The Clemente Center in the spirit of celebrating “Boricuas de Corazón” is thrilled to continue collaborating with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and its board of directors to bring this annual cultural event bridging the Puerto Rican contributions and legacies in the island and its diaspora to the Lower East Side. We are grateful for this year's support from our LES neighbors, Grand St. Settlement, for hosting us at their newly renovated facilities at 80 Pitt St. NYC, 10002
The event will start at 2:00 PM and there will be light refreshments served and music played.
Join us in sharing and celebrating from the expression, imagination, and creativity of three distinguished Honorees of this year’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade: Boricuas de Corazón:
📚Ana Teresa Toro - An award-winning author whose work delves into history, culture, and social justice through fiction and non-fiction.
🌌 Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced - A trailblazing sonic astrophysicist redefining how we explore the universe and advocating for inclusion in science.
🎭 Pedro Adorno and Cathy Vigo - The creative minds behind Agua, Sal y Sereno, preserving and promoting Puerto Rican art and culture for over 30 years.
All families and members of the community join us in this free event.
Any event inquiries email: info@theclementecenter.org
Biography of the speakers
Ana Teresa Toro is a Puerto Rican writer and journalist dedicated to exploring, through fiction and non-fiction, topics related to the contemporary history of Puerto Rico, Caribbean, Hispanic American, and Latin cultures, colonialism, feminism, racism, and the word itself as a tool for social action. She is the author of the books: "Flora Animal" (poetry), "Cartas al Agua" (novel), "Las Narices de los Perros" and "El Cuerpo de la Abuela" (chronicles), "Un Cuerpo Propio: 40 Años de Taller Salud" (history) and "Vida, Patria y Verdad: Alejandro García Padilla in Conversation with Journalist Ana Teresa Toro" (journalism). She is co-author of the book "Somos Más: Crónicas del Verano del 19" (chronicle) and the book "Parir es Partirse" (essay). Her work has been compiled in anthologies in Mexico, Argentina, Germany, Venezuela, Colombia, the United States, Spain, and Puerto Rico. In 2023, she published a book of essays titled "Palabras para un Flamboyán".
Pedro Adorno and Cathy Vigo have worked tirelessly to preserve and promote Puerto Rican art and culture. They founded the collective Agua, Sol y Sereno (ASYS) and, for the past 30 years, have served as artistic directors for numerous theatrical works, artistic workshops, musical and dance ensembles, and more. They are the creators of the iconic “cabezudos” that are part of the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián and were featured in Bad Bunny’s opening performance at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards.
Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced, from Gurabo, Puerto Rico, completed a PhD at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, where she wrote a thesis on the use of audio to analyze astrophysical plasmas. She works with astrophysics, astroparticle, and gravitational wave phenomena using sound. She maintains active collaborations with universities and research centers in Paris, Leuven, Athens, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the European Gravitational Observatory in Pisa, among others. Wanda also advocates for inclusion and has designed the first multisensory mainstream astrophysics and cosmology university course, which she teaches to students with disabilities. She has been recognized for her work in science equity, including mentions on the BBC's list of 7 trailblazing women in science alongside Marie Curie.