Global Voices » Puerto Rico (U.S.)

Domestic Violence Protection for Everyone

Firuzeh Shokooh Valle — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:46:15 +0000

Blogger and feminist lawyer Verónica Rivera Torres writes [es] about the piece of legislations that seeks to extend the Law Against Domestic Violence (Law 54) in Puerto Rico to same sex couples:

Since our Supreme Court ruled that the Law of the Prevention and Intervention in Domestic Violence, known as Law 54, did not apply to same-sex couples, individuals and human rights groups have been waiting for the historic moment we are witnessing today.

Finally, after ten long years, the legislator Luis Vega Ramos has filed a measure to clarify what for many people was clear since Law 54 was created: the protection of all victims of domestic violence, regardless of their sexual orientation, marital status and gender identity.

“I Am a Director”

Firuzeh Shokooh Valle — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:33:11 +0000

Alternative blog Puerto Rico Indie reviews [es] the recent Puerto Rican film “I Am a Director,” which was partially financed through Kickstarter:

The film, made in the ‘mockumentary’ style or fictitious documentary, follows the steps of Carlos (Carlos Marchand), first-time filmmaker who longs to make a Hollywood-style film, but in Puerto Rico. Besides being a genuinely funny comedy, ‘I Am a Director’ succeeds in satirizing the mental process of many who believe that making films is to meet the artificial standards based on the immense American productions.

“Mom, I Am in Love With a Woman”

Firuzeh Shokooh Valle — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:05:20 +0000

On occasion of the celebration of Mother's Day, tomorrow Sunday May 12, feminist activist Amárilis Pagán writes about the experience [es] of telling her mother she was in love with another woman:

The day I told my mom I was in love with a woman, she delivered a long and heartbreaking scream. It was as if someone had told her that her daughter had died… and to some extent I think that something like this happened. Something inside me died, and something inside her died too. She never accepted my relationship, and that love that filled my life for so many years is still unknown to her.

The Future of a Community Library in Puerto Rico is Threatened

Victoria Robertson — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:24:24 +0000

The San Juan Community Library is a rarity in Puerto Rico. The island lacks a culture of public and community libraries, as most are specialized catering to the needs of members of parent institutions such as universities.

Of the existing libraries that serve the general public, few allow users to borrow books. The importance of the San Juan Community Library is underscored by the almost complete lack of public discourse from the government on the subject of cultural policies, and even less about how lending libraries could form the cornerstone of a solid strategy for cultural development within the country.

San Juan Community Library. Photo taken form its Facebook page.

The San Juan Community Library is a local institution that started out with two folding tables and a couple of chairs. It gradually grew into a full-fledged library with more than 26,000 books on a variety of topics, offering services such as free Internet access (including Wi-Fi), programs for young children, teenagers and adults, and borrowing privileges for both print and e-books. The library maintains close ties to its users through its Facebook page, and a good deal of its offering depends on private donations and volunteers. At a time when there is economic hardship in Puerto Rico, a place that can provide these kinds of resources to the public is without a doubt of vital importance.

That is why many were saddened to discover, ironically in the middle of Library week [es], that this community library would be closed until further notice because it lacked sufficient funds to repair its roof. The situation is dire, as the whole roof has to be removed, and any rainfall could damage both the collection of books and the electronic equipment.

The library is exploring possible sources of financial assistance in order to meet immediate needs and protect its collection. Meanwhile, donations are being accepted through its website here.

Monsanto Nominated for Puerto Rico's Agricultural Hall of Fame

Sally Seward — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:09:04 +0000

As soon as the non-profit organization Acción y Reforma Agrícola (ARA) (Agricultural Action and Reform) [es] announced that it had nominated the controversial agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto to the Hall of Fame of Puerto Rican Agriculture [es], activist group started demonstrating their fierce opposition.

Through a press release, the Puerto Rican Organization of Eco-Organic Agriculture, the Agriculture Rescue Front, the Latin America Scientific Society of Agroecology, the Yabucoeño Committee for Quality of Life and the Association of Agriculture Students expressed:

Exigimos que se revierta la decisión y en su lugar se seleccione a un agricultor local utilizando criterios de sustentabilidad y justicia social. Este reconocimiento a Monsanto, una compañía dedicada a la producción de plaguicidas y cultivos transgénicos, resulta oneroso en demasía para una corporación con credenciales tan nefastas a nivel internacional.

We demand that the decision be changed and that in its place a local farm is chosen, using the criteria of sustainability and social justice. This recognition of Monsanto, a company dedicated to the production of pesticides and genetically modified crops, is just too much for a corporation with such terrible credentials on an international level.

Also, under the slogan ¡Nada Santo sobre Monsanto! (There is Nothing Saintly about Monsanto!) [es], an online petition, which is getting close to its goal of 2,000 signatures, was directed at the ARA, whose headquarters are at the School of Agronomists. The petition explains some of the repercussions of Monsanto's presence on the island:

Puerto Rico es un país que depende alrededor de un 90% en productos extranjeros para alimentarse. Nuestras tierras fértiles están siendo arrendadas a Monsanto para crear sus semillas que hacen daño a la salud y al ambiente en vez de utilizarse para tener una agricultura sostenible que nos brinde más seguridad alimentaria.

Puerto Rico is a country that depends on around 90% in foreign products to feed itself. Our fertile land is being rented out to Monsanto so they can create their seeds which hurt health and the environment, instead of being used for sustainable agriculture which would offer us more food security.

On his blog Proyecto Bioseguridad de Puerto Rico (Biosecurity Project of Puerto Rico) [es], environmental educator Carmelo Ruiz Marrero points out that:

…en el candente debate global en torno a los organismos y alimentos genéticamente modificados, o transgénicos, el rol poco conocido de la isla caribeña de Puerto Rico ha pasado mayormente inadvertido y hasta ahora ha evadido escrutinio crítico.”

…in the hot global debate over genetically modified organisms and food, the little known role of the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico has gone mostly unnoticed and until now it has avoided critical scrutiny.

The expert also makes it clear that Puerto Rico's colonial relationship with the United States is an undeniable obstacle. This is seen, for example, at the time of signing international agreements relevant to the “cross-border movement of genetically modified food.

Nevertheless, many politicians, agro-entrepreneurs, and academic and scientific institutions support the development of agricultural biotechnology in the country. The special series “El experimento caribeño de Monsanto” (“Monsanto's Caribbean Experiment”) [es], written in 2011 by the journalist Eliván Martínez for the Center of Investigative Journalism of Puerto Rico, points to the active role of the Puerto Rican government:

Acá se cocina una realidad que el Gobierno oculta y auspicia: la Isla es un importante centro para ocho empresas, siete de ellas multinacionales, que desarrollan las primeras generaciones de semillas modificadas genéticamente para distribuirlas a Estados Unidos y alrededor del mundo. Los dominios de estas corporaciones se expanden en fincas públicas y privadas, sobre todo en las mejores tierras cultivables del sur de la Isla, donde en el siglo pasado mandaba el imperio de su majestad la caña, aupada por grandes terratenientes que buscaban acaparar la tierra.

