Part of Legacies of San Juan Hill, an ongoing project that aims to uplift the history, communities, and cultural legacy of the Manhattan neighborhoods that existed in and around the area where Lincoln Center was built.

Co-presented by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies/Hunter College and Lincoln Center 

Between the two World Wars, Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City in rapidly growing numbers, spurred by the U.S. citizenship status they received in 1917. They established a creative, working-class, politically active community whose artistry flourished amid its struggle for empowerment.

Much of this activity was centered in San Juan Hill where a sizeable Puerto Rican enclave anchored the neighborhood. Community activism among its residents grew in response to unemployment, housing practices, and displacement. Against this backdrop, an explosion of musical talent and innovation proliferated. Puerto Rican musicians, such as Rafael Hernández, Ram Ramirez, Pedro Flores, and Manuel Jimenez, performed in the many venues that were hallmarks of the neighborhood and broke new ground musically, influencing Latin and jazz music for generations to come.

Join us for a conversation on the Puerto Rican experience in San Juan Hill—a defining chapter in the history of Puerto Rican New York.

Enjoy live music and complimentary wine before and after the panel discussion.

Moderator:

• Ed Morales (Author and Journalist)

Panelists:

• Lorrin Thomas (Professor of History, Rutgers University)
• Elena Martinez (Co-Artistic Director, Bronx Music Heritage Center)
• Aurora Flores (Writer, Educator, and Producer)

About the panel participants

Ed Morales is an author and journalist who writes for The Nation, The New York Times, and CNN Opinions. He is the author of Fantasy Island (Bold Type Books) and Latinx: The New Force in Politics and Culture (Verso Books). Ed is also a lecturer at Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race and a Mellon Foundation Fellow at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies.

Lorrin Thomas is an associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden. She is the author of two books, Puerto Rican Citizen: History and Political Identity in Twentieth Century New York City (University of Chicago Press, 2010) and, with Aldo Lauria Santiago, Rethinking the Struggle for Puerto Rican Rights (Routledge, 2018).

Elena Martínez’s work spans historical essays, documentaries, and exhibitions. Her projects include co-producing “From Mambo to Hip Hop: A South Bronx Tale” and curating “¡Que bonita bandera!: The Puerto Rican Flag as Folk Art.” She is co-artistic director of the Bronx Music Heritage Center.

Aurora Flores-Hostos is a composer, writer, producer, and educator, as well as the creator of the "100 Years of Latin Music in New York" podcast with co-host Anani Centeno. A published author and journalist, she became the first female music correspondent for Billboard Magazine, while still attending Columbia University.

About the Center for Puerto Rican Studies/Hunter College

Founded in 1973 by a coalition of students, faculty, and activists, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) is the largest and oldest university-based research institute, library, and archive dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. It provides support to students, scholars, artists, and members of the community across and beyond New York. Additionally, it produces original research, films, books, and educational tools and is the home of The Centro Journal—the premiere academic journal of Puerto Rican Studies. CENTRO’s aim is to create actionable and accessible scholarship to strengthen, broaden, and reimagine the field of Puerto Rican studies. Learn more at centropr.hunter.cuny.edu.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Guest Experience at 212-875-5456 or [email protected].