The New York Public Library’s premier Puerto Rican/Latino Cultural Center—The Bronx Library Center—kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month withPioneros II: Puerto Ricans in New York City 1948–1998, an exhibit from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. The exhibit is based on the bookby the same title by Virginia Sánchez Korrol (Professor emerita at Brooklyn College) and Pedro Juan Hernández (Archivist at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College).
Following World War II, there was a mass migration of Puerto Ricans to New York. The book/exhibit features images and text which documents “their stories and struggles, culture and values, entrepreneurship, and civic, political, and educational gains. The Puerto Rican community's long history and achievements opened pathways for the city's newer Latino immigrant communities.”
Hispanic Heritage Week was first observed in the United States in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988 it was extended to Hispanic Heritage Month spanning September 15 to October 15 by President Ronald Reagan. Hispanic Americans are those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
According to the US Census Bureau, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the US. Approximately 16% of the US population is of Hispanic origin.
In additional to the exhibit running through Nov. 15, the Bronx Library Center will host the following events:
- September 15 at 2 pm – Film Screening: I Like It Like That
- September 22 at 2 pm – Film Screening: West Side Story
- September 29 at 2 pm - Film Screening: Una Aventura Llamada Menudo
- October 4 at 6 pm – Lecture: History of Latinos in the Bronx by Angel Hernandez, Society Educator at the Bronx Historical Society
- October 6 at 2 pm – Film Screening: Pinero
- October 7 at 6:30 pm – Author Talk/Book Signing - Pioneros II: Puerto Ricans in New York City 1948-1998 by Virginia Sánchez Korrol and Pedro Juan Hernández. Sponsored by the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College
- October 16, 10-1 pm: Hispanic Family History Fair - a series of genealogy workshops by the Hispanic Genealogical Society of New York
- October 16 at 2:30 pm – Ivo Tirado Jr. and the Bronx Charanga in Concert
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Bronx Library Center at 718-579-4244.