When Congressman Luis Gutierrez was a teenager in Puerto Rico, he became involved in the independence movement for his home country. It’s a battle he’s taken all the way to his job in Washington, where he represents Illinois’ 4th District in Chicago.
He brought a bit of that movement to Real Art Ways in Hartford last week. During an interview we recorded for WNPR’s Where We Live, Gutierrez took time from his impassioned pitch for immigration reform to mention a key symbol of the struggle for independence. “There is somebody in jail who has sacrificed a lot so that Puerto Ricans can live freer,” Gutierrez told the crowd. “Oscar López Rivera is the longest (held) political prisoner in the United States of America. And I’m going to continue to work with everybody here until Oscar returns home to his community. He believes in independence and the freedom of his nation. It’s time he be released from jail, too.” Read teh complete story here.
