by Edy Scripps, photographs by Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi
In Oakland on September 26, a sold-out crowd celebrated Grito de Lares at La Peña Cultural Center. As they have for decades. Puerto Ricans and their allies celebrated the culture, resilience and resistance of the Puerto Rican nation and paid tribute to Susana Praver- Perez, a longtime activist and poet who helped lead the Grito celebrations. Over $8,000 dollars was raised to benefit the Cooperativa de Vivienda La Torre de Sofia, a housing cooperative that is organizing against the land grab of the protected zone Escencia near Rio Piedras by U.S. interests.
Poets, musicians and speakers brought their fullest humanity to the program, reminding us all that we are part of an international anticolonial movement built on love and resistance.
Musicians including Madeleine Zayas, Ito Carrillo, Pedro Pastrana, John Santos and Jenaro Alberto Abraham filled the room with rhythm and heart. Poets including Avotja, Rico Pabon, and Pablo Paredes built on the message of love and courage.
From UC Berkeley PHD Students Alex Maya-Romero, Wilfredo Ortiz, and Hector Torres Vera, taught us about the water struggle on the island, the impact of US military, and showed how the diaspora can contribute to the struggle to free Puerto Rico.
Poets including Avotja, Rico Pabón, Pablo Paredes, Susana Praver-Perez in memoriam, brought their fiercest poetry to the audience as we closed out the evening, singing La Borinqueña, fists in the air.
A few days later, fists were up again as Puerto Rican activists Kahlil Jacobs and Eli Fantauzzi and other East Bay community organizations presented the 15th annual Fist Up Film Festival at La Pena. Films highlighted acts of local resistance, community building and reclaiming history in the US and Caribbean. On the closing night a sold out crowd was inspired by the short historical drama “Mataron A Pedro”, a reenactment of the life and death of Pedro Albizu Campos.
The festival’s slogan “A good film can change your life” was felt in the collective energy in the room.
Jenaro Alberto Abraham, PIP activist and Grito performer expressed the feeling in his appreciation to the Grito event organizers, and community:
“It is thanks to our beloved diaspora that the flame of independence, and of its sister struggles, is still alive.” “Que Viva Puerto Rico Libre!”
