Now, Garcia has won the trust of his fellow Holyokers. In defeating at-large Councilor Michael Sullivan, Garcia not only made history but triumphed over the city right. While Sullivan was not especially ideological himself, conservative in the city had lined up behind him to seize the mayor’s office 10 years after Morse first did.

The pitch of Sullivan as a businessman and councilor did not come through. Compared to the preliminary, where he placed first, Sullivan was not as visible or active a campaigning. That suggests some resting on laurels.

That proved to be a mistake. Garcia surprised in the preliminary rocketing past well-known pols like at-large Councilor Rebecca Lisi and at-large School Committee member Devin Sheehan. Garcia had far less money than many of his preliminary rivals and got in late. But that experience in municipal affairs and stirring the Latino population—Holyoke has the largest Puerto Rican population off the island by some estimates—launched him into the general.

Now Garcia is set to take office in a city still famous for its St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Garcia comes in number 1 this time. (WMP&I)

Morse resigned to pursue a town management position on the Cape in the spring. With some legislative maneuvering, the City’s Charter was altered to allow the winner of the general election to take place immediately. Acting Mayor Terence Murphy will vacate the office in only a couple week and Garcia will take the oath.

Appearing almost overwhelmed at moments, Garcia acknowledged the history of becoming his city’s first Hispanic mayor but pledged to apply his energy to improve the city.

“I want you to know that you can count on my administration and everyone in this room tonight that we are going to work together to improve the quality of life and conditions of every neighborhood in our city from West Holyoke to South Holyoke,” Garcia said.

However, Garcia also paid tribute to the historic moment for Puerto Ricans who have faced discrimination in a city that become home to generation European immigrants.

Unoffficial results show Garcia winning nearly 56% of the vote.

In an interview, Garcia said he did speak to Sullivan, who conceded shortly after the polls closed. To Sullivan supporters, Garcia promised to govern for everybody.

“I hear you, just know that first and foremost, we’re all Holyokers,” he said.

“We’re going to do what we can to be sure that we work hard to address the concerns that we all share, they share as well.”

Garcia said he expected a lot of meetings in the coming days. He had already taken a leave from Blandford in the general election.

A number of progressive candidates had won seats on the City Council, as well. Although former Council Kevin Jourdain returned, joining him will Israel Rivera, Tessa Murphy-Romboletti and Jose Velez. Incumbents Howard Greaney and James Leahy lost their at-large seats.

There were races elsewhere in the Valley, as well. Former Westfield Police Captain Michael McCabe unseated Mayor Don Humason. Humason, a former rep and state senator, had been a Whip City institution. However, he narrowly beat McCabe two years ago. McCabe returned with a vengeance.

Northampton City Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra romped to victory over Marc Warner. Mayors in Agawam and Easthampton easily dispatched challengers. The mayors of Chicopee and West Springfield faced no opposition.

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2021

Oath Taken, Holyoke Has a Mayor & Lies in Garcia’s Hands Now… Originally published by WMassP&I on November 15, 2021 Reprinted with permission from WMassP&I HOLYOKE, MA - Joshua Garcia, municipal maven and former town administrator of Blandford, took office Monday as mayor of Holyoke.

He became the city’s first mayor of Puerto Rican heritage while adding a permanency to the office that had been missing for months. Garcia will be filling out predecessor Alex Morse’s uncompleted term until January when the new mayor’s full four-year term begins. Still, the ceremony marked a new era for the city.

Because it happened nearly two months before other officials elected alongside Garcia will take office, the ceremony was scaled down.

Nevertheless, taking place in the auditorium nestled in City Hall’s upper stories, the event drew officials and luminaries from across the region. In his own remarks, Garcia remarked on the history he made but focused on the job ahead.

“Over the last 13 days, my team and I have hit the ground running to execute on my campaign promise of identifying the inefficiencies in our government and strengthen internal controls so we can better connect, build and grow together,” he said.

However, he also laid out the city’s possibilities built on the diversity of Holyoke. Garcia teased a transition announcements and goals including extracting city schools from state control.

“Once we establish a strong foundation at city hall first, we can expect to build a future where financial stability allows for investments for these very important quality of life decisions,” he continued. “For too long we’ve made shortsighted decisions that hurst us in the long term and folks, that ends today.”

One of Garcia’s first tasks shall be tackling the budget for next year. There will be other tasks to address before year’s end when the current council expires. A bevy of putative Garcia allies will join the municipal legislature then.

“So how do I feel?” Garcia said at the tail end of his inaugural speech, echoing a question many had asked of him. “I feel humbled by the challenges ahead. I feel proud to be a Holyoker and I feel ready to be your mayor.”

Appointments and stability in City Hall are another key task for Garcia. Murphy said Now Garcia is the one. (still via Holyoke Media/YouTube) at his farewell press conference last week that improved in many city offices in recent months. Yet, several departments still await permanent appointments from Garcia is not the only Massachusetts mayor elected this month to jump right an elected mayor. The short turnaround from election to inauguration has limited the amount of transition that could occur by this point. into office. Lawrence Mayor Brian DePena took office last week. Boston mayor-elect Michelle Wu takes office Tuesday. They and Garcia won regular In a ceremony this morning in the City Hall Auditorium, Joshua Garcia elections, but are taking office immediately due to vacancies in their cities’ was sworn in as Mayor of Holyoke. Mayor Garcia will serve the remainder mayoralties. Those cities’ charters would have ordered special elections. of the current term and be sworn in again with all other elected officials Due to the pandemic, these communities opted to ask the legislature cancel at the January 3rd inauguration. pic.twitter.com/5RC459rQmM the specials. Rather, they used the regular election to seat new mayors.

— City Of Holyoke (@CityofHolyoke) November 15, 2021 For Holyoke, Garcia’s inauguration represented a calm after a scramble Hours after taking office, Garcia’s office announced his transition team. The just to find an acting mayor. The City Council president declined to act as city’s Planning & Economic Development Director Aaron Vega, a former city mayor. Special legislation allowed the Council to select an alternative. Ward councilor and state rep, will chair the transition panel.

2 Councilor Terence Murphy had acted as mayor since April.

“I was honored to be asked to chair, as well as honored to be in such great Monday morning, an exuberant Garcia, looking a touch older than a 35 year-old Millennial decked out in a blue tie and stripped vest beneath a dark company with this team,” Vega said in a statement from Garcia’s office. “I know we are all excited to get to work and provide the Mayor with advice, suit, entered the auditorium with his wife, children and mother. Holyoke District Court First Justice William Hadley administered the oath shortly after ideas and guidance.”

930am.

In addition to Holyoke politicians, business leaders and family, Garcia’s inauguration drew from all across the 413. Those attending included Springfield’s Senator Adam Gomez and Reps Carlos Gonzalez and Orlando Ramos, Hampden Register of Deeds Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt, Westfield Senator John Velis, representatives of federal officeholders, and Pittsfield State Senator Adam Hinds, a candidate for lieutenant governor.

1st Mayor of Holyoke: William B.C. Pearsons. (1874) 1st female Mayor of Holyoke: Elaine Pluta. (2010) 1st openly gay Mayor of Holyoke: Alex Morse. (2012) Today, I witnessed the 1st Puerto Rican Mayor of Holyoke being sworn in. Alcalde García. (2021) pic.twitter.com/lP7SeUpQgq — Jossie Valentin (@JossieValentin) November 15, 2021 In his first remarks as mayor, Garcia started with the prosaic. That, however, was exactly what he had promised on the trail.

The mayor said in his statement he reached across the spectrum of Holyoke government, business and community for his transition.

“I know that I cannot do this myself and so I’m proud to announce this esteemed team of leaders in business, education, government, economic and workforce development, public safety, housing and community building.

I’m so grateful that they have all been willing to step up and help me and — more importantly — help Holyoke,” he said.

The 13-member committee crisscrosses ages and identities. Among them are State Rep Patricia Duffy, Executive Director of the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Jordan Hart, police and fire lieutenants, Christina Royale the president of Holyoke Community College, members of city boards and even Garcia’s mayoral rival, outgoing at-large councilor Michael Sullivan.

Garcia is expected to announce other panels to advise him as his administration ramps up. However, the transition committee will need time to make additional recommendations. Staffing announcements and other changes related to the transition could still be some days and weeks away.

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Turning the Page: Double At-Large Latino Wins Are a Paper City First…

Originally published by WMassP&I on November 17, 2021 Reprinted with permission from WMassP&I Turning the Page is a series on the aftermath of Holyoke’s election.

HOLYOKE, MA - Before a single voter had cast a ballot in Holyoke’s election, five seats were going to change. Two at-large councilors were running for mayor and three ward councilors were moving on to different if not necessarily greener pastures. Voters filled those five seats, but they also overturned incumbents in two at-large seats, an extraordinary event for a multi-seat race.

Yet, the disposal of two incumbents was less notable than who will replace them. When Israel Rivera and Jose Luis Maldonado Velez take office next year, two Latinos will hold at-large Council seats simultaneously for the first time ever. Despite Hispanics becoming a majority in Holyoke, this month’s election results were not an inevitability. Now, the victories of Mayor Joshua Garcia and new councilors like Maldonado Velez and Rivera have flung open a door that at one time seemed only ajar.

“Izzy was the introduction. We can run,” Maldonado Velez said of Rivera’s inspiration to young Latino Holyoke residents like himself. “Last summer was like yeah we have to run.”

Speaking by phone, Maldonado Velez waxed positive about Holyoke, noting its history as a wealthy industrial powerhouse. Its reign as a capital of paper may be over, but he Jose Maldonado Velez emphasized the possibilities, nonetheless. Councilor-elect (via Instagram/@maldonadovelez413) This election, he said, opened things up to more people, even off-beat folks like himself.

The at-large councilor-elect, who works at Hampshire College, maintains a side business crocheting nick-nacks. A few years back, he took a multimonth journey across the country. He couch-surfed and made money with his artsy designs. That traveling also revealed something else to Maldonado Velez about what people were missing.

“Seeing the different ways that we live, realizing how much the national politics influences at the local level in a negative way, we don’t really think about how laws can affect [residents] on the local level,” he said.

Rivera’s first run for Council came about after observing structural issues that can affect quality of life citywide. While he acknowledged politicians who earnestly sought to address the city’s problems, Rivera said the message may not always get through.

Some pols may only come around at election time. Others, to their credit, are more persistent. Yet they still may not reach residents of the lower wards. He suggested he could be a bridge.

Victory–and history–for Councilor-elect Israel Rivera and his colleagues. (WMP&I)

That was one of my biggest drives, and inspiration,” Maldonado Velez said of his soon-to-be-colleague River. “He didn’t change who was. He owned his story. That’s important.”

Latinos have had success in the Council’s ward seats. The lower wards, commonly identified as Wards 1, 2 and to some extent 4, have all elected Hispanic councilors before. Ward 6 Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos first won office four years ago, taking a seat now-Ward 7 Councilor Todd McGee once held. Anderson-Burgos’ immediate predecessor was Kevin Jourdain, who won an at-large seat this year.

“I have a connection with a part of the community that government that has usually had issues connecting with,” Rivera said, referring not just to electeds but also social service agencies and activists.

I agree 100% with the One Holyoke piece,” Rivera said in a phone interview, referencing Garcia’s rhetoric. While he wanted to bring more representation to the lower wards, he acknowledged that the upper wards had helped put him over the top.

“For me it is to try to merge the two. Bring both parts of the spectrum together,” he said.

Jourdain and at-large Councilor-elect Tessa Murphy-Romboletti arguably replace Michael Sullivan and Rebecca Lisi. The outgoing councilors unsuccessfully sought the mayoralty this year. By contrast, Rivera and Maldonado Velez won their seats by displacing incumbents Howard Greaney and James Leahy.

In interviews, both councilors-elect underscored their desire to better represent Holyoke’s lower wards, which are predominantly Puerto Rican.

However, they also echoed Garcia’s desire to represent one Holyoke.

Though their trajectories differ significantly, the at-large councilors-to-be share roots in Holyoke institutions like the Boys & Girls Club. Rivera was a youth leader there and known around the neighborhood Maldonado Velez recalled.

Rivera ran in 2019 with that same desire to bring experience from the Flats and South Holyoke to an at-large position. But it also had the affect of inspiring others like Maldonado Velez. After last year’s protests following the death of George Floyd, Maldonado Velez felt an obligation to seek office.

As a candidate and now mayor, Garcia has not shied away from history, but he has foregrounded the common goals of all Holyoke residents. (WMP&I)

continued on next page

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Portada / Front Page

El Sol Latino December 2021

Turning the Page: Double At-Large Latino Wins Are a Paper City First… continued from previous page Rivera cited an example with the city’s outdoors spaces. As the chair of the Parks Commission, Rivera described a mismatch of resources.

Strangely, the poorer areas of the city benefited because Community Development Block Grant funds can only go to qualifying areas. The betteroff neighborhoods are ineligible. He said the Parks Commission has been working with the city’s Community Preservation Committee to use some of its open-space allocation for park upgrades in Wards 5, 6 and 7.

different response from police—that is, none at all—than just idle loitering.

The names on the signs were leaders, he remembered thinking then.

While the Council does not take office until next year, Garcia became mayor Monday. He will be filling out the remainder of former mayor Alex Morse’s term. In media interviews since Election Day, Garcia has maintained his desire to move past the city’s divisions, racial or otherwise. Yet, the historic nature of this election looms large.

Rivera said people told him they voted for the first time ever because they knew him from Boys & Girls Club or coaching youth sports.

On the Council level, that is just as true. Both Maldonado Velez and Rivera recognized Hispanic forerunners, many of whom were community activists and ward officials. Holyoke has had two at-large city councilors before, Alejandro Sanchez and Aaron Vega. However, their at-large tenures were nearly a decade apart. Sanchez also briefly served as Ward 1’s Councilor.

Vega later became Holyoke’s state rep seat. He currently heads the city’s Planning & Economic Development department.

This will be the first time two Latinos hold citywide Council seats at the same time. They along with Mayor Garcia and at-large School Committee-elect Mildred Lefebvre form a quartet of Latino officials elected citywide this year.

Echoing how Rivera’s first unsuccessful campaign had been inspiration along, Maldonado Velez observed, “I’m already thinking that who are the leaders that are going to step in.”

Rivera recalled how as a kid holding signs on street corners prompted a

Having officials who are also role models makes a difference. Rivera said a young neighbor of his told all his friends about the campaign.

“Whether they know what it means or not, they know it is something powerful, something cool,” he said.

While they have begun to dig into the procedures that await them in January, the councilors-in-waiting are laying out priorities, too. For example, Maldonado Velez wants to improve City Hall’s accessibility, both in terms of efficiency but also availability of city services online. Rivera is planning on building coalitions to address homelessness, substance abuse and youth empowerment.

Things are moving quickly, though especially from the election’s waning days and hours when neither were even sure they would win.

“That whole night was like a blur. I think it started hitting me when I started reading the articles the next day,” Maldonado Velez said.

For Rivera, he conceded worries he had not worked as hard as other candidates given what was going on in his life. Now employed at the Holyoke Public Schools, he is pursuing a masters in public administration at UMass-Amherst. His wife was also pregnant for the campaign. She gave birth last week, the day before he spoke to WMP&I. “I’m very happy to find out that the community wants to give me a chance to lead. To me that means a lot,” Rivera said.

From Our 2011 Archives … Joshua García

FirstLight and a New Light for Nueva Esperanza The second season of Holyoke’s FirstLight opened with a successful dinner fundraising event. On Friday September 23, Nueva Esperanza, Inc., one of the most recognizable Latino organizations in Holyoke, hosted the event to benefit the second season of FirstLight for a Brighter Holyoke project that decorates the Canal Walk during the holidays.

Last year the canal walk was decorated with LED lighting on the fence, and wreaths and garlands on the lamp posts. In addition, trees were decorated by community groups and youth organizations. FirstLight is an part of other area events such as the annual lighting of the City’s Christmas Tree, the arrival of the Santa Claus train to Heritage State Park, the Merry-Go-Round, the Children’s Museum and the Volleyball Hall of Fame.

According to the organizers, this year’s display will be expanded and will incorporate new and creative technology and designs hoping to persuade other local businesses to join in the decorating process.

FirstLight is an achievement organized by community members with support from Nueva Esperanza. Joshua A García, FirstLight’s founder, points out that “this establishment has been a rewarding experience for the people of the community and for the City of Holyoke. For that reason, we continue our efforts for expanding FirstLight to truly create a Brighter Holyoke!”

Joshua is an “old familiar face”, as he grew up in Holyoke. During his preteen years he participated in El Arco Iris Program, a youth program overseen

by Nueva Esperanza.

In 2010, he became a board member of Nueva Esperanza. He explained “I decided to join the board because I was highly grateful for what the organization did for me as well as for other youth residing in South Holyoke,

MANUEL FRAU RAMOS

which is an area of Holyoke that is high in crime and poverty. Being on the board of Nueva Esperanza keeps South Holyoke still a part of me and it gives me a chance to give back to the community that I came from.”

He has been working closely with the Safe Neighborhood Initiative on behalf of Nueva Esperanza. This initiative has been put together by the Hampden County Sheriffs Department and has brought together every service agency in Holyoke for one main purpose, to improve the quality of life of South Holyoke residents.

During the fundraising event, Gustavo Acosta, president of the board of Submitted photo. Joshua A García Nueva Esperanza for the past 7 years, talked about FirstLight, emphasizing that “Nueva Esperanza is proud of supporting this initiative, as we have done with others for more than 25 years.”

Acosta also recognized the importante of having Joshua García, currently a Nueva Esperanza board member and an ex-member of El Arco Iris Program, now be the principal organizar of FirstLight. Acosta ended by saying that, “Nueva Esperanza is very pleased to see how the new generations see themselves as part of Holyoke’s future.”

Educación / Education

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Alumna Returns to STCC to Help Students Succeed SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | November 12, 2021 – When she was enrolled at Springfield Technical Community College, Karolyn Burgos Toribio believed in getting involved and helping fellow students thrive. She started a club for Black and Hispanic female students. She also served as student trustee, a key leadership role.

She used to stroll around the campus green with a fellow student who is now her husband, Malachi Vivenzio. Burgos Toribio expresses nothing but warm memories of STCC.

students. He was elected vice president of the Student Government Association and previously served as chair of the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

“When we met, I was CAB chair and she was student trustee,” said Vivenzio, who explained that the students involved in campus activities and leadership position were friendly and tight with each other. “As time progressed, all the members of the group actually knew I liked her, but they didn’t know I wanted to ask her out,” Vivenzio said. “So I asked her out, and we started going on dates. We would walk around the campus green and go to different events. STCC brought us together. I’m not going to lie. I do kind of owe it to STCC. I wouldn’t have been able to meet her if I was not able to attend the college.”

Vivenzio and Burgos Toribio were married in 2018 while still students at STCC. “It was pretty fast,” Burgos Toribio said. “We used to go on walks around the green. Behind the Armory, we would do little picnics sometime. The college was a big part of our relationship.“ One of their favorite memories was traveling to Fenway Park in Boston in 2018 with other students and STCC President John B. Cook. They celebrated Community College Night and cheered on the Red Sox. When Vivenzio earned his certificate of completion in Electrical/Robotics Technology, he went to the commencement ceremony with Burgos Toribio, who was receiving her degree in Liberal Arts/General Studies.

Malachi Vivenzio and Karolyn Burgos Toribio

Now a proud STCC graduate, Burgos Toribio says she is thrilled to be back at the college and doing what she loves: helping students strive toward success. In October, Burgos Toribio was hired as student success navigator.

She works with the LEAD Leadership and Mentoring Program.

In her role as student trustee, she handed the certificate to her husband.

She smiled when describing the moment and expressed gratitude to former Trustee Frank Quigley who encouraged her to ceremoniously hand Vivenzio his certificate.

LEAD provides female students with the opportunity to take an active role in their leadership development and educational journey. “This feels like a continuation of what I did as a student. I like to work to help these students succeed,” Burgos Toribio said.

Today, Vivenzio works as a test technician at CRRC, an East Springfieldbased supplier of rail transit equipment. He applies the knowledge from his STCC courses to the work he does helping to produce Orange and Red Line cars for the MBTA in Boston. CRRC also produces subway cars for the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority.

In her role, she helps bring in speakers from the community to talk with students and inspire them. The goal of LEAD is to help not just female students, but to support underrepresented students who may be facing barriers.

“I love it,” Vivenzio said of his work. “It presents a different challenge every day. It’s never the same problem. We could be working on a problem for a whole day or whole week. I look forward to working together with a team to solve problems.”

“LEAD helps to provide them with opportunities to grow their networks and grow their leadership skills,” she said. “It provides them with mentoring and help in school, wherever they need it.”

Vivenzio hopes to finish course work at STCC to earn his associate degree and then transfer to Western New England University.

“I really enjoy it,” Burgos Toribio said.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Burgos Toribio and her family moved to Springfield when she was 9. She had to learn English. She only knew a few words when she settled in Western Massachusetts. But she was determined and within a year was speaking fluently and doing well in school.

“It was hard but I definitely got used to it, and here I am today,” Burgos Toribio said.

Burgos Toribio went through the Springfield Public Schools, graduating from Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. She considered going to a four-year college, but decided STCC was the affordable alternative.

She ended up loving the experience and not regretting her decision. Burgos Toribio not only got involved in student activities and earned a degree; she found the love of her life: Malachi Vivenzio.

Vivenzio, a Springfield Central High School graduate who grew up in the city, enrolled at STCC around the same time as Burgos Toribio. He enjoyed robotics and is close to completing his associate degree in Electrical Engineering Technology.

Like Burgos Toribio, Vivenzio enjoyed getting involved and serving his fellow

Like her husband, Burgos Toribio wants to continue with her education and plans to seek a bachelor’s degree and possibly go further. She loves working in higher education, where she feels at home.

President Cook was delighted to hear about Burgos Toribio and Vivenzio. He enjoyed working with them when they were student leaders and recalled the good times at the Red Sox game for Community College Night.

“It is tremendous to welcome Karolyn back to STCC, and to hear about the success Malachi is having at CRRC. These two individuals are remarkable STCC alums, and simply put, Karolyn and Malachi are also incredible human beings,” Cook said.

Burgos Toribio and Vivenzio both cite the “community feeling” of STCC as their favorite memories.

“That’s what I love about the college, the feeling of coming together,” Vivenzio said. “And there’s the dynamic and diversity of the college itself.

Everyone brings different backgrounds and experiences, but it’s not about one person. It’s a group that sticks together. That unity is what makes us different. It’s what makes us unique, and it’s what I love about STCC.” Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

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Educación / Education

El Sol Latino December 2021

STCC Course Takes Aim at Inequities in Society SPRINGFIELD, MA | SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE | November 8, 2021 – Diversity and Social Justice, one of about 10 new courses launched this fall at Springfield Technical Community College, aims to better prepare students to respond to some of the thorniest issues facing society today: racism, classism, health inequities and other forms of oppression.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Geraldine de Berly said, “Understanding how individuals fitting certain demographic profiles have been excluded from partial or full participation in our society will assist students in developing empathy, a critical attribute for social workers. In creating the course, the selection of materials was done with great care.”

Students are expected to write in journals reflecting on the readings and discussions that delve into complex, and at times, triggering topics like the social construct of class and race, oppression, health inequities and intersectionality.

“This content is useful to everyone because we live in a world that unfortunately has major inequities,” said Jennifer Wallace Johnson, assistant professor of social work, who taught an online section of the course this fall.

Wallace Johnson sees the course as a way “to really move forward social justice issues and make change” at a time when many institutions are engaged in intense reexaminations around issues of racial justice.

Because attention to social justice is a critical component of the social work profession, Wallace Johnson believes the course makes an excellent addition to the requirements for majors in her department.

Raja Staggers-Hakim, an associate professor of sociology.

“I’m excited about teaching because although I didn’t develop the course from scratch, the meat and potatoes of the content falls on the instructor, so I get a chance to bring it to life,” said Wallace Johnson. “My approach is to not just bring it to life in general, but to have an emphasis on social work.”

In terms of job market, Greco sees training in diversity-and-equity principles as increasingly sought after by people doing the hiring.

“With the movement towards greater diversity, equity and inclusion, employees with training in DEI will be ahead of the curve,” Greco said. “So many employers are looking for DEI understanding in their employees.”

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

Jennifer Wallace-Johnson, assistant professor of social work.

The course now is a requirement for students in the school’s social work program. Dean of Liberal and Professional Studies Richard Greco said that’s because it has become required for MassTransfer students accepted into four-year social work degree programs. A MassTransfer pathway was created for social work majors two to three years ago.

As the college prepared for the new MassTransfer pathway in social work, Greco asked Dr. Raja Staggers-Hakim, associate professor of sociology, to develop the course.

“I thought it was a fantastic idea,” said Staggers-Hakim. “It would be a foundational course around social inequality essentially and looking at social justice concerns.”

Greco said while the course is now required for social work majors, he hopes it will become part of other STCC programs as well.

“We see it as a tremendously important course, and we encourage all program coordinators to consider placing this course as a required part of their curriculum,” he said. “The course covers some of the most important topics that are facing society today.”

In addition, he sees the course as one that will help prepare STCC students to be better citizens.

“We’re living in a society seeing racism coming to the forefront,” Greco said.

“This course will help students navigate these difficult issues.”

Saturdays 10 AM Domingo 7 PM WHMP radio 1400 AM

biingüe arte, cultura, media politics Natalia Muñoz

Educación / Education

El Sol Latino December 2021

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HCC Culinary Arts Program Ranked Among Best in U.S. HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | November 18, 2021 – The Culinary Arts program at Holyoke Community College has been ranked among the best in the United States, according to Best Choice Schools, an online college resource guide.

HCC placed 50th among the Best Culinary Schools in America for 2021, a list that also includes such esteemed institutions as the Culinary Institute of America, which has branches in New York, California, and Texas.

HCC’s culinary program ranked third in New England after Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I., and Southern Maine Community College in Portland.

initial list, we looked for schools that offer hands-on experience, internship/ externship opportunities, student-operated restaurants, modern facilities, and a solid reputation in the industry.”

In particular, HCC was cited for the quality of its one-year certificate and two-year associate of arts in science degree programs in culinary arts, as well as its 20,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility, which opened in downtown Holyoke in 2018. The program summary notes that the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute is equipped with four modern kitchens, a bakery, hotel lab, and student-run dining room.

Since it opened, the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute on Race Street has become a favorite host site for college, community, and regional events.

According to Chef Warren Leigh, HCC professor and coordinator of the Culinary Arts program, the facility draws students who might have previously gone elsewhere for their culinary training.

“What’s not to love?” said Leigh. “Being ranked among such elite schools confirms what we’ve believed about ourselves for a long time. Since we opened this facility three years ago the level of excitement about our program from students, facult,y and the community is beyond what we imagined, and that’s reflected in the continuing support and investment we receive from the college administration and the state. We’re always trying to improve our curriculum to better serve our students and the industry.”

Best Choice Schools also notes that HCC is the only public college or university in Massachusetts with a culinary arts program accredited by the American Culinary Federation.

HCC student-chef Julianna Knapczyk of Easthampton cuts an onion in one of the kitchens at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.

“We looked at culinary schools across the United States to develop a list of what we believe to be the best culinary schools or programs in the nation,” says the introduction to the Best Culinary Schools in America list. “From our

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the demand for chefs and head cooks at restaurants and other establishments will grow six percent through 2029, faster than many other industries in the country,” says the Best Choice Schools website. “With the popularity of cooking shows and competitions, more and more people are discovering the field of culinary arts and what it takes to be successful in the industry.”

HCC Named One of State’s Top Women-led Businesses HOLYOKE, MA | HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE | November 11, 2021 – Holyoke Community College has been named one of the top women-led businesses in Massachusetts for 2021 by the Commonwealth Institute, a nonprofit that supports female business leaders.

The Institute’s 21st annual rankings of the “Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts” were announced Nov. 5 during a special zoom celebration attended by HCC president Christina Royal.

President Royal and HCC were ranked at number 50. The full list was published Nov. 6 in a special “Women and Power” edition of the Boston Globe Magazine.

Also on the list at number 55 is HCC alum and Westfield-native Linda Markham ‘83, president and chief administrative officer of Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines based in Hyannis, Mass.

To compile the list, the Commonwealth Institute examined revenue or operating budgets for each organization as well as other variables, including number of full-time employees in the state, workplace and management diversity, and innovative projects. This is the 21st year that the Institute has created the list and the ninth year the Globe Magazine has been a partner.

“It is an honor to represent Holyoke Community College on such a distinguished list,” Royal said. “The Commonwealth Institute is shining a light on organizations making a difference in their sector and on women from whom our students can find inspiration. That’s a powerful and positive message for all of Massachusetts.”

Royal has been the president of HCC since January 2017. She is the fourth president in HCC’s 75-year history and the first woman to hold that position.

“They run healthcare companies, universities and colleges, financial institutions, nonprofits, construction firms and more – they’re the women power players of the Bay State,” says the introduction to the Top 100 rankings. “Responsible for thousands of employees and billions in revenue, the women featured here drive the Massachusetts economy. Taken together, the 100 companies on the list represent a total revenue and operating budget of $66.6 billion.”

HCC president Christina Royal

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Arte / Art

El Sol Latino December 2021

El Museo de Arte de Ponce con nueva Directora PONCE, PR | MUSEO DE ARTE DE PONCE | 21 de octubre de 2021 - La Presidenta de la Junta de Síndicos del Museo de Arte de Ponce, María Luisa Ferré Rangel, anunció hoy el nombramiento de Cheryl Hartup como directora de la prestigiosa institución cultural.

forman parte del acervo artístico de la institución. Además, participó activamente del proyecto de expansión y renovación del Museo que culminó con su reapertura en el 2010. Asimismo, es reconocida en el ambiente cultural y artístico puertorriqueño por sus trabajos en importantes instituciones culturales de la isla.

Hartup, quien comenzará a liderar el Museo de Arte de Ponce a partir del 1 de noviembre, tiene a su haber una amplia trayectoria profesional de sobre 30 años dedicados al servicio de los museos de arte y sus comunidades. Hasta su nombramiento, se desempeñó como curadora de los programas académicos y de arte latinoamericano y caribeño del Museo de Arte JordanSchnitzer de la Universidad de Oregón.

La nueva directora expresó sentirse muy entusiasmada de regresar al Museo de Arte de Ponce y agradecida a la Junta de Síndicos. “Regreso a la que fue mi pasión y un honor servir por muchos años, a rencontrarme con compañeros con los que trabajé importantes proyectos para la institución y conocer a otros cuyo trabajo es igualmente encomiable. Junto al equipo de trabajo, nos enfocaremos en continuar sirviendo a nuestras comunidades, prestando especial atención a las poblaciones más desventajadas. Formalizaremos nuevas alianzas con instituciones locales e internacionales con el fin de dar a conocer el valioso acervo cultural que es la colección del Museo. Igualmente, trabajaremos incesantemente en la reconstrucción de nuestras galerías con el objetivo de que las mismas vuelvan a estar abiertas para el disfrute de todos”, reiteró Cheryl Hartup, quien añadió que próximamente se anunciará un abarcador plan centrado en la renovación de las instalaciones físicas de la institución luego de los daños causados por el impacto del terremoto de enero del 2020.

“La Junta de Síndicos del Museo de Arte Ponce y todos sus empleados, le damos la bienvenida a Cheryl Hartup como directora de la institución. Estamos seguros que su vasta experiencia profesional, los años en que fue parte integral de nuestro equipo gerencial y su dedicación al desarrollo cultural de nuestra isla serán de gran valor en esta etapa en la que iniciaremos la reconstrucción de nuestras galerías a la vez que afianzamos nuestro rol de ser un importante espacio de interacción cultural y artístico para Puerto Rico y el mundo”, indicó Ferré Rangel.

Cheryl Hartup junto a la obra “El juicio de París” (ca. 1781), de AngelicaKauffman. Colección Museo de Arte de Ponce, Fundación Luis A. Ferré, Inc. Fotografía por Xavier García.

La nueva directora está muy ligada al Museo de Arte de Ponce, dado que por siete años fungió como Curadora en Jefe de esta institución. Entre sus logros durante su estancia en el Museo, destacan su contribución para formalizar alianzas de colaboración con el Museo Nacional del Prado, en Madrid; el TateBritain, en Londres; y el Museo Belvedere, en Viena. Bajo su gestión en el área curatorial, el Museo logró adquirir sobre 700 obras que actualmente

El Museo de Arte de Ponce es una organización sin fines de lucro fundada en 1959 por Luis A. Ferré (1904-2003) y acreditada desde 1987 por la Alianza de Museos de los Estados Unidos (American Alliance of Museums). La institución es reconocida mundialmente por su importante colección de arte europeo, que ofrece un interesante panorama del arte occidental, desde la Edad Media hasta los inicios del siglo XX. Por más de seis décadas, el Museo se ha destacado en las áreas de investigación, conservación y educación, y su interés por conectar a la comunidad con el arte.

Digitalizarán Colecciones sobre Estudios del Caribe y Puerto Rico RIO PIEDRAS, PR | UNIVERSIDAD DE PUERTO RICO | September 26, 2021 – En un esfuerzo por apoyar a las instituciones afectadas por la pandemia de Covid-19, la Fundación Nacional para las Humanidades (NEH, por sus siglas en inglés), otorgó $285,130 a la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras (UPR-RRP).

Esta asignación de fondos servirá para digitalizar cuatro colecciones compuestas por objetos, documentos, catálogos, entre otros, que conformarán el Proyecto de preservación y acceso a colecciones únicas en estudios del Caribe y de Puerto Rico.

Entre los documentos que se digitalizarán, se encuentra la colección haitiana Alfred Auguste Nemours de la Biblioteca José M. Lázaro, 300 objetos únicos de la Colección José Emilio González, más de mil ejemplares del Catálogo de Arte Puertorriqueño, y las colecciones de Censos Especiales de Puerto Rico de 1935, que consisten de datos sociales, poblacionales y agriculturales del país en ese año.

“Decidimos trabajar en un proyecto integrado en donde pudiéramos solicitar fondos para apoyar actividades de preservación y acceso a unas colecciones únicas con las que contamos en el recinto. La idea es trabajar un proceso de digitalización, y luego crear exhibiciones y colecciones digitales que sean de acceso abierto”, destacó la decana asociada de la Facultad de Humanidades, doctora Mirerza González Vélez, quien también coordina la iniciativa.

Por su parte, el rector del Recinto de Río Piedras de la UPR, doctor Luis A. Ferrao Delgado, expresó que “la contribución de la NEH hará posible la conservación y el acceso a tan importantes colecciones, que forman parte esencial de la historia de Puerto Rico y el Caribe”.

El equipo de trabajo inter-facultativo a cargo de este proyecto está compuesto

por Aura Díaz López, bibliotecaria a cargo de la colección Alfred-Nemours.htm en el Sistema de Bibliotecas de la UPR; la profesora Nadjah Ríos Villarini del Centro de Humanidades Digitales, adscrito a la Facultad de Estudios Generales, así como los profesores Mila Aponte, Dinah Wilson, Humberto García, Miriam Lugo, Indira De Choudens y José Robledo.

Detalles del Proyecto - El proyecto propone incentivar el acceso a estas colecciones, de manera que las personas puedan instruirse desde su hogar sin la necesidad de pasar por Parte de la colección haitiana Alfred los protocolos para Covid-19 en la universidad. Auguste Nemours Para lograrlo, se readiestrará en la digitalización de documentos, al personal asignado a esas colecciones y se destinarán algunos fondos para contratar estudiantes que colaboren con ese esfuerzo.

Para González Vélez las contribuciones de la NEH han sido imprescindibles para la UPR. Destacó que estas otorgaciones son una forma de proveer mayor accesibilidad para investigaciones, contar con recursos para fortalecer áreas de mayor necesidad, adelantar la agenda de las humanidades digitales y, sobre todo, validar el esfuerzo que se realiza.

“Estos programas de NEH son bien competitivos y… el nosotros haber recibido una evaluación positiva, también implica que el trabajo que estamos haciendo, la forma en que estamos conceptualizando el futuro de nuestras colecciones, va en la ruta correcta, así que valida el tipo de trabajo que estamos haciendo en el recinto”, afirmó.

Cultura / Culture

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Angel Antonio Ruiz Laboy appointed Associate Director of Arts and Culture for CENTRO New York, NY | CENTER FOR PUERTO RICAN STUDIES | August 23, 202 - Yarimar Bonilla, the Acting Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO), announced today the appointment of Angel Antonio Ruiz-Laboy as Associate Director of Arts and Culture. Ruiz-Laboy will be the first person to hold the newly created position.

Ruiz-Laboy arrives at Hunter after working most recently as Managing Director of the theater company Teatro SEA in New York. His previous experience includes serving as assistant coordinator for the King Juan Carlos I Center at NYU, and as publishing director of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (IPRC) where he was in charge of publishing books and magazines, recordings (audio and visual) as well as the marketing and sales department. While at the IPRC he also directed the Visual Arts Program where he coordinated the National Art Show, oversaw the National Art Collection and coordinated art exhibits.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have found a candidate for this position who not only has experience in arts management but is also a multitalented writer, educator, performer, and cultural worker. I am confident that Angel Antonio will bring a new era of artistic and cultural programming to CENTRO that will appeal broadly to our many constituencies. He has a unique understanding of both popular culture and fine arts, and is uniquely poised to create new dialogues among our different artistic communities,” commented Centro Director, Yarimar Bonilla.

In addition to his vast experience in cultural management Ruiz-Laboy is also an award-winning poet who has authored five poetry books and won numerous literary prizes including the National Poetry Award. He is also the

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founder of the independent publisher Editorial Erizo, and of the male choir Aequitas. As a singer, he participated in different choral groups such as the UPR Concert Choir, the San Juan Philharmonic Choir and the San Juan Bautista Choir, among others.

“I am excited to join CENTRO in this new endeavor and in this new stage. I hope to create new bridges for all Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rican researchers, using our cultural expressions as a site of encounter.

I want CENTRO to remain as relevant as it was to its founding generation. To honor that legacy, we must commit to preserve and include new cultural expressions, register new experiences, and welcome new audiences.” commented Ruiz-Laboy.

Ruiz-Laboy graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, where he studied Comparative Literature and Cultural Administration, and completed his graduate studies in Creative Writing at NYU. He has taught at NYU, Lehman College and currently teaches at the University of the Sacred Heart in Santurce, Puerto Rico.

In his new role, Ruiz Laboy will be developing innovative new programming around arts and culture, revitalizing Centro’s art program, and creating new partnerships with artists and cultural organizations across Puerto Rico and the diaspora.

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Libros / Books

El Sol Latino December 2021

Entre el ir y venir del corazón: Luis Rafael Sánchez por CARMEN VAZQUEZ ARCE s %STE ARTÓCULO FUE PUBLICADO ORIGINALMENTE EN 80grados.net | 5 de noviembre de 2021 Acaba de salir el nuevo libro de Luis Rafael Sánchez, El corazón frente al mar, San Juan, Publicaciones Gaviota, 2021, 131 p. Un proyecto anunciado para el 2020, que tiene como fundamento la conferencia magistral, que Sánchez dictó en el 2010 en el Primer Festival de la Palabra de San Juan. En aquella ocasión, el juego entre la escritura y su dicción teatral, deslumbró a muchos; tanto, que el periodista enviado por el periódico español El País afirmó, que “la estrella estaba en casa”[1].

“Texto bastardo” lo llama el autor, no porque sea un hijo “ilegítimo” tan del gusto de las radio y telenovelas; sino porque aspira a apartarse de lo establecido literariamente o, al menos, a degenerarlo.

Se trata entonces, de proponer una lectura desde la definición que sugiere al lector, sin que ello remita a un género específico.

El cuaderno está dividido en cinco partes: epígrafe, introducción, cuerpo, conclusión, texto de la canción e índice onomástico. Por su disposición, el texto nos remite a la estructura de sus antologías de ensayos, La Guagua aérea (1994), No llores por nosotros, Puerto Rico (1997), Devórame otra vez (2004) y Abecé indócil (2013). Lo cual constituye una clave para la lectura.

Tenemos que decir, entonces, que el género del ensayo está aquí muy presente. El yo expositivo interpela y dialoga con el lector, compartiendo la reflexión que se desplaza en el texto como serpiente que muda de forma; porque si algo maravilloso tiene el ensayo, es su capacidad de transformarse. El lirismo de ese corazón frente al mar se manifiesta en una escritura rica en figuras retóricas, pero también en la estructura de pareados del cuerpo del texto: 9/9, 6/6, 5/5[2] y en la rítmica sonoridad de las palabras. El bolero enmarca y determina el carácter profundamente poético del texto. La segunda estrofa de la canción es la estrofa matriz que le aporta el título y la fusión de los opuestos: “partí/quedó” que se marcará a lo largo de la reflexión como “errancia”, uno de los rasgos que Sánchez atribuye a los isleños del Caribe.

Por otro lado, la reflexión sobre la ciudad de San Juan de Puerto Rico, que se enmarca entre el epígrafe y texto íntegro de la canción, nos recuerda su primera novela La guaracha del macho Camacho (1976). El vínculo estructural entre ambos textos ofrece la clave para entender los aspectos narrativos del camaleónico discurso expositivo. El corazón frente al mar discurre entre el tiempo de la canción de Noel Estrada y el tiempo de la narración del ensayo. El tiempo de la canción está marcado por la nostalgia de la patria y la tristeza del partir, por la incertidumbre del regreso y por el deseo de volver, aunque sea para morir en el lugar de origen; pero también, por una cierta rebelión contra el destino –tiempo histórico y económico– que obliga a la emigración. Mientras, que el tiempo de la narración del ensayo lo marca la experiencia colectiva de los que regresan en la noche y abandonan la caverna del avión con el reconocimiento de lo conocido o por conocer. Los personajes transeúntes visitan la ciudad “donde la luz diluvia”, pero van individualizándose hasta que el yo expositivo se hace cargo de la narración, que ahora se matiza de autobiografía, y los dirige por el viejo San Juan hasta el momento de partir. El yo expositivo, quien también bajó del avión, juega con los tiempos: tiempo lineal, retrospección, paralelo, tiempo circular entre el andar y el regresar al punto de partida que marca la vida transmigrante de los puertorriqueños.

El corazón frente al mar completa la historia de La guagua aérea: en ambos textos la estructura espacio-temporal comienza y termina en el avión y en la noche, aunque los desembarcos sean en lugares distintos. El yo expositivo es uno de los pasajeros del avión: “el rabillo del ojo me sopla quién es quién en el elenco de viajeros” (p. 20); “La vecina de asiento me pregunta: ¿Qué dijo ese hombre?” (1994, p. 16); lo que le permite observar y “leer” analíticamente el contexto. En La guagua aérea destaca la contraposición y diferencias culturales entre las clases sociales divididas entre la primera clase y la económica. La clase que viaja en primera se identifica con los colonizadores (capitán y azafatas), su óptica racial y sus prejuicios, sus expresiones de poder; mientras que los viajeros de la clase económica desafían[3] dichas actitudes mediante el humor. El colonialismo, el racismo, el machismo, la división de clases, la ideología, el mestizaje, la lengua, lo soez, la música popular y el humor son temas recurrentes en la obra de Sánchez, presentes también en El corazón frente al mar. Sin embargo, en esta obra el humor se ha vuelto punzante, sarcástico, directo.

Un Veranazo Iracundo que precipitó la renuncia al cargo del gobernador Roselló Nevárez. Platicarán de la idolatría de nuestra élite política a Nuestra Señora de la Corrupción, una idolatría que la élite practica con el recurso de un versículo difícilmente cartesiano: Robo, luego soy. (p. 59).

Como si el sujeto expositivo –al igual que la mayoría de los puertorriqueños– no aguantara más abusos. Tal vez, por ello, hace preguntas directas al lector o se hace preguntas, que buscan llegar al sentido más profundo de su significado, y enumera para mayor claridad y comprensión, como ocurre en los apartados 3 y 4 (p. 22–23). La interrogación como estrategia dialógica y teatral pone de manifiesto el carácter metadiscursivo del texto.

Finalmente, debemos señalar que El corazón frente al mar, se integra al conjunto de crónicas de viaje que Sánchez cultiva desde muy temprano en su producción literaria: “Diario de una ciudad” (1958); “Pequeño concierto del paisaje” (1960); “Venezuela suya” (1973); “La fatal melodía del azar” (1975); “La guagua aérea” (1983); “Cuarteto nuevayorkés” (1993); “Los días a pie” (1996); “Colombia en el corazón” (1999), y otras.

No se trata de crónicas o relatos de viaje a la manera tradicional de los turistas de élites que vertían en la escritura los recuerdos o los paisajes verbales que pintaban desde su posición privilegiada y personal. Sánchez cambia la óptica de la crónica[4]; le interesa lo que está detrás, el significado de lo urbano y sus límites, la marginalidad –de donde proviene–, sus sonidos, las formas en que se expresa sensorialmente. Evita el yo como sujeto de poder, que el género ensayístico le otorga; más bien, le gusta confundirse entre los habitantes, ocultarse para mantener el beneficio del que escudriña en lo profundo. De ahí que, el sujeto expositivo se desplace hacia un nosotros o aparezca como una primera persona dentro del conjunto.

Pero no podemos engañarnos. El sujeto expositivo requiere del reconocimiento social o al menos, tener estatuto de autoridad para decir u ordenar; para enunciar lo que está bien y no está bien en la sociedad que es su contemporánea. En este sentido, el ensayista –como el humorista– es un moralista, y requiere ser figura de autoridad. Ahora bien, en tanto Sánchez

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Libros / Books

El Sol Latino December 2021

Entre el ir y venir del corazón: Luis Rafael Sánchez escribe en puertorriqueño y autoproclama El corazón frente al mar, como un texto bastardo, el yo expositivo sufre la transformación radical de su habla. No se trata de un habla “elevada” o neutra, si se quiere, a la manera de los narradores habituales; sino de un habla marcada por la oralidad de su pueblo y paradójicamente, cultísima en su hechura y contenido.

Seas viajero turista o viajero a quien no cansa calibrar lo antes visto, seas viajero vaivén o viajero que escapó a la delación de mi rabillo del ojo, escudriña San Juan antes de deshacer las maletas. Recuerda o entérate ahora mismo: en San Juan no hay semáforos ni automóviles estacionados por las aceras y la velocidad demencial que cultiva el chofer mandulete la obstaculizan los tramos cortos de esquina a esquina. (p. 79) El corazón frente al mar como relato de viaje está estructurado por el paralelismo. Son varias las líneas paralelas que lo conforman: la visita de la ciudad, la compleja y particular biografía del país y la autobiografía.

Paradójicamente, las tres líneas confluyen en el yo unificador del sujeto expositivo, que a su vez está atado y delimitado por el yo boleril de la canción, que opera no sólo como caja china sino como fusión autobiográfica de ambos sujetos; porque En mi viejo San Juan es también la historia de Sánchez gracias a la posibilidad de la poesía.

NOTAS [1] Javier Rodríguez Marcos. “El triunfo del materialismo mágico”, El País Es, 9 de mayo 2010.

[2] Las cuarenta subdivisiones de la tercera parte se organizan matemáticamente de manera descendente: “Descenso” 9/”Novedades” 9;

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“Aterrizaje” 6/”Old San Juan” 6; “Casi a oscuras” 5/”Ascenso” 5, al mismo tiempo que se establece una estructura circular cerrada y paradójicamente, opuesta mediante la presencia de la antítesis.

[3] Rocío Zambrana llama “interrupciones” a estos actos, en su libro Colonial Debts. The Case of Puerto Rico, Durham, Duke University Press, 2021, pp. 11–16.

[4] Ver: María Fernanda Pampín, “La transformación del relato de viajes a fines del siglo XX. Luis Rafael Sánchez: la experiencia puertorriqueña”, en Actas del III Congreso Internacional CELEHIS de Literatura, Departamento de Letras, Facultad de Humanidades, UNMDP, Mar del Plata, 2009.

CARMEN VAZQUEZ ARCE - Escritora y crítica. Catedrática jubilada, profesora y ex Directora del Departamento de Estudios Hispánicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras. Obtuvo su doctorado en la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México con la tesis, Salsa y control: el discurso expositivo de Luis Rafael Sánchez (1984). Ha publicado Memoria de papel (poemas, 1992), Por la vereda tropical. Notas sobre la cuentística de Luis Rafael Sánchez (crítica, 1994) y un libro de cocina, El Libro de los afectos culinarios (1996). Tiene en preparación un libro de crítica sobre Los ensayos de Luis Rafael Sánchez y en prensa el libro Compostela. Escultor, que saldrá proximamente en La Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico.

Ha trabajado también en la producción de teatro (Quíntuples de Luis Rafael Sánchez) y de cine (El album de familia de Antonio Martorell de E. Trigo Tió (documental); Nicolás y los demás (largometraje) de Jacobo Morales.

Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice

by HILDA LLORÉNS s 3EATTLE 7! University of Washington Press | November, 2021 | 224 pages About This Book When Hurricanes Irma and María made landfall in Puerto Rico in September 2017, their destructive force further devastated an archipelago already pummeled by economic austerity, political upheaval, and environmental calamities. To navigate these ongoing multiple crises, Afro–Puerto Rican women have drawn from their cultural knowledge to engage in daily improvisations that enable their communities to survive and thrive. Their life-affirming practices, developed and passed down through generations, offer powerful modes of resistance to gendered and racialized exploitation, ecological ruination, and deepening capitalist extraction. Through solidarity, reciprocity, and an ethics of care, these women create restorative alternatives to dispossession to produce good, meaningful lives for their communities.

Making Livable Worlds weaves together autobiography, ethnography, interviews, memories, and fieldwork to recast narratives that continuously erase Black Puerto Rican women as agents of social change. In doing so, Lloréns serves as an “ethnographer of home” as she brings to life the powerful histories and testimonies of a marginalized, disavowed community that has been treated as disposable.

Reviews An ambitious narrative that makes a significant contribution to the recent history of Puerto Rico, the emergent environmental movement, and how Black Puerto Rican women have been agents of social change as community leaders, mothers, workers, and storytellers.

- Maura Toro-Morn, Illinois State University By centering her own experience and the voices of the Afro-Puerto Rican women, Lloréns makes an essential empirical and theoretical intervention.

- Miranda Martinez, Ohio State University

A remarkable book, firmly grounded in ordinary—yet extraordinary—Black Puerto Rican women’s everyday eco-feminism, and informed by important interventions that diverse Afro-descendant feminists have made in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States.

- Faye V. Harrison, author of Outsider Within: Reworking Anthropology in the Global Age About the Author HILDA LLORÉNS is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Rhode Island. Lloréns is the author of (2020) “¡Ustedes tienen que limpiar las cenizas e irse de Puerto Rico para siempre!:”la lucha por la justicia ambiental, climática y energética como trasfondo del verano de Revolución Boricua 2019 - (Editora Educación Emergente), (2014) Imaging The Great Puerto Rican Family: Framing Nation, Race, and Gender during the American Century - (Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield) and co-author of (2013) Arrancando Mitos de Raíz: Guía para una Enseñanza Antirracista de la Herencia Africana en Puerto Rico [Pulling-up Myths from the Root: Guide for the Anti-racist Teaching of Puerto Rico’s African Heritage] - (Editora Educación Emergente).

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Literatura / Literature

El Sol Latino December 2021

Martin Espada and Yara Liceaga-Rojas Among Puerto Rican Writers Who Received the Letras Boricuas Fellowship The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Flamboyan Foundation’s Arts Fund (November 16, 2021) announced the inaugural cohort of Letras Boricuas Fellows – 20 Puerto Rican writers whose dynamic work spans genres including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature. Martín Espada and Yara Liceaga-Rojas, two Massachusettsbased writers, are among the honorees.

“We at Mellon are delighted to continue our multi-year commitment to Puerto Rican writers, and to partner with the Flamboyan Foundation to support these 2021 fellows with the unrestricted funding and flexibility that is so important to their craft.”

Martín Espada has published more than 20 books as a poet, editor, essayist, and translator. His latest book of poems, Floaters (2021), was awarded the National Book Award. Other collections of poems include Vivas to Those Who Have Failed (2016), The Trouble Ball (2011), and Alabanza (2003).

His honors include the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Shelley Memorial Award, an Academy of American Poets Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

A former tenant lawyer, Espada is a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The 2021 Letras Boricuas Fellows are:

“The Letras Boricuas Fellowship exemplifies the Flamboyan Arts Fund’s goal of supporting and sustaining Puerto Rico’s vibrant humanities ecosystem.

We are proud to announce a diverse cohort of 2021 fellows — writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature — and to deepen our commitment to this work with the Mellon Foundation,” says Carlos Rodríguez Silvestre, Executive Director of Flamboyan Foundation Puerto Rico.

Fiction Amina Lolita Gautier, Cezanne Cardona, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, Francisco Font Acevedo, Juanluís Ramos, Luis Negrón, Manolo Núñez Negrón, Sergio Gutiérrez Creative Nonfiction Mercy Romero, Vanessa Mártir, Xavier Valcárcel, Yara Liceaga-Rojas Poetry Amanda Hernández, Carmen R. Marín, Francisco Félix, Jonatan María Reyes, María Teresa Fernández Rosario a.k.a. Mariposa, Martín Espada, Mónica A. Jiménez Children’s Literature Mrinali Álvarez Astacio

Martín Espada

Yara Liceaga-Rojas

Yara Liceaga-Rojas, born in Puerto Rico, is a queer mother, poet, writer, and performer. A bilingual edition of her fifth volume of poetry, “Hacernos el adiós” (Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, Puerto Rico, 2019) will be published in 2022, translated by Puerto Rican poet Sabrina Ramos Rubén.

Liceaga-Rojas, who is based in Cambridge, has curated the multidisciplinary Poetry is Busy project and received several awards and grants, including a Brother Thomas Fellowship.

A first-of-its-kind fellowship, Letras Boricuas was created to identify, elevate, and amplify the voices of emerging and established Puerto Rican writers on the island and across the United States diaspora.

The fellowship provides crucial support both across the diaspora, and to the community of writers in Puerto Rico who have endured and continue their practice through repeated natural disasters and ongoing political turmoil, despite historically limited opportunities to share their work with a broader audience. By providing unrestricted funds and fostering connection among its recipients, the fellowship will support Puerto Rico’s celebrated literary lineage — a discipline traditionally under-resourced and underfunded both in Puerto Rico and in the United States — illustrate the diversity of these writers’ experiences and showcase incredible Puerto Rican literary voices.

“Twenty vibrant Puerto Rican voices make up this remarkable initial cohort, each one resonant and powerful. These are writers who convey the depth and breadth of Puerto Rico’s stories and histories across literary genres and a range of styles, and who affirm the vital significance of the word through their work,” says Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation.

The 2021 Letras Boricuas fellows were selected by a committee of acclaimed Puerto Rican writers based on the archipelago and in the United States, including Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico-based), Eduardo Lalo (Puerto Rico-based), Félix Joaquín Rivera (Puerto Rico-based), Carina Del Valle Schorske, and Aracelis Girmay (US-based). The selection process was also supported by poet Willie Perdomo, who served as special advisor to the committee.

The Letras Boricuas Fellowship furthers The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s commitment to sustaining and enriching the archipelago’s vibrant cultural, knowledge, and memory ecosystems and the individuals working within them. Since 2018, the Foundation has committed more than $13 million — with an additional $10 million being committed by the end of 2021— to a multi-year initiative that aims to sustain and enrich Puerto Rico’s vibrant cultural and humanities ecosystem, ensuring that the arts and humanities will continue to flourish both on the archipelago and through connections across the diaspora.

For the past two years, the Flamboyan Foundation has worked through its Flamboyan Arts Fund initiative to preserve, amplify, and strengthen the arts in Puerto Rico. In response to the devastating effects of hurricanes María and Irma, the Fund has committed over $10 million and has provided critical support to more than 600 artists and artists and 100 arts organizations including museums, theaters, arts education programs, and concert venues to maintain the integrity of their programming, increase their visibility, and sustain their impact.

In 2020, the two foundations worked together in immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing $1 million in emergency relief to 89 arts organizations and 600 individual artists. The emergency relief fund was established to help alleviate the devastating impacts of the pandemic on the arts and culture sector in Puerto Rico by providing grants of $5,000 to $20,000 to support staff salaries, rent, and other basic needs during the emergency, as well as the creation or expansion of virtual arts programming.

Medios / Media

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Are people lying more since the rise of social media and smartphones? by DAVID MARKOWITZ This article was originally published in The Conversation | November 8, 2021 Technology has given people more ways to connect, but has it also given them more opportunities to lie?

You might text your friend a white lie to get out of going to dinner, exaggerate your height on a dating profile to appear more attractive or invent an excuse to your boss over email to save face.

Social psychologists and communication scholars have long wondered not just who lies the most, but where people tend to lie the most – that is, in person or through some other communication medium.

A seminal 2004 study was among the first to investigate the connection between deception rates and technology. Since then, the ways we communicate have shifted – fewer phone calls and more social media messaging, for example – and I wanted to see how well earlier results held up.

The link between deception and technology Back in 2004, communication researcher Jeff Hancock and his colleagues had 28 students report the number of social interactions they had via face-to-face communication, the phone, instant messaging and email over seven days. Students also reported the number of times they lied in each social interaction.

The results suggested people told the most lies per social interaction on the phone. The fewest were told via email.

The findings aligned with a framework Hancock called the “feature-based model.” According to this model, specific aspects of a technology – whether people can communicate back and forth seamlessly, whether the messages are fleeting and whether communicators are distant – predict where people tend to lie the most.

In Hancock’s study, the most lies per social interaction occurred via the technology with all of these features: the phone. The fewest occurred on email, where people couldn’t communicate synchronously and the messages were recorded.

The Hancock Study, revisited When Hancock conducted his study, only students at a few select universities could create a Facebook account. The iPhone was in its early stages of development, a highly confidential project nicknamed “Project Purple.”

What would his results look like nearly 20 years later?

In a new study, I recruited a larger group of participants and studied interactions from more forms of technology. A total of 250 people recorded their social interactions and number of interactions with a lie over seven days, across face-to-face communication, social media, the phone, texting, video chat and email.

As in Hancock’s study, people told the most lies per social interaction over media that were synchronous and recordless and when communicators were distant: over the phone or on video chat. They told the fewest lies per social interaction via email. Interestingly, though, the differences across the forms of communication were small. Differences among participants – how much people varied in their lying tendencies – were more predictive of deception rates than differences among media.

Despite changes in the way people communicate over the past two decades – along with ways the COVID-19 pandemic changed how people socialize – people seem to lie systematically and in alignment with the feature-based model.

There are several possible explanations for these results, though more work is needed to understand exactly why different media lead to different lying rates. It’s possible that certain media are better facilitators of deception than others. Some media – the phone, video chat – might make deception feel easier or less costly to a social relationship if caught.

Deception rates might also differ across technology because people use some forms of technology for certain social relationships. For example, people might only email their professional colleagues, while video chat might be a better fit for more personal relationships.

Technology misunderstood To me, there are two key takeaways.

First, there are, overall, small differences in lying rates across media. An individual’s tendency to lie matters more than whether someone is emailing or talking on the phone.

Second, there’s a low rate of lying across the board. Most people are honest – a premise consistent with truth-default theory, which suggests most people report being honest most of the time and there are only a few prolific liars in a population.

Since 2004, social media have become a primary place for interacting with other people. Yet a common misperception persists that communicating online or via technology, as opposed to in person, leads to social interactions that are lower in quantity and quality.

People often believe that just because we use technology to interact, honesty is harder to come by and users aren’t well served.

Not only is this perception misguided, but it is also unsupported by empirical evidence. The belief that lying is rampant in the digital age just doesn’t match the data.

DAVID MARKOWITZ is Assistant Professor of Social Media Data Analytics, University of Oregon His research examines how language reflects social and psychological dynamics such as deception, persuasion, and status. For example, his recent papers have analyzed how scientists who fake data write their research reports differently than scientists who produce genuine data, and how Academy Awards acceptance speeches reveal social status differences between movie directors and actors.

El Sol Latino December 2021

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Fine Arts Center

Próximas Atracciones 2022

Únase a nosotros para celebrar la apertura de la Temporada 2021-2022 del Fine Arts Center con una serie de eventos virtuales y presenciales que celebran la humanidad presente en todos nosotros..

ARTS.LIVE.HERE. UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center

Nobuntu

Martes - Febrero 8, 2022 | 7:30 p.m. | Fredrick C. Tillis Performance Hall Boletos $25, $15 | Estudiantes de los Five College y jóvenes de 17 años o menos: $10 Este quinteto femenino a capella de Zimbabwe ha sido aclamado internacionalmente por sus interpretaciones ingeniosas y electrificantes que van desde canciones tradicionales de Zimbabwe hasta afro-jazz y música gospel. Con instrumentos de percusión tradicionales como el Mbira (piano de pulgar) y movimiento de danza orgánica, Nobuntu adopta la música como un vehículo de cambio para trascender las fronteras raciales, tribales, de género, religiosas y económicas.

Cirque FLIP Fabrique - Six°

Miércoles - Febrero 16, 2022 | 7:30 p.m.

Fredrick C. Tillis Performance Hall Boletos $45, $35, $20 | Estudiantes de los Five College y jóvenes de 17 años o menos:$10 Originario de Québec, Cirque FLIP Fabrique es una de las compañías de circo contemporáneas más importantes de Canadá. En la cima de su talento artístico, se inspira en imágenes, personalidad y la experiencia humana. Habiendo actuado internacionalmente para más de un millón de espectadores, Cirque FLIP Fabrique trae su mas reciente espectáculo explorando la inquietud de la espera, la intrincada belleza de los encuentros inesperados, y la alegría de la risa a través de comedia slapstick, malabarismos y hazañas acrobáticas impresionantes.

Emily Johnson/Catalyst: Being Future Being Reimagine Residency Series

Lunes - Febrero 28, 2022 | 7:30 p.m.

Bowker Auditorium | GRATIS Admirada por su repertorio de danzas, Emily Johnson une al público en una experiencia compartida de movimiento, lugar, historia, acción colectiva y la continuidad de las prácticas y perspectivas culturales indígenas. Johnson comparte extractos del proyecto más reciente en desarrollo, Being Future Being.

Con la música de Raven Chacon, el trabajo profundiza en el poder de la creación para construir un paisaje visual, auditivo y ancestral del poder indígena.. Con la música de Raven Chacon, el trabajo profundiza en el poder de la creación para construir un paisaje visual, auditivo y ancestral del poder indígena.

Aviso sobre COVID 19: Siguiendo las recomendaciones de Centers for Disease Control, la política de UMass Amherst 2021-2022 requiere que la facultad, personal y estudiantes estén vacunados. Todos los asistentes a las presentaciones en vivo del Fine Arts Center, el University Museum of Contemporary Art, y las galerías Augusta Savage y Hampden deben usar una mascarilla.

Para nuestra programación de la temporada completa o boletos de entrada llamar al: 413-545-2511 ó al 800-999-UMAS ó en línea fineartscenter.com