The sudden passing of master plenero, percussionist, educator, and community leader Héctor René “Tito” Matos Otero left a void in Puerto Rican communities around the globe. Tito lived his life plenamente—every day he practiced, fought for, and rejoiced in plena, an Afro-Puerto Rican musical expression of drums that shares songs of collective community voice. His life’s work reimagined the landscape of plena both on and off the island during a forty-year career that included stops at the Festival and sessions recorded for Smithsonian Folkways.

The art studio of Miguel Trelles at The Clemente in the Lower East Side of Manhattan is as tidy as it is a tightly packed treasure trove of eye-popping Chino Latino landscapes, Mesoamerican pictural fantasies, figurative portraits of Nuyorican writers Piri Thomas, Pedro Pietri, and Miguel Piñero, silk screens of las divas Maria Félix, Sonia Braga, and La Lupe, a queer twist on an iconic poster of Che, and countless sketches revealing an early love of sci fi and superhero comic books.

Beloff’s recent work has been engaged with the connections between the period of her mother’s childhood and our present. Early in 2017, Beloff began a monumental project, Parade of the Old New, which served as a living document of the United States during the four years of the Trump administration. Painted on large 40 x 60-inch sheets of corrugated cardboard, each tableau provides a scene from our most recent past, from the Trump inauguration ceremony to the day Joe Biden was sworn into office. Taken together, Parade of the Old New is over 130 feet in length, providing running commentary on the unrest that has marked the last four years.

A vision came into focus when we found statistics on the plight of the elderly during the pandemic, how social distancing had accelerated their physical and mental decline as well as their mortality rates. Addressing this problem with creative and holistic tools fascinated me as a teacher and program consultant whose work has focused on vulnerable communities such as the undocumented, LGBTQI youth of color, and elders of color.

As New York City emerges slowly from the pandemic, as worries of gun violence in our city rise, we need to talk about a radical reimagining of NYC — one that respects the dignity and humanity of every New Yorker in every neighborhood.

Based on a 1939 poem by Bertolt Brecht (Parade des alten Neuen), filmmaker and artist Zoe Beloff has reimagined the work as Parade of the Old New in the form of a panoramic large-scale mural, drawn and painted over the past four years onto large sheets of cardboard panels that depict an allegory of the United States “body politic” turning animalistic after the presidential elections of 2016.

The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center, Artists Alliance Inc., and the Clemente Residents are pleased to announce the 25th edition of The Clemente Open Studios on Saturday, May 21 from 4-8p and Sunday, May 22, 2022 from 2-6p.

The Latino Media Summit is the destination for celebrating the best in journalism for and by Latinx communities across the U.S. For the first time in two years, the 2022 LMS will return in person, with options to live-stream sessions, for two full days of community, learning, and inspiration in both Spanish and English.

On Friday, April 29, 2022, at The Clemente, City Hall leadership, elected officials, community and cultural organizations, and NYC Speaks joined together to welcome The People's Bus being permanently stationed at The Clemente Center. The People’s Bus is a former Department of Corrections bus used to transport people detained on Rikers Island from 2009 to 2021. It has been transformed, with input from New Yorkers, into a community center on wheels with the purpose of engaging New Yorkers in civic life through beauty and joy.

On Display, an ALL ARTS original series showcasing the critical role cultural organizations can play in shaping public debate and advancing cultural equity, returns this May with host and series producer Stephanie Johnson-Cunningham. Through interviews with museum professionals, cultural workers and artists, the series investigates how cultural institutions address critical issues including climate change, colonialism and the recentering of Black and Indigenous histories and experiences.

LAZO which in Spanish meaning ‘tie’ or ‘link’, is an art collective that brings together artists and related practitioners of Latin American & Caribbean descent to create participatory projects and exhibitions. LAZO’s members are Claudia Cortínez, Rodrigo Moreira, Mauricio Cortes Ortega, and Alva Mooses.

El fundador de la organización de autogestión de Adjuntas fue el ganador del prestigioso premio Goldman hace 20 años

The Clemente, Fourth Arts Block, and Think!Chinatown co-hosted an LES arts and culture townhall with new Councilmember Christopher Marte of Council District 1 Manhattan.

New York City is often touted as the world’s arts capital, but many of those who help shape its vibrant creative ecosystem remain both under-recognized and under-funded.

Alexis Mendoza’s El Futuro Es Ya exhibition at The Clemente Center on the Lower East Side is an Afrofuturist exploration of time and space. The artworks featured in Mendoza’s show span various mediums of sculpture, paintings, and screenprinting, presenting a vision of futurity that is inextricably linked to Black diasporic histories and present realities.

The Clemente is excited to be a partner and advisor of Hue Arts NYC, a mapping initiative and coalition of POC-led arts and culture organizations calling for greater equity and visibility across #NYC! Check out the interactive map and learn more at hueartsnyc.org.

Tito Matos gave voice to an island in crisis.

The Clemente’s 2021 Annual Report.

The country’s cultural scene is in mourning. Puerto Rican percussionist musician Hector “Tito” Matos passed away this morning at the age of 53. For decades, the exponent specialized in promoting two traditional Puerto Rican rhythms: the bomba and the plena.

Three Kings Day profile on CBS New New York