In the morning of August 20 upwards of 60 people convened at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (NMPRAC) on Division St. and Humboldt Blvd. for a breakfast to before the second day of the Democratic National Convention. People came from more than 10 states and Puerto Rico.
In the museum’s courtyard gathered notable Puerto Rican figures in politics, art, and organizing across the Diaspora. The Puerto Rican Cultural Center Executive Director and co-founder José E. López introduced the event by sharing some words about the legacy of former congressman and community organizer, Luis Guitiérrez’s organizing in the neighborhood and the legacy of The PRCC to create the historic Barrio Borikén.
Shortly after the breakfast event kicked off, attendees enjoyed sweet and savory Puerto Rican delicacies from Chucheria’s, Nellie’s, and Reina´s cakes, which were the local vendors featured at the museum. López then introduced Billy and Verónica Ocasio who are the President and Director of Education of NMPRAC respectively.
Verónica kicked off the meeting by discussing the needs of the community and why the museum exists in the first place. She said, “It’s about the collective. I would like to thank our staff here who are around here in this building.
The volunteers. This is not our museum, this is your museum, so we welcome you to your museum and please enjoy and visit all of our exhibits.”
López followed them by focusing on the self-determination of Puerto Rico and the lack of recognition of it by the Democratic Party. He said, “We are here because we want to say that someone can want Puerto Rico to be a state, someone can want Puerto Rico to be an independent nation, someone can want Puerto Rico to be a free associated state, but no one has the right to impose on us what choice we should make.”
As López finished, the elected officials gathered in the front of the courtyard for a press conference hosted by #Power4PuertoRico’s Director, Erica González. She moderated the conference introducing each guest and their integral role in fighting for the self-determination of Puerto Rico.
