Laura Glesby Photos
Emcee Kica Matos: “Beautiful” transfer of power on the island.
In the hours after Ricardo Rosselló resigned as governor of Puerto Rico, the spirit of the protests that led to his fall from grace echoed inside Amarante’s Sea Cliff in Morris Cove on Thursday night, where Puerto Ricans United (PRU) honored four local residents and organizations.
PRU formally recognized Fair Haven Community Health Care, Movimiento Cultural, William and Anaika Ocasio, and Hon. Gladys Nieves at its annual gala, which doubled as a fundraiser. Since 2015, PRU has run an annual Puerto Rican Day Festival on the Green; this year’s festival will take place on Aug. 10. Guests Thursday night bought tickets and participated in a silent auction (pictured) to raise money for the organization.
The organization is explicitly devoted to celebrating Puerto Rican culture. “As a cultural organization, we try not to get into politics,” said PRU president Joe Rodriguez.
On Thursday, excitement about the power of the protests to bring about Rosselló‘s resignation reverberated throughout the night.
“We’ve been glued to the television,” said Taylor, a key organizer of the banquet. “It doesn’t matter where you are. We are all feeling this.”
“It felt very uncomfortable to organize an event to celebrate our culture without making a statement,” Rodriguez said. “As a Puerto Rican cultural organization, we have a responsibility to educate, to stand up.”
Emcee Kica Matos expressed “how beautiful it was to have a peaceful revolution.” When she spoke about the governor’s resignation at the mic, the room erupted into claps and cheers.
“This is a great night to celebrate Puerto Ricans,” said guest Gerry Garcia, an economic development officer working for the city, referring to Rosselló‘s resignation. “It’s a historic night.”
Rosselló has been criticized in part for a slow response and flippant attitude towards victims of Hurricane Maria, the devastating storm that struck Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in September of 2017. On Thursday night, PRU honored a New Haven-based organization and a pair of volunteers who devoted their resources to helping those victims recover from the storm.
The Community Non-Profit Award went to Fair Haven Community Health Care, an organization founded in 1971 that runs clinics throughout Greater New Haven.
As CEO Suzanne Lagarde accepted the award, she recalled the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
“So many of our staff had friends, loved ones” who were endangered by the hurricane, Lagarde said. Fair Haven Community Health Care collaborated with Junta for Progressive Action to provide tireless relief to the thousands of refugees who arrived in Connecticut after the hurricane.
William and Anaika Ocasio received the Community Service Award for their volunteer work organizing donations after Hurricane Maria struck. Anaika was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Haven at age 12. She owns a locally-based massage company, The Serene Spot, while William works at the U.S. Postal Service.
William Ocasio spoke to the crowd about the “miracles of when we got together as a city to unite for Puerto Rico” after the hurricane.
“They’re what we call silent doers,” Rodriguez said.
PRU also recognized Gladys Nieves, who received a standing ovation as she stepped up to accept her Chair Award, for her work as a family support magistrate for the State of Connecticut.
“As a Latina, to be able to put a face to the judicial system that a lot of officials don’t see … I take great pride,” she said, “but I know that it’s a duty, a responsibility.”
Her proudest accomplishment as a magistrate has been “being able to look my parents in the face and tell them their hard work has paid off,” she said.
PRU’s Arts and Culture Award went to Movimiento Cultural, a grassroots arts organization dedicated to promoting Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance. Movimiento Cultural performs while also running arts classes for people of all ages.
Kevin Diaz, the group’s founder, explained that Bomba — the group’s signature form of dance and music — is a centuries-old art form that African slaves in Puerto Rico practiced. The dance has always been an expression of identity and resistance, he said.
Near the end of the night, the group performed songs and dances mostly in the Bomba style.
On the dance floor, dancers swirled their skirts and turned in circles, while musicians drummed and sang, improvising in response to one another.
“It’s a communication between the drummer and the dancer,” Diaz said, referring to Bomba.
Captivated by the dance, guests whipped out their cell phone cameras to capture the moment.
Miss Puerto Rico (Genevie Bermudez), Miