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Puerto Rican Culture in New York City


We are starting to spread out across the United States, but New York is still the world’s biggest Puerto Rican city. Through music, Puerto Rican culture dominates world youth culture.

Our culture is a mix of Indigenous Taíno and Island Carib, Spanish colonizer, African Diaspora, and for better and worse, the Americans. We almost got free, and then the Americans came.

Traditional Puerto Rican culture includes: bomba, plena, and música jíbara. We have good merengue too.

Contemporary Puerto Rican culture includes: mural art, spoken word, theatre, Latin jazz, salsa, reggaeton, latin trap, oh and Christmas. We have the world’s longest Christmas celebration, with Three Kings Day being the peak.

We call ourselves by our Taíno names, “Boricua” the people of the island of Borikén.

The Taíno tribe was absorbed, but lives on in our blood, in place names, and in the communal nature of island life. We are still here. No doubt!

The island really is the last colony with no vote in Federal elections.

Thanks for sponsoring Puerto Rican culture:

  • Ballet Hispánico 🇨🇺 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇻🇪
  • CCCADI, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute 🇵🇷
  • Hostos Center 🇵🇷
  • New York City Center

Puerto Rican Culture


Carlos Henriquez (Lawrence Sumulong/JALC)

The Carlos Henriquez Nonet Plays Nuyorican Jazz at Dizzy’s Including New Year’s Eve

DIZZY’S CLUB, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Columbus Circle, Manhattan 🇵🇷

Continue Reading The Carlos Henriquez Nonet Plays Nuyorican Jazz at Dizzy’s Including New Year’s Eve

Ailyn Pérez in "Florencia el el Amazonas" (Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)

Mexican Opera “Florencia en el Amazonas” Stars Ailyn Pérez in Spanish at the Metropolitan Opera

METROPOLITAN OPERA, Lincoln Center 🇲🇽 🇧🇷 ~ 🇦🇷 🇨🇦 🇮🇨 🇨🇺 🇬🇹 🇮🇹 🇳🇮 🇵🇷 🇪🇸

Continue Reading Mexican Opera “Florencia en el Amazonas” Stars Ailyn Pérez in Spanish at the Metropolitan Opera

Papo Vázquez (artist/Hostos)

Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours Play a Puerto Rican Holiday Jazz Parranda at Hostos Center

HOSTOS CENTER, Mott Haven, The Bronx ~ The NEA Latino Master and Grammy nominee leads a jazz version of the Puerto Rican holiday parranda tradition. 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours Play a Puerto Rican Holiday Jazz Parranda at Hostos Center

Ozuna (Billboard Music Awards)

Ozuna Joins the MegaBash Urban Music Festival at Prudential Center

PRUDENTIAL CENTER, Newark, New Jersey 🇩🇴 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Ozuna Joins the MegaBash Urban Music Festival at Prudential Center

Santa Barbara in the Salamanca Cathedral (Jorisvo/Dreamstime)

Santa Barbara is the Female Changó

DECEMBER 4 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Santa Barbara is the Female Changó

Three Kings Day NYC (Iakov Filimonov/Dreamstime)

Three Kings Day or Epiphany is the Latin Gift-Giving Day at the End of Christmas Season

JANUARY 6 🇩🇴 🇳🇮 🇵🇷 🇺🇾 ~ 🇮🇹 🇷🇴 🇪🇸

Continue Reading Three Kings Day or Epiphany is the Latin Gift-Giving Day at the End of Christmas Season

Arturo O'Farrill and Juan Gutiérrez "Navidad Nuyorkina" (Hostos Center)

Los Pleneros de la 21 Celebrate 40 Years with Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra “Una Navidad Nuyorkina” at Hostos

HOSTOS CENTER, Mott Haven, The Bronx 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Los Pleneros de la 21 Celebrate 40 Years with Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra “Una Navidad Nuyorkina” at Hostos

Danza Fiesta is Puerto Rican folkloric dance theatre (courtesy)

Danza Fiesta Performs “Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño” at Hostos Center

HOSTOS CENTER in Mott Haven, The Bronx ~ New York’s Puerto Rican folkloric dance company dances the grand finale to the 14th South Bronx Folk Festival. 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Danza Fiesta Performs “Baile y Teatro Puertorriqueño” at Hostos Center

"The Other Side Story" by Ángel Vázquez (Hostos Center)

“The Other Side Story” is a One-Man Musical Comedy About the Brilliance and Resilience of the Puerto Rican Diaspora at Hostos Center

HOSTOS CENTER, Mott Haven, The Bronx ~ Ángel Vázquez, Resident Artist at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, tells funny, but true stories, about the brilliance and resilience of the Puerto Rican Diaspora. 🇵🇷

Continue Reading “The Other Side Story” is a One-Man Musical Comedy About the Brilliance and Resilience of the Puerto Rican Diaspora at Hostos Center

Nélida Tirado Flamenco (Lisa Greenberg)

Nélida Tirado Dances Traditional Rumba Flamenco Wednesdays at Chez Messy

CHEZ MESSY, Washington Heights ~ This New York Puerto Rican and her company dance traditional Spanish flamenco at the highest levels with rumba flamenca flavor. ¡Olé y WEPA! 🇪🇸 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Nélida Tirado Dances Traditional Rumba Flamenco Wednesdays at Chez Messy

Ballet Hispánico "Club Havana" (Rachel Neville/New York City Center)

Ballet Hispánico is One of America’s Leading Latin Dance Companies

🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇨🇴 🇨🇺 🇮🇹 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇸🇻 🇪🇸 🇻🇪

LINCOLN CENTER “Latinx Immersive Experience”
92ND STREET Y contemporary dance
NEW YORK CITY CENTER Spring season 🇨🇺 🇨🇴 🇪🇸

Continue Reading Ballet Hispánico is One of America’s Leading Latin Dance Companies

Our Lady of Providence in San Juan Bautista Cathedral, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Keith Widyolar/New York Latin Culture Magazine)

Our Lady of Providence is the Patron Saint of Puerto Rico!

November 19 🇵🇷

Continue Reading Our Lady of Providence is the Patron Saint of Puerto Rico!

More Puerto Rican CUlture

Puerto Rican News


Radio City Music Hall is The World’s Largest Indoor Theater

Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular dance 🎄
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Rey Ruíz, & Wilfrido Vargas salsa 🇵🇷 🇨🇺 🇩🇴
Juanes alternative rock 🇨🇴
Gloria Trevi pop rock 🇲🇽
Gilberto Santa Rosa Auténtico salsa 🇵🇷
Silvestre Dangond ‘Ta Malo vallenato 🇨🇴
Hombres G 40 Aniversario pop rock 🇪🇸

ROCKEFELLER CENTER, Midtown, Manhattan

The Bronx Music Heritage Center (BHMC) Presents the Cultural Diversity of The Bronx

Movement Medicine, Jinae Suire, Changó dances 🇨🇺
Hablando Con Belili, Garifuna holiday shop 🎄
La Rueda de Oro, Afro-Colombian drum rhythms and dances 🇨🇴
Melrose Parranda, Christmas caroling 🇵🇷 🎄

CROTONA PARK EAST, THE BRONX

CCCADI Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute

HARLEM STAGE, Manhattanville, West Harlem ~ Yasser Tejeda latin alternative with DJ Sabine Blaizin afrobeats gets everyone dancing. 🇩🇴 🇭🇹

RIVERSIDE CHURCH, Morningside Heights, Manhattan ~ Women of color retreat

“EL BARRIO,” EAST HARLEM, Manhattan

New York City Ballet, the Legacy of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Celebrates 75 Years

DAVID H. KOCH THEATER, Lincoln Center ~ Fall, “Nutcracker,” Winter, and Spring Seasons

SARATOGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, Saratoga Springs, New York ~ Summer Season

🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇵🇷 🇪🇸

Hostos Center is One of New York’s Top Latin Performing Arts Centers

Los Pleneros de la 21 celebrate 40 Years with Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in “Una Navidad Nuyorkina” 🇨🇺 🇵🇷 🎄
Kwanzaa Bambara Drum and Dance Ensemble 🇺🇸 🎄
Papo Vázquez & the Mighty Pirates Troubadours Latin jazz parranda 🇵🇷 🎄
Playground Theater Open Mic with Eric Avilés

MOTT HAVEN, The Bronx

Los Pleneros de la 21 Celebrate 40 Years with Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra “Una Navidad Nuyorkina” at Hostos

HOSTOS CENTER, Mott Haven, The Bronx 🇵🇷

Metropolitan Museum of Art is an Encyclopedia of Art and Culture

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery 🇺🇸
Manet/Degas 🇫🇷
Vertigo of Color: Matisse, Derain, and the Origins of Fauvism 🇫🇷
Africa & Byzantium 🇪🇬 🇪🇹
Met Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche 🇮🇹 🎄
The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Moderism 🇺🇸
Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion 🇺🇸

ONGOING
Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection 🇺🇸
Victorian Masterpieces from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
The African Origin of Civilization 🇧🇯 🇨🇩 🇪🇬 🇨🇮 🇬🇭 🇲🇱 🇬🇳 🇳🇬 🇸🇸
Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room 🇺🇸

CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan

House of Yes is One of New York’s Wildest Night Clubs

Rich Medina, Mark Farina, Sunny Cheeba DEATH TO DISCO, disco, house 🇺🇸 🇵🇷
Rich Medina HOME hip-hop house afrobeats 🇺🇸
Eli Escobar HOUSE OF GROOVES disco house 🇵🇷

BUSHWICK, Brooklyn

92nd Street Y, New York Celebrates 150 Years of Culture

92NY Harkness Dance Center APAP Showcase: Limón Dance Company, MeenMoves, Annie Rigney 🇮🇱 🇲🇽
Audra McDonald Broadway singer 🇺🇸
Ballet Hispánico contemporary dance 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇨🇺 🇻🇪
Trio Zimbalist, Roberto Díaz chamber music 🇨🇱 🇫🇷
Dancing the 92nd Street Y: Ailey II, Limón, Martha Graham 🇺🇸 🇲🇽
Cécile McLorin Salvant jazz 🇭🇹 🇫🇷
Manuel Barrueco classical guitar 🇨🇺
Dianne Reeves with Chucho Valdés jazz 🇨🇺

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan

Sotheby’s Has New York’s Big Art Collection Auction This November

Emily Fisher Landau Collection 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇩🇪 🇲🇽 🇪🇸
Modern Auctions 🇫🇷 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🇪🇸
Now Auctions 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇪🇹 🇿🇦 🇬🇧
Contemporary Auctions 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇫🇷 🇭🇹 🇮🇱 🇵🇷

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Was Founded by a Puerto Rican

Open House 🇺🇸 🇵🇷

HARLEM, Manhattan

Repertorio Español Spanish-Language Repertory Theatre is one of Off-Broadway’s Most Successful Theaters

“El Quijote,” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 🇪🇸
“El último personaje de Cecilia B.,” Giovanny Cruz 🇵🇷
“En el tiempo de las mariposas,” Julia Álvarez 🇩🇴
“Eva Luna,” Isabel Allende 🇨🇱
“La breve y maravillosa vida de Oscar Wao,” Junot Díaz 🇩🇴
“La casa de Bernarda Alba,” García Lorca 🇪🇸
“La dama boba,” Lope de Vega 🇪🇸
“La golondrina,” Guillem Clua 🇪🇸
“La gringa,” Carmen Rivera 🇵🇷
“Lo preciso,” Rafael Ramírez flamenco 🇪🇸
“Radojka,” Schmidt & Ibarzabal theatrical comedy 🇺🇾

KIPS BAY, Manhattan


Puerto Rican NYC



Puerto Rican Art

El Museo del Barrio; in “El Barrio” East Harlem; is New York’s Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American art museum. 🇵🇷

Taller Boricua in “El Barrio” East Harlem, is a gallery and artist’s workshop in the Julio de Burgos Cultural Arts Center. tallerboricua.org 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Cultural Centers

The CCCADI, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute presents African Diaspora culture. 🇵🇷

The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center houses many Puerto Rican theatre groups. 🇵🇷

Julia de Burgos Performance and Arts Center is a community cultural center in “El Barrio” East Harlem. jdbpac.org 🇵🇷

Toñita’s Caribbean Social Club is NYC’s last Puerto Rican social club. @tonitasny 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Dance Companies

Ballet Hispánico is a contemporary dance company that has grown into America’s largest Latinx cultural organization, and one of America’s cultural treasures. 🇨🇺 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇻🇪

Bombazo Dance Company is one of NYC’s leading bomba dance companies. bombazodanceco.com 🇵🇷

Danza Fiesta is one of NYC’s leading Puerto Rican folkloric dance companies. 🇵🇷

Los Pleneros de la 21 is one of NYC’s leading bomba & plena music and dance companies. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Festivals

Three Kings Day, on January 6, is the Puerto Rican side of Christmas.

New York Puerto Rico Week is the second week of June. 🇵🇷

Puerto Rican Heritage Month is November. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Food

A lot of New York Puerto Rican food is street food, just like in Puerto Rico.

Casa Adela is a small diner in the East Village that serves Puerto Rican comida criolla (home food). web 🇵🇷

Lechonera La Piraña is a trailer known for the best Puerto Rican lechon (roast pork) in NYC. It’s at East 152nd St and Wales Ave in the South Bronx. nytimes.com 🇵🇷

Que Chevere is a Puerto Rican fast food place in the Essex Market Manhattan’s Lower East Side. quechevereles.com 🇵🇷

Sofrito is an upscale Puerto Rican restaurant in Riverbank State Park along the Hudson River in West Harlem. sofritony.com 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Film

The International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival is New York’s Puerto Rican film festival. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Music

There are many New York Puerto Rican musicians.

Bronx Music Heritage Center in Melrose, The Bronx, is a community performing arts center that celebrates the many cultures of The Bronx. 🇵🇷

Hostos Center; at Hostos College in Mott Haven, The Bronx; is one of the top Latin culture presenters in the Northeast. 🇵🇷

Lehman Center at Lehman College presents many top Latin artists. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Parades

The El Museo Three Kings Day Parade celebrates Three Kings Day in “El Barrio” East Harlem in January. 🇵🇷

June’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade is America’s biggest cultural celebration. 🇵🇷


Spoken Word

The Nuyorican Poets Café in “Loisaida,” the East Village, is New York’s Historic House of Slam Poetry. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Street Fairs

The 116th St Festival 🇵🇷

The 152nd St Festival kicks-off the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in Longwood, The Bronx in May. 🇵🇷

The Afribembé Festival is the CCCADI, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s August street fair.🇵🇷

The Loisaida Festival is an East Village/Lower East Side community festival in May. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rican Theatre

Pregones/PRTT is a bilingual performing arts troupe that produces at Pregones Theater in Concourse, The Bronx; and Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. 🇵🇷

Teatro LATEA (Latin American Theater Experiment Associates) is a Latino performing arts company in the Lower East Side. 🇵🇷

Teatro SEA is a Latino theatre for young audiences known for its puppetry in the Lower East Side. 🇵🇷


Puerto Rico


Puerto Rico really is the island of enchantment. We lived in Borikén for four years and always felt safe and welcome, even though we ran in Puerto Rico’s wildest places.


Bomba

This is the batey (sacred dance circle) of Los Hermanos Ayala, one of the first families of bomba Puertorriqueña. Their house is in Loíza Aldea, the Puerto Rican town with the strongest Afro-Puerto Rican culture. It’s the cultural heart of bomba.

There are many very famous bomba singers and drummers in this video. It’s great to see how the children get it. This is for real.


Plena

This video is a bit old fashioned, but it does capture the spirit of the plena. It was produced with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña which is still a very important guardian of Puerto Rican culture. Puerto Rico isn’t like this anymore. It really changed in the 1950s.

We love the section at 8:30 which is the famous old plena “Tintorera del Mar.”

Tintorera del mar
Tintorera del mar
Tintorera del mar
Que se ha comido un americano”

Classic plena “Tintorera del mar.”

A tintorera is a female tiger shark. The verse says that the tiger shark ate the American. That’s basically what happened to us.


Salsa

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico sings “A mi me gusta mi pueblo.”

This video captures so much of the character of the island today. “I love my town. I love my people.” 🇵🇷


La Perla

La Perla is a small barrio outside the walls of Old San Juan. It can be intense, but is a very real and beautiful Puerto Rican neighborhood. Respect.


Loco Pero Feliz

Pirulo is representative of some of what’s happening now in Puerto Rico. It’s not quite salsa, but a little more timba. The music lives and grows.

¡WEPA!


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