Historical & Social Roots

by Francisco G. Gómez August of 2007: my excitement was on overload as my friend D ( Dean Warren Schomburg ) and I caught a flight to Cancun and then another ride to Habana. It had been fifty plus years since I had visited the island when it was still […]

A Taste of Racism in Old Habana – 2007

 in Community & Collaboration / Cuba / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Race Relations / Raíces Cultural Exchange  tagged African American / Afro-Cuban / Afro-Puertorican / Cuba / Dean Warren Schomburg / Francisco G Gómez / Habana / Libertad y Amen / negro / negros / Old Habana / Patria y Vida / People of Color / race / racism by
by Francisco G. Gómez If you love the AfroBoricua music of Puerto Rico or the music of the Balkans, you would have made it a point not to have missed a phenomenal fusion of barrilles, sousaphone, cuá, violin, maraca, trumpet, dance and accordion on February 8th at Hostos Community College […]

Balkan Meets Bomba

 in Arts & Culture / Community & Collaboration / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Puerto Rico  tagged balkanbomba / balkans / Bomba / bombazo dance company / bronx art ensemble / hostos community college / mary ann mcsweeney / milteri tucker concepción / noele phillips / opa cupa by
by Francisco G. Gómez The Day of the Dead goes by many names, Día de los muertos, Day of the Ancestors, Day of the Egún, All souls Day and many other names, I imagine. For us who are from the Caribbean, or closely situated in that region by location, cultural […]

Day of the Dead Celebration

 in Community & Collaboration / Cuba / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Puerto Rico / Spirituality  tagged all souls day / ancestor worship / Ancestors / day of the dead / día de los muertos / Egun / egungun / spiritual / spiritual worship by
by Francisco G. Gómez Interested in boricua history, especially legends? Here’s a story that’s rather interesting. It’s the legend of Yuiza and her possible connection to the Afro/Taíno people of Loíza. On our first relief  assistance trip to Puerto Rico, four months after hurricane María reeked havoc on the island, […]

Of Taíno Queens and the Legend of Yuiza

 in Arts & Culture / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Puerto Rico / Race Relations / Raíces Cultural Center Updates  tagged bohio / Bomba / boricua / borikén / cacique / conquest of puertro rico / conquistadores / Hurricane María / loíza / loíza aldea / los ayalas / marco ayala / pedro mejías / Puerto Rico / samuel lind / spain / spaniards / spanish crown / taíno / tite curet alonso / vejigantes / yuiza by
by Francisco G. Gómez “Casa Pueblo is a project of community self management with the commitment to value and protect natural resources, both cultural and human. It was born in 1980 when the government of Puerto Rico wanted to initiate mining exploitation of silver, gold and copper on 17 sites. […]

Casa Pueblo and the Posterriqueño – Innovations in 21st Century ...

 in Arts & Culture / Community & Collaboration / Cultural Traditions / Eco-Culture / Historical & Social Roots / Puerto Rico / Sustainable Disaster Relief  tagged adjuntas / AEE / alexis massol gonzález / Casa Pueblo / Elma Beatriz Rosado / La Respuesta - A Magazine to (Re)Imagine the Boricua Diaspora / LED / Light Emitting Diode / posterriqueño / prepa / Puerto Rico / solar / solar energy / Tinti Deyá Díaz / universidad de puerto rico - recinto mayagüez by
by Francisco G. Gómez I couldn’t think of a better way to begin to share my experiences in Puerto Rico after the catastrophe that hurricane María brought upon the island, than to start with the thoughts of a young Puertorican woman who is a true eco-warrior and part of the […]

Reflections in the Aftermath of Hurricane María

 in Community & Collaboration / Eco-Culture / Historical & Social Roots / Puerto Rico / Sustainable Disaster Relief  tagged casa mi finca / Casa Pueblo / colonization / copi / Departamento de la Comida / disaster relief / ecology / Hurricane María / juntos together / organic agriculture / Plenitud Eco-Educational Initiatives / Puerto Rican Relief Fund / Puerto Rico Sustainable Disaster Relief / Puertorican Nationalism / seeds / solar energy / sustainability / tainasoy apiaries / trauma / wind energy by
On March 10, 2017, Raíces EcoCulture participated in the Native Nations Rise March on Washington. We do not have many words to share about this march, we were there as allies with and for those whose land was stolen. It was a sad and somber gathering, the pain of centuries […]

Native Nations Rise March on Washington, March 10, 2017

 in Eco-Culture / Historical & Social Roots / Photos  tagged azteca / culture / earth justice / indigenous / Isaac Murdoch / Native Nations Rise / thunderbird woman / Tulsi Gabbard / Washington D.C. / Water Is Life / water protectors by
by Francisco G. Gómez Since the Republicans took power a little over a month ago, the issues of illegal immigration have dominated the political landscape in an unprecedented way. Even if you attempt to turn a blind eye  to the constant media reports because you’re so sick of hearing, seeing and […]

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS: UNDERGROUND IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

 in Arts & Culture / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Race Relations  tagged human trafficking / illegal aliens / immigrant communities / immigration / underground immigrant communities / undocumented immigrants by
by Francisco G. Gómez Last Sunday, January 22nd we attended a wonderful ceremony at the Split Rock Sweet Water Prayer Camp in Mahwah, N.J.. It turned out to be a real treat because of the unexpected presence of Sophia Wilansky, the young woman who was severely injured after she was […]

Split Rock Sweet Water Prayer Camp Ceremony

 in Community & Collaboration / Cultural Traditions / Historical & Social Roots / Spirituality  tagged aim pipeline extension / black snake / chief dwaine perry / christina dioguardi scott / dakota access pipeline / defend the sacred / first nations people / huichol indians / lenape / lenape indians / mahwah new jersey / nodapl / pilgrim pipeline / ramapogh indians / Ramapough / Ramapough Lenape / Ramapough Lunaape / sophia wilansky / Split Rock Prayer Camp / Split Rock Sweet Water Prayer Camp / stop pilgrim pipeline / stopspectra / Water Is Life by
by Francisco G. Gómez As a non believer in any heritage month celebration,  it is imperative that I share this with our readers. It’s only during these periods that the achievements and accomplishments of outstanding and extraordinary visionaries emerge on the cultural landscape. This reality has always been rather disturbing […]

Hidden Figures

 in Historical & Social Roots / Race Relations  tagged 1960's Space Race / African American history / African American women / African History Month / Black history / civil rights movement / discrimination / Dorthy Vaughn / John Glen / Katherine Johnson / Martin Luther King / Mary Jackson / mathematics / minority aeronautical engineering / minority computer science / minority mathematicians / MLK / NASA / racism by