La mayoría de estas semilleras ocupa más del límite de 500 acres que permite la Constitución de Puerto Rico, mientras reciben jugosos beneficios del Gobierno y gozan de la Ley de Promoción y Desarrollo de Empresas de Biotecnología Agrícola de 2009, hecha a la medida para favorecerlas.

There is a situation in the works here that the government is hiding and supporting: the island is an important center for eight companies, seven of them multinationals, who develop the first generations of genetically modified seeds to distribute to the United States and around the world. The possessions of these corporations include public and private farms, mostly on the best cultivable lands on the south of the island, where in the last century the empire of his majesty, the sugarcane, was in charge, held up by great landowners who wanted the land for themselves.

The majority of these lands take up more than the limit of 500 acres, which is the maximum permitted by the Constitution of Puerto Rico, while they receive attractive benefits from the government and they enjoy the Ley de Promoción y Desarrollo de Empresas de Biotecnología Agrícola de 2009 (Law for the Promotion and Development of Agricultural Biotechnology Companies, 2009) [es], custom-made to favor them.

In the face of this murky scene, a diverse movement on the island which has been fighting for food sovereignty for years has confirmed its participation in the next global march against Monsanto, planned for May 25 at 2:00pm, Eastern U.S. time. Among them are the Puerto Rican Organization of Eco-Organic Agriculture [es], who just created an alliance with Vía Campesina/Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones de Campo (Latin American Coordinator of Field Organizations) [es], which will make possible the participation of Puerto Ricans in international debates.

This is a call to the whole world. The meetings in Puerto Rico are taking place at The Department of Food [es], a multifaceted initiative dedicated to ecological agriculture. Demonstrations are expected in more than twenty countries and 100 cities in the United States.

Urban Art Festival Highlights Neighborhood in Puerto Rico

Victoria Robertson — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:21:23 +0000

[Links are to Spanish-language pages unless otherwise noted.]

The fourth annual urban art festival known as Santurce es Ley (Santurce is Law), an event during which visual, performance, and musical artists come together to create street art in the midst of the Santurce neighborhood, was held during the weekend of April 5-7.

Over the last several decades, what was once among the most important urban centers in Puerto Rico—a bustling cultural and commercial hub—gradually deteriorated into one of the most run-down neighbourhoods in the capital city of San Juan. Empty buildings abound; sidewalks are in disrepair; and even a cursory glance reveals profound social inequality.

In recent years, efforts have been made to revitalize Santurce, perhaps the most well known being the arteSanturce alliance of cultural institutions. But these efforts, which include everything from community-wide outdoor activities to commercial, cultural, and real estate projects are for the most part centered on one of Santurce's main arteries, Ponce de León Avenue. Moreover, the negative side of these developments has been gentrification, and the relocation and elimination of entire communities.

Santurce es Ley is the brainchild of artist Alexis Busquet [en]. This year's focal point was Calle Cerra (Cerra Street), a street that played a pivotal role in the history of Puerto Rico's music industry. Today Calle Cerra is home to many members of the Dominican community, who are very marginalized in the country. During the weekend-long event, it became Puerto Rico's mecca for murals. Below are some of the pictures I took as I walked along the Calle Cerra in the days following the festival.

Artistic installation by Colectivo Camiseta (La CoCa).

The topic of agriculture echoed throughout this year's celebration of Santurce es Ley.

An urban farm on Calle Cerra.

A mural in the urban farm created for this year's festival.

In addition to an eye-catching mural, this abandoned space now boasts a plant nursery, something I had not expected to find.

This mural, one of the urban exhibit's most impressive, seems to be a metaphor for Puerto Rican capitalism. By Colectivo Basta.

Another interesting mural on Calle Cerra.

Detail of the facade of a building with the symbol of Santurce. (Historically, Santurce was known as San Mateo de Cangrejos, the Spanish word for crabs.)

Despite the favourable reception of the Santurce art festival, it also received critiques. One of the strongest arguments was that people who live in the area do not participate in the artistic activities and are not represented, the majority being immigrants from the Dominican Republic. Daniel Nina, writing in El Post Antillano, says the following:

Tendríamos que pensar esta convocatoria de Santurce es Ley como un proceso a democratizar. Me pregunto, para la quinta edición en el 2014, ¿cuántos de los artistas serán dominicanos, de ahí mismo, de la comunidad de la pobreza y la desesperanza? A los organizadores les pedimos que tomen nota. Inventen un Santurce es Ley que sea representativo de la diversidad cultural de la región, y no exclusivo de unos afortunados que por razón de ser intocables, invaden comunidades a su predilección.

We should think about Santurce es Ley as an opportunity for greater democratization. I wonder about the fifth edition in 2014; how many of the artists will be Dominican, from right there, from a community of poverty and despair? We ask that the organizers take note. Put together a Santurce es Ley that is representative of the cultural diversity of the region and not just of the fortunate few who, because they are considered beyond reproach, take over communities at will.

The organizers responded to the criticism on Facebook. The gauntlet has been thrown, but we will have to wait until next year's festival to see whether the organizers are willing to take it up. You can see more photographs of the murals painted during the festival here and here.

All photos were taken by the author.

Puerto Rico Second in the Caribbean Final of the World Baseball Classic

Amy Gulvin — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:13:56 +0000

The Caribbean region positions itself as a world power of the ball game with the historic victory of the Dominican Republic [es], which became the first unbeaten team to win a World Baseball Classic [es] when it defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 in the final on the night of 19th March in the city of San Francisco.

However, although Puerto Rico was not victorious, the country played memorably, managing to position itself as the number two team. Against all odds, Puerto Rico made it to the final, knocking out Venezuela, Italy, the United States and Japan, even though it was thought that they would most likely be eliminated early in the event. Both teams faced each other a total of 3 times, with the Dominican Republic winning every time.

Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic teams embrace after the Dominican Republic's victory in the World Baseball Classic.

Twitter users congratulated the sister nation, the Dominican Republic, while expressing the deep pride they felt for the Puerto Rican national team, which managed to unite the country, albeit for a short time, and carry it honorably to the final amid difficult and uncertain economic and social times.

@Nellytjiie: Hermoso lo q hico #PuertoRico eso se llama ser un buen Perdedor lindo como felicitaron #RepublicaDominicana #WBC2013 pic.twitter.com/0FFY3NZqHz

@Nellytjiie[es]: Beautiful what #PuertoRico did, that's what you call being a good Loser beautiful how they congratulated #RepublicaDominicana [es] #WBC2013 pic.twitter.com/0FFY3NZqHz [es]

@valnik18: Felicidades a mis chicos boricuas y a nuestros hermanos dominicanos!! Muy orgullosa de mi pais #TeamPuertoRico #WBC2013 #OrgulloBoricua

@valnik18[es]: Congratulations to my Boricuan guys and to our Dominican brothers!! Very proud of my country #TeamPuertoRico[es]#WBC2013[es]#OrgulloBoricua[es]

@hectorxrivera: Felicidades a nuestros hermanos dominicanos por esa victoria! #wbc2013 #worldbaseballclassic #puñeta

@hectorxrivera[es]: Congratulations to our Dominican brothers for that victory! #wbc2013[es] #worldbaseballclassic[es]#puñeta[es]

Edwin Rodríguez and Tony Peña, captains of the Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic teams, respectively, greet each other after the Dominican Republic's victory.

‏@ShellyPR: Ahora es el Clasico Mundial del Caribe!!?? O.o #WBC2013 #TeamBoricua

‏@ShellyPR[es]: Is it the Carribbean World Classic now!!?? O.o #WBC2013[es]#TeamBoricua[es]

@JeromeGarffer: Felicidades #TeamBoricua #WBC13 Contra todos los pronosticos se crecieron como un roble.Dignos de admirar y emular.Segundo mejores del mundo

@JeromeGarffer[es]: Congratulations #TeamBoricua[es]#WBC13[es] Against all odds they have strengthened in the face of adversity like an ox. Worthy of admiration and a model to follow.Second best in the world

@Josemahernandez: Al final del día el mangú y el mofongo vienen de la misma mata. Contento y orgulloso del #TeamBoricua y del #TeamDR #puñeta

@Josemahernandez[es]: At the end of the day the Mangu and the Mofongo come from the same plant. Happy and proud of #TeamBoricua[es] and of #TeamDR[es]#puñeta

‏@DianaMaria30: Mas orgullosa no podria estar de mi país, de mi equipo que lo dio todo y nos puso en lo alto #TeamBoricua

‏@DianaMaria30[es]: I could not be more proud of my country, my team gave everything and put us on top #TeamBoricua[es]

‏@javimole9: Nadie nos esperaba aqui, esten orgullosos hasta donde llegamos. Buena representacion boricua. #TeamBoricua

‏@javimole9[es]: Nobody expected us to be here, proud of where we have got to. Great Boricua representation #TeamBoricua[es]

@Calle13Oficial: Felicidades a República Dominicana. Orgulloso de que sean nuestros hermanos y muy orgulloso de nuestro equipo Puertorriqueño.

@Calle13Oficial[es]:Congratulations Dominican Republic. Proud that they are our brothers and very proud of our Puerto Rican team.

*Photos taken from video. Title page photo taken from the Facebook page of World Baseball Classic.

Omar Banuchi Finds His Niche in the Puerto Rican Web (Part III)

Alexandra Quinn — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:00:13 +0000

*This is the third, and last, part of the series about the digital art by the Puerto Rican Omar Banuchi. Here you can read the first and the second parts.

The neighbouring room to Omar Banuchi's bedroom is nearly empty, save for an occasional framed piece that remains lying in the corner. It was here where the artist brought me to have a look at his work throughout the years. It's inevitable, the pornographic drawings are the first that catch your attention: girls indulging in oral sex, group sex scenes; these are the markers of the first era of his work, where the imaginary element of his comics combined with the hard core aesthetic. Superheroes and money shots: a sensitivity characteristic of nerd art and masculine fantasies, whether it be in Brooklyn, Berlin or Rio Piedras.

“Omar's images feel kind of porn,” the singer Eduardo Alegría would mention to me later. With his extensive career in performance, experimental dance and as one of the principal singers and composers of the iconic group of post-pop Superaquello, Alegría is the closest there is to an elder statesman on the local scene. The first pieces of Banuchi that he saw captivated him, and he ended up recruiting the young artist for his new musical project, Alegría Rampante, the group he has with musician Harry Rag. Here you can view the video of “Esquina Periferia” by Alegría Rampante, with illustrations by Omar Banuchi:

“When you look at his art you feel as if you were looking at something that you don't know quite what it is,” he continued. “It's like the fascination of finding old photos in a dumpster without knowing who the subjects are, and you end up creating a story in your head of what you are seeing.”

The end result of the collaboration between the two can be seen in “Se nos fue la mano,” a series of singles by Alegría Rampante complimented with videos, concerts and drawings reminiscent of the fragmented stories created by Banuchi. “For each song that he makes, my work is to create an image that goes with the single. He is supposed to release a song every two months, and already he has released three,” explains Banuchi.

In songs such as “Esquina Periferia,” “Hotel Puercoespín” and “Un cuarto más pequeño,” the sensitivities of the musician and the artist meet. In the process you can glimpse a sort of generational overlap of two creators characterised by their rare vision, yet ironic and vulnerable at the same time.

Digital STIGMA

Banuchi's career path can be seen in the transformation that his illustrations have had in the last five years. The technique has been refined, and the topics point towards an increased maturity. Due to their closeness, Rosaura Rodríguez has had a front row seat in viewing this growth.

“He worked on nudes before, with stronger sex scenes,” she said. “His art was more sexual and a little more pop. Now it continues to be pop, but he has gone in the direction of portraits, and of superheroes doing everyday things.”

The sophistication in the images, which increasingly are more narrative, was what most attracted Eduardo Alegría since the beginning. “They have a colourful, vibrant, polished quality,” he said. “Part of what makes something pop is the feeling that it has a finish, like a well-made product”.

Despite his success, Banuchi still regularly comes across preconceptions of the digital medium, as if the technology that he uses makes him less of an artist.

“The medium does create a little bit of stigma,” he told me the last time we met. “There are times when the gallery owner has said to me ‘try to make a painting.’ But I don't like this opinion that since my drawings are not paintings they are not considered art.”

The gallery owner that requested this of him understands his dilemma perfectly. “There was a moment when I challenged him, and he made two acrylic pieces, but he did not translate well outside of the digital sphere,” Beto Torrens told me. The challenge was motivated by collectors who tend to be older and are unable to accept that a piece that exists as a digital archive can be of the same level as a painting or silk-screen printing.

“That's when I realised his essence,” added Torrens. “I told him ‘keep going with your original vision and your designs, someday people are going to realise the value that your pieces have.’”

All of this means little to nothing for a series of drawings that find themselves at home in so many different spaces. Though some of the pieces may be printed as limited editions that are bought by collectors, many of them never leave the screen. His drawings are moulded to the singles of Alegría Rampante and eventually will be the album's sleeve. The illustrations are shown in the same way through the pages of “Días,” and -possibly- on the walls of Benicio Del Toro. Although the art of Banuchi –personalised and witty- seems to mirror the creator, this mirror is not limited to a particular form. Why create limitations if this diversity also reflects his lifestyle and the people who share his art?

“I like being a digital artist,” he concluded telling me the last time we met. “I like that it's the current medium of my work.”

*The images are published with the artist's permission.

Omar Banuchi Finds His Niche in the Puerto Rican Web (Part II)

Alexandra Quinn — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:21:44 +0000

*This is the second entry in a series about digital art by Puerto Rico's Omar Banuchi. Here you find the first in the series.

From the start comics presented the perfect partner for a childhood spent indoors. A quiet, introverted boy that didn't leave the family apartment much could easily connect with the stories of superheros capable of supporting the weight of the world on their shoulders and achieving great super-human deeds.

“Mine was a world of comics”, was one of the first things he said to me when I met him. “Since I was 9 years old I have been collecting them. I remember the death of Superman completely consumed me, it was a huge, high-profile event of that era and it made a huge impression on me”.

KRIPTONITA visual

In many ways it is in this world where he still immerses himself, although with time his affinity to superheroes has become increasingly idiosyncratic. As he continued playing and experimenting with his tablet, his technique became increasingly refined. His first steps were on the internet, where he assumed the role of photographer in his social circle without even realizing it.

The exhibition “Kriptonita” mixed the ‘everyday’ with Banuchi's obsession with superheroes.

“I started to do this in a moment when I had lots of spare time. I was obsessed with playing with my new little toy tablet”, he told me. Banuchi, in the same way as the superheroes that he follows, lives a double life: in the afternoons he deals with the telephone at a call centre, and at night he draws. “Basically my modus operandi was to see the profile picture of a buddy or a girl that I liked on Facebook and then draw him/her and post the pictures on my wall. Little by little the message spread and people started to pay me to draw their friends or pets in order to put it as their profile picture”.

These unexpected commissions gave him the confidence needed to launch his first exhibition. “Kriptonita” [es] was presented in 2010 in La Respuesta, a Santurce club that has been converted into an essential space for independent art and music in San Juan. The title couldn't be clearer: those illustrations printed on glossy paper took the shape of protagonists from comics such as Batman or the Justice League as a central theme. The superheroes of the pieces however, didn't match the all-powerful images of them as seen in the commercial series.

“On the walls of the main room there were a few pieces that captivated my attention immediately”, Beto Torrens told me. “They were the classic photos of people hanging out at a party- everyone has taken or appeared in a similar photo at some point-, but all of the characters were superheroes. These figures in such an everyday environment provoked, for me, a lot of curiosity”.

For Banuchi the exhibition evolved naturally. “May is the month of geekdom: superhero films start showing in the cinema, we have the Comic Con (Comic Convention) here in Puerto Rico, and I wanted to make a superhero exhibition during this month too”, Banuchi commented. “Basically I started to look for photos of some of my friends and then I painted superhero costumes on top of them”.

The showing earned him new fans, some of them with a profile bigger than the average. “I bought two pieces from him”, Torrens recalled, who then approached him requesting that Banuchi join his gallery. “Benicio del Toro bought 5 pieces”, he added.

“Kriptonita” has become a recurring event, and it is no longer just a show for Banuchi. A year ago he did it again [es], selecting work from other artists. And this year, in order to return to commemorating the month of May geekdom he is going to do it again, but this time it will be the last edition.

“I want it to be a trilogy and that's it”, said the budding curator, “as if it were the special edition of a comic”.

DAY by “Day”

Outside of the superfriends drawings, Banuchi still wanted to make comics. That is how his most intimate project came to light. However, the autobiographical series “Días” [Days], would never have existed if it hadn't been for a fundamental connection.

“'Días’ started after meeting Rosaura on the internet, nearly two years ago”, he told me of Rosaura Rodríguez, who didn't delay in becoming his closest collaborator. They both remember the way in which they met, like the type of plot that could be found in an independent Rom-Com.

“She added me on Facebook and asked me to draw her a cat”, he told me, “and then she made a drawing for me, so we became friends just like this. Until we discovered we lived next door to one another”.

Rodríguez, in her defence, has a slightly different memory, as usually happens. “He had been annoying me on Facebook. Little by little we started becoming friends, and seeing as we're neighbours we ended up making a comic between the two of us”.

Each edition of “Días” might look like a comic about nothing in particular. But there is a constant narrative that the two artists are developing. Far from the unexpected turn of events seen in Spiderman and Superman, the gaze is turned towards the artists themselves. Each panel of the comic is a mirror of their life in which they document their friendship as well as depicting their generation, and in passing they added a Puerto Rican entry from the confessional graphic novel tradition such as “Ghost World” by Daniel Clowes or “True Story, Swear to God” by Tom Belland.

For Rodríguez the project “had to be a comic. It's the only way to bring together introspection in a straight up matter. That has led us to becoming good friends. We are an artistic team and so we labour against the time limitations and deadlines that we put on ourselves. We have to produce something every month together and this has been pretty intense”.

Looking back at the comic's first volume, recently completed after a year and a half, can bring a voyeuristic pleasure, just like rummaging in the drawers of someone you barely know but yet whose personality is extremely familiar. In one edition to the next there are storylines that are repeated: ideas about the world that are evidently obsessed over by a boy and girl in their twenty-somethings navigating the romantic, creative and professional hurly burly that comes with this decade.

“There are topics that you are going to see across the whole series: work, relationships, pets”, Rodríguez commented. “We have developed a certain style and already we have people that follow us”.

“Días” has also moved closer to the current Puerto Rican comic, where the diversity of stories and styles is uniting many different artists under one community.

“It's true that this current generation is really relaxed, there isn't much rivalry”, Banuchi observed. “We're all mates. Other people are making their comics, like Pernicious Press and SodaPop Comics, who get in touch with us when they are doing some activity. Slowly we're creating a scene”.

*Images are published with the artist's permission.

Omar Banuchi Finds His Niche in the Puerto Rican Web (Part I)

Alexandra Quinn — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:51:27 +0000

First part in a series about digital art by Puerto Rico’s Omar Banuchi.

It was 11th February, two days away from Saint Valentine’s, and already the social networks had started circulating a series of images [es] as colourful as they were peculiar. Actually, it’s about different picture cards that keep reappearing in my newsfeed, shared over and over again by my Facebook connections. One of these shows a close-up of a middle finger raised at the viewer. The ‘bomb park’ red nail polish stands out dramatically- the same red that colours the heart of the ring seen in the picture. The backgrounds are all bright and sharp; the lines, from one postcard to the next, all follow the same thick strokes.

Some of these postcards carry messages, as if they were a bizarre meme mocking Hallmark cards. There is, for example, a neon-green cat [es] licking between his legs, with a thought bubble that would feel completely at ease in the nearest comic, proclaiming “Saint Valentine's Day isn't going to be so bad after all…”. In another, a fantasy green animal [es], with an elephant's trunk and impossibly large eyes -framed in yellow so that the description of the little howler would remain short- walking above the catchphrase “animal love is what it is”.

Omar Banuchi's Valentine postcards spread rapidly on the Internet in Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, on the artist's webpage [es] where the postcards started running Banuchi declares, “I know they're very old. I always wanted to make new ones, but there we go. Use them wisely. Download and share”.

Welcome to the world of Omar Banuchi. The sensitivity, that of scoffing love- on the national day of cards and cheap chocolate- with ironic distance, and at the same time paying tribute to the feeling, has been his signature style. His pictures normally leave the same slightly spooky impression, as if you could access the real image of its subjects by just peeling back this highly delineated layer that will never stop being playful. But its on the surface where his art operates, whether it be the bright surface saturated with complimentary colours or the tablet by brand Wacom that serves as a canvas. Banuchi is a digital illustrator, and his office is nourished by the tools that new media bring. The truth is that behind the majority of his pieces there is a photo or photomontage that he has drawn and upon which he paints.

Hugely influenced by the culture of fan boy from comics such as Marvel or DC, Banuchi has fully installed himself in the indie scene of Puerto Rico, where his pixelated brush strokes connect with a small, but growing, public. This is a scene where you can find comics like “Days” [es], an autobiographical series he created with Rosaura Rodríguez, his closest creative partner. On the other hand he has become an official artist of “We got carried away” [es], the latest multimedia and musical project of Eduardo Alegría, a veteran of the independent movement in San Juan. To this project he adds his part of the work which leans more towards the element of fine art, where he maintains a presence through Galería Yemayá [es], a space that reunites various Puerto Rican creators influenced by urban art. His work can also be found in alternative shops such as Executive Manolo in Santurce, where pins and cards can regularly be found. But above all, his art is shared on the web; his Facebook pages and Tumblr are the easiest ways to get a first taste.

The work challenges formats and prejudices of what it really means to draw: Banuchi feels completely at ease creating pieces that end up hanging on the wall of a gallery, just as he does printing pins that could end up on a San Juan hipster's backpack. There is no paper or charcoal, nor oil or canvas. Instead, the drawing is made with a plastic toy that appears very similar to the system that is used to sign digitally after making a credit card transaction. There are those that don't see art from this approach, to which Banuchi answers with more viral illustrations. The rest, it could be said, is digital love.

THE PLASTIC canvas

[Click on this link in order to access a video of Omar Banuchi working.]

“I started to draw like this in 2008”, the artist recently told me in Café Luna, a small coffee place in Río Piedras that is near the Medical Centre, in the shade of Los Robles condominium, where Banuchi lived for a long time. It is only recently that he has moved away- albeit not very far- from this apartment complex, with its socialist block look, in the Caribbean where his mother still lives. Now he lives around the corner, in an apartment that is close by to the one in which he grew up.

“My ex-girlfriend bought a tablet to draw with”, he continued, explaining the way in which his technique met with technology. “She went on a trip and left me with the tablet so I started to draw with it”.

Before meeting Banuchi, I met his self portrait. Drawing himself is something that he does a lot, so he had given me the impression that he was a black boy with a shaven head. However, when the time came, the person that I met was a pretentious-free young white man of 29 years, with his head held high and bright eyes that gave him a dreamy look.

“If I'm honest I have a whatever racial thing when I draw myself”, he would end up explaining to me with a relaxed approach littered with phrases in English. Banuchi tends to move about and express himself in a relaxed manner, just as his figures, and it's clear that the subject of couples’ relationships is a recurring theme. In fact, the root of his current work, which he describes as a way of digitally tracing a photo, came about in his student days while studying at Bellas Artes (Art) in the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, when his goal was to become a photographer. Even then he was already investigating his own love life.

“Really, everything started with my final project in digital photography class”, he told me. “I made an autobiographical digital scrapbook. It had all the stories of previous girlfriends that I'd been out with. The point is that I drew on top of the photos with Photoshop. It looked half done, because I did it with the computer mouse, but the point was for it to look half childish. Afterwards, when I was lent the machine it was like, ‘wow, I have more control and it looks cooler’. I continued like this until I eventually removed the photo underneath and only the drawing remained”.

The childlike edge to his work remains, even though it complicates itself with the outlook of –a sometimes lecherous- boy that never stopped collecting Spiderman comics. Together with the ludicrous mix of desire and the want to capture the everyday goings-on of the world that surrounds us. There is something restless about the twentysomething in his illustrations, when everything that happens in this intense decade of growth feels big and important. After this comes the ironic wink, the distance that the illustrator imposes on his subject, preventing his theme from falling into a commonplace category or cliché.

“The colours and the form caught my attention”, Rosaura Rodríguez [es] would tell me later about her first encounter with Banuchi's art. “It's very accessible, everyone can understand it”.

To see him work, with a stylus that serves as a plastic charcoal over a digital paper that is a screen, might be a revelation. The way in which he remains completely absorbed by the photos that he draws attracts much attention. I recently had the opportunity to see him in action, when I went to visit him in his new appartment. The place still has an aspect of dormroom about it, with comics filling his bookshelves and a small gas heater that still has not been used. Instead, a single electric burner doubles up in the kitchen.

“From photography is what comes from him”, Beto Torrens, the Director of the Yemayá Gallery [es] explained to me later about what Banuchi exhibited. “Usually he starts with a normal photo- point and shoot- and this is what makes many identify with the piece. It's the photo that the world takes, but with a graphic design edge that gives it the colours and wide lines”.

The images are published with the artist's permission.

Christian Protests Target Puerto Rico's Rising LGBTQ Rights

Marianna Breytman — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:30:31 +0000

The demonstration by a coalition of Christian groups [es] of distinct denominations known as “Puerto Rico Rises Up in Defense of the Family” that took place on February 18 highlights one of the country's most controversial current issues: LGBTQ rights.

Puerto Rico has a contradictory relationship when it comes to the LGBTQ community. On the one hand, it has figures that have publicly revealed their identities as gay men, such as superstar Ricky Martin, who has a huge fandom, and boxer Orlando Cruz, who, upon revealing he was gay, received a lot of praise for having had the courage to do so while being active in the sport. On the other hand, it also has figures like Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa, better known as La Comay, who, up until recently, was the producer and host of a widely watched local television program in Puerto Rico (in which homophobic language was quite common) and was forced to resign after a boycott was organized on Facebook due to some of his statements that insinuated that a victim of torture and murder got what he or she deserved for being in a place where there was “prostitution and homosexuality.”

The “Puerto Rico Rises Up” demonstration came about in the context of amendments proposed to Law 54 (Law of Prevention and Intervention in Domestic Violence) that looks to extend legal protection to couples who have a common law marriage and same-sex couples. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico decided [es] that the law does not protect people in “adulterous” relationships nor people in relationships with the same sex.

It is estimated that around 200,000 people attended the demonstration that congregated in front of the Capitol Building of Puerto Rico (it is worth noting that on the other side of the Capitol there was another, smaller simultaneous demonstration in favor of the proposed amendments). Nonetheless, the Puerto Rican blogosphere shared reactions on the march. FulanoX [es] pointed out some planning inconsistencies for defenders of the family model composed of a man and a woman:

Aerial view of the “Puerto Rico Rises Up” demonstration on February 18. Photo taken from blog El Ñame.

Claro, no escuché a ningún religioso querer regresar a los harenes y concubinas. En la biblia, el Rey David, además de sus esposas, [...] Tenia concubinas. [...]

Este, como otros tantos ejemplos, demuestra que la defensa de la familia “tradicional” es una total hipocresía religiosa para justificar el miedo al cambio. Lo mismo sucedió cuando los sectores religiosos citaban a Pablo para justificar la discriminación hacia la mujer.

Of course I didn't hear a single religious individual wanting to return to harems and concubines. In the Bible, King David and his wives, [...] Had concubines. [...]

This, like countless examples, demonstrates that the defense of the “traditional” family is complete religious hypocrisy to justify fear of change. The same thing happened when religious sectors cited Paul to justify discrimination against women.

In her blog Sin mordazas [es], Ivonne Acosta provides an energetic criticism of the motives behind the demonstration:

Esos miles de fundamentalistas religiosos no les interesa que se entregue el aeropuerto, que haya miles de puntos de drogas, que la educación pública esté en su peor momento, que el crimen siga en aumento, que la basura nos arrope, que enfermarse sea un lujo no permitido y que haya tanta violencia. Les importa solamente la homosexualidad. Todo en nombre de un prejuicio hacia los que no encajan con sus ideas que ya van quedando más que atrasadas.

These thousands of religious fundamentalists are not interested in what is being delivered to airports, that there are thousands of drug trafficking points, that public education is in its worst state, that crime continues to rise, that waste is flooding us, that getting sick is a luxury not permitted and that there is so much violence. They are interested solely in homosexuality. All in the name of prejudice against those that do not fit into their ideas that increasingly become more and more backward.

Érika Fontánez Torres, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Puerto Rico, remains optimistic [es] that progress can be made:

A pesar de la marcha multitudinaria [...], mi impresión es que estamos justo avanzando hacia una sociedad en la que este tema y sus resistencia al cambio sea cosa del pasado y que este gobierno no tiene razones públicas (no se trata de lo que el Gobernador en su fuero interno quiera creer) para negar una reforma hacia la igualdad de derechos.

Despite the mass march [...], my impression is that we are in fact progressing towards a society in which this issue and its resistance to change are things of the past and that this government does not have public reasons (it is not about what the governor wants to believe deep down) to reject a reform for equal rights.

Fontánez Torres's optimism has its grounds. The Mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, recently issued an executive order [es] that extended the medical coverage the city government offers its employees to common law couples, independent of whether they are heterosexual or same sex couples.

Nevertheless, there are moments in which the arrival of changes necessary for a more equal society seem to take a bit more time. On February 20, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico decided in a 5-4 vote that a woman cannot adopt her same-sex partner's biological daughter unless the biological mother cedes her rights as a mother to her partner.

Mariana Iriarte Mastronardo, spokesperson for the feminist coalition Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres de Puerto Rico, points out the urgency of taking action [es] to create clear and precise legislation so that everyone remains protected equally:

De ninguna manera, podemos dejar que nuestros derechos y los derechos de nuestros hijos y nuestras hijas queden sujetos a interpretación. El Estado tiene el deber de protegernos a todas y a todos por igual.

Under no circumstances can we let our rights and the rights of our sons and daughters be subject to interpretation. The State is responsible for protecting all of us equally.

Writing for digital magazine Politic365, jeanvidal summarizes the situation in the following way:

Puerto Rico still has a long way to go on LGBT rights. The current administration is much friendlier to the LGBT community than the previous administration ever was. [...]

However, we must not forget that in a deeply (socially) conservative place like Puerto Rico, actions will speak much louder than words. Governor Garcia Padilla and his legislative majority have a golden opportunity to place Puerto Rico in the 21st Century of LGBT rights. The next four years will bear witness to that.

Internet Boycott Leads to Resignation of “La Comay” in Puerto Rico

Jea — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:21:28 +0000

(All links lead to Spanish language sites, except where otherwise noted)

On the night of 8 January, 2013, social networks were flooded with reports of the resignation of TV producer, Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa, from local TV station, WAPA. Santarrosa, the man behind the puppet personality, La Comay, produced what was probably the most controversial program on Puerto Rican television: “SuperXclusivo.”

Santarrosa's resignation is the culmination of a movement that started on Facebook. The online movement called for the boycott of the “SuperXclusivo” show due to comments made by Santarrosa that caused widespread upset among Puerto Ricans. Santarrosa insinuated that a murder and torture victim got what he deserved, for being in a secluded part of the town of Caguas, which, according to him, was a “prostitution and homosexuality” hotspot [see video from 6:48 minutes in]. The movement brought about sufficient pressure for various companies to withdraw their ads during the hour in which the program aired, and WAPA decided not to broadcast the program live any longer, in order for it to be screened for potential inflammatory content by the channel's administration.

The movement caused a controversy which raised interesting questions on censorship, what constitutes a boycott, and whether Santarrosa's program could be considered journalism or not.

On Twitter, users expressed incredulity, jubiliation, protest and indifference. Of course, there was no shortage of comments with a sense of humor, either:

@GelockS: Todavia no lo creo… RIP La Comay?

@GelockS: I still can't believe it… RIP La Comay?

@Rene_A_Vargas: Hasta nunca, Kobbo. No serás extrañado. Mucho que aprender sobre la caída de la Comay. Felicidades a @BoicotLaComay y a @PedroJulio.

@Rene_A_Vargas: See you never, Kobbo. You won't be missed. Still a lot to find about the fall of La Comay. Congratulations to @BoicotLaComay and to @PedroJulio.

@SoyRobi: No veo La Comay pero simpatizo con la postura de Kobbo de no permitir censura y aunque sus compañeros no se den cuenta protege a otros…

@SoyRobi: I don't watch La Comay but I sympathise with Kobbo's stand on not bowing to censorship and even though his colleagues might not realise it, it protects others.

@marinaov21: cancelaron la comay. aunque eso no resuelve nada, es un buen comienzo hacia un mejor futuro. :)

@marinaov21: They cancelled la comay. even though this doesn't resolve anything, it's a good start towards a better future.

@manolexico: Hoy es la comay, mañana puede ser Pedro Julio….

@manolexico: Today, it's la comay, tomorrow it could be Pedro Julio….

@DraMontijo: El Fin de La Comay. Se caen Los Imperios. El Poder de las Redes Sociales.

@DraMontijo: The end of La Comay. Empires are falling. The Power of Social Networks.

@adriana_baez: El hecho de que se cancele La Comay no va a afectar para bien o para mal a Puerto Rico #sameshit

@adriana_baez: The fact that they canceled La Comay is not going to affect Puerto Rico for better, nor for worse. #sameshit

@Barbarajosefina: A que Telemundo, Univision u otro canal lo contrata… tiempo al tiempo. Y ojalá me equivoque. Ojalá!!!

@Barbarajosefina: Telemundo, Univision or some other channel will pick him up… give it time. I hope that I'm wrong. God willing!!!

@GabrieloscarRR: Un PR sin la Comay como Cuba sin Fidel

@GabrieloscarRR: Puerto Rico with no La Comay is like Cuba without Fidel

@darkRemiiix: Que comiencen los memes de La Comay…

@darkRemiiix: Let the La Comay memes begin…

There is one thing that cannot be doubted: the key role played by social networks in bringing about the resignation of the producer who had reigned for years with the largest TV audience in Puerto Rico and who had thought he was untouchable.

The Three Kings Visit New York

Marianna Breytman — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:42:24 +0000

The Three Kings came and went, but not before passing through New York City to celebrate with hundreds of children that came out for the parade organized by the Museo del Barrio on January 4, an atypically sunny Friday for the month. This Christmas celebration, whose historic and religious background is quite complex (much like Christianity itself), has been a part of the Caribbean and Latin American cultural traditions for numerous centuries.

In Puerto Rico, for example, on the eve of the Three Kings’ visit, children leave grass in a shoebox for the horses of Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar, thanking them for the gifts they will receive the next day. In fact, this tradition has transformed over the years in a very creative way. As such, the kings arrive on horseback, not on camels, and are celebrated with promises [es] carved by santeros (artisans of religious images) that are a source of inspiration and joy.

Without a doubt, the Puerto Rican and Latin American communities that are alive and vibrant in the metropolis that is New York have not stopped celebrating this day with much excitement, especially the children. So much so that the streets of East Harlem were paralyzed to see the passing of the carriages, the magi on stilts, Peruvian dances, capoeira, giant puppets and even two camels that live in a sanctuary in New Jersey.

Here we share a series of photographs taken by Puerto Rican artist Josué Guarionex that show some of the faces he managed to capture amidst all the commotion.

Jesús “Papoleto” Melendez, a poet born and raised in East Harlem, was chosen to be the emeritus king at the parade.

Dancers performing to traditional Peruvian music.

Osvaldo Gómez delighted us with his beautiful presence.

We can almost feel the energy of this band in this photo.

Hundreds of boys and girls with their paper crowns from 106th to 116th Street and Park Avenue.

Distinguished reporter, María Hinojosa, and activist, Angie Rivera, were chosen as the queens for this event.

Fátima Shama, commissioner for the New York Office of Immigrant Affairs, was chosen as one of the queens as well.

Tanya Torres, a Puerto Rican artist residing in East Harlem, was one of the godmothers at the parade, Nadema Agard, Cecilia Gastón, Christine Licata and Sandra Morales-De León.

Walking along the streets of New York with so many children is a tremendous gift.

Students Revisit the Unique Link between Corsica and Puerto Rico

Rakotomalala — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:48:15 +0000

Puerto Rican students visiting the town of Bastia in Corsica, France – via Vallendrea- Public domain

Puerto Rico and Corsica (France) share a common bond that is often revisited by an exchange program led by the university of Puerto Rico [fr]. Notwithstanding their similar geographic and agricultural traits (Cultivation of Corsican Citron), the islands are also link by history when hundreds of Corsicans immigrated to Puerto Rico as early as 1830.

Borinquen Brass Play Music in Every Corner of Puerto Rico

Nina Shield — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:00:27 +0000

They started as a group of five students at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, each playing a different type of horn, who got together to fulfill a chamber music requirement. Today, the brass wind ensemble Borinquen Brass [es] has 13 members, including a percussionist, and six years of experience giving free concerts in different churches and concert halls in Puerto Rico over the Christmas season and the summer.

The group is a rarity in Puerto Rico. Not only are there few active chamber music ensembles in the country, but the members of Borinquen Brass also play without any sort of compensation. Some come from out of the way neighborhoods to rehearse, sometimes driving more than an hour at night after working all day. The ensemble's endeavor is to offer a valuable community and educational service to audiences that otherwise wouldn't have access to this kind of music, which is normally heard only in concert halls particularly near San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and main cultural hub. The group plays in towns across the island, and tries to play as often as possible outside of San Juan.

I had the opportunity to speak with Professor Rafael Enrique Irizarry, the group's director, and Felipe Rodríguez, one of its founding members, who was recently selected as First Trumpet for the Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico [es], about the work that Borinquen Brass does, their plans for the future, and how a group like theirs has successfully used social networking.

Borinquen Brass at its 2011 Christmas concert in the prestigious Pablo Casals Symphony Hall at the Luis A. Ferré Fine Arts Center. Admission to the concert was completely free. Photo taken from Borinquen Brass's Facebook page.

Rafael Enrique Irizarry (REI): Yo pienso que la piedra fundacional de este conjunto ha sido la voluntad de servicio libre de interés pecuniario. Y eso le ha imprimido a todos los miembros del grupo —y eso es muy raro, no son cinco, son trece personas— le ha imprimido al grupo que lo importante no es hacerlo por el dinero, lo importante es el deseo de hacerlo bien, hacerlo por el placer de hacerlo bien, y compartir eso con los demás. Por supuesto que, como todo en la vida, pues, hay una faceta estrictamente práctica. Para él [Felipe], como primera trompeta de la Sinfónica, y los demás compañeros esto es una forma de mantener un acondicionamiento estrictamente mecánico de tocar —punto— al igual que es la exposición continua, lo que llaman en teatro la tabla escénica, que se va puliendo y perfeccionando en esta exposición. Pero no quepa la menor duda que en este grupo el tejido unificador es la gratificación de hacerlo porque nos gusta.

Rafael Enrique Irizarry (REI): I think that the foundation of this group has been its willingness to provide a service separate from any financial interests. And that is the outlook of every member of the group—and that's quite unusual, since it's not just five, it's thirteen people—the outlook of the group is that what's important is not doing it for money, what's important is the desire to do it well, and to share it with everyone. Of course, like everything in life, well, there's a strictly practical side. For him [Felipe], as First Trumpet of the Symphony, and for the other members, this is a way to maintain a strictly mechanistic playing ability—period—as well as continuous exposure, what they call in theatre a platform, to keep polishing and refining their ability in this setting.

Borinquen Brass is one of the ensembles to most successfully harness the potential of social networks, something that the genre of what is called “classical music” has largely been unable to do in Puerto Rico. Both men said that the group's success in self-promotion is due in large part to the possibilities offered by social networks and the way in which they help bring musicians closer to their audience, a closeness which may be lacking in a concert hall.

Felipe Rodríguez (FR): Facebook ha sido básico, esencial. Nosotros, tan pronto confirmamos una fecha, ya creamos el evento. [...] Este año añadimos video, [...] habíamos grabado algunas presentaciones [...] y entonces hicimos algo decente, un video de varias selecciones. […] También tenemos la cuenta de YouTube, que es bastante reciente —la de Facebook es mucho más antigua, ya lleva varios años que la tenemos— pues entonces, con la de YouTube [...] no es que nos hemos sentado a preparar un video, sino que nos hemos aprovechado de grabar los eventos que hemos hecho en vivo. […] Cuando se apaga la temporada, pues se apaga un poco el uso de la página, aunque sí la hemos usado para postear videos viejos que hemos encontrado. […] Tan pronto acabamos los conciertos, siempre aparecen entonces los saludos, los agradecimientos, de gente que uno ni conoce [...]. Y pues, así vamos creando el público.

Felipe Rodríguez (FR): Facebook [es] has been fundamental, essential. As soon as we confirm a concert date, we create an event…. This year we added video… we had taped some performances… and then we put together something decent, a video of various clips…. We also have a YouTube [es] channel, which is fairly recent—our Facebook page is much older, we've had it for several years—so with YouTube… it's not that we sat down to make a video, just that we've been able to record the events that we've done live…. When the season is over, we use the page less, but we do keep using it to post old videos that we've found…. As soon as a concert ends, the greetings and thank-you's always appear from people we don't know… And so that's how we're creating an audience.

REI: Hemos tenido dos compromisos cruciales en la Sala Sinfónica en que no hemos dependido de publicidad de prensa escrita ni la publicidad comprada y particularmente [en] el de Navidad [del año pasado], la sala estaba básicamente a capacidad […]. Y es obvio que Facebook, particularmente, tiene un alcance que por momentos, puede ser insospechado.

REI: We have had two important performances in the Symphony Hall for which we haven't relied on promotion in print media or on paid advertising, and the Christmas concert [last year] in particular was completely at capacity…. And it's clear that Facebook especially has a reach that at times can go beyond one's expectations.

FR: Cuando empezó el quinteto como tal, la primera página que abrimos fue la de MySpace. La página existe todavía. […] Lo interesante de esa página de MySpace es que se prestó para hacer contacto con otras agrupaciones internacionales, incluso de España. Me acuerdo que tuve algún contacto, algunas conversaciones, con completamente desconocidos, jóvenes también, que estaban estudiando en universidades en España, tenían su quinteto de metales también.

When the quintet began as such, the first page we set up was on MySpace [es]. The page still exists…. What's interesting is that the MySpace page let us contact other international groups, including from Spain. I remember that I had some interactions, some conversations, with complete strangers, also young people, who were studying in Spanish universities and also had a horn quintet.

Regarding future goals for the group, Felipe makes it clear that independently of any plans they may have, the principle they will follow is their commitment to serve:

FR: Parte de la vision o la misión que tenemos como grupo es seguir sirviendo.[…] Pero la idea es que siga siendo un servicio a la comunidad. […] Aquí mismo en Puerto Rico, y esta es mi opinión muy personal, todavía nosotros tenemos, cuatrienio tras cuatrienio, que explicarle a los políticos, que explicarle a la gente, por qué es importante la Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico; imagínate un conjunto de metales, que no es una tradición aquí. Nuestra misión es esa, es convertir esto en una tradición […] y crear espacios para otros que van a venir detrás de nosotros.

FR: Part of our vision or mission as a group is to continue to serve…. But the idea is to stay as a community service…. Here in Puerto Rico, and this is my personal opinion, we still have, as governments come and go, to explain to the politicians, to explain to the people, why the Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico is important; imagine a brass ensemble, which is not traditional here. Our mission is that, to make that a tradition… and to create a space for those who will come after us.

He also spoke about his goal to commission works by Puerto Rican composers:

FR: Cada uno hemos aportado para crear un minifondo, y de ese minifondo hemos trabajado en vías de otra meta que tenemos, que es comisionar obras para esta agrupación a compositores puertorriqueños. […] Y esa es la meta, seguir promocionando, tanto esta agrupación a la comunidad para que el pueblo de Puerto Rico la descubra, y a la misma vez también promocionando la comisión de obras nuevas para grupos, así sea folclórica, así sea de música clásica puertorriqueña como tal, para grupos [de vientos metales], así que eso es parte del compromiso.

FR: Each of us have contributed to the creation of a mini-fund, and with this mini-fund we have worked on another goal of ours, which is to commission works for this ensemble by Puerto Rican composers…. And that's the goal, to continue promoting both this group among the community so the people of Puerto Rico can discover it, as well as commissioning new works for groups, of folk music, of classical Puerto Rican music as such, for [brass wind] groups, so that's part of our charter.

Lastly, Professor Irizarry noted with satisfaction what is to him an indisputable sign of their success:

REI: Ahora mismo hay alumnos del Conservatorio que tienen ilusión de sentarse a tocar aquí algún día. ¿Qué más hace falta?

REI: Now there are students in the Conservatory who dream of playing here one day. ¿What more do we need?

*Photo taken from Borinquen Brass‘s [es] Facebook page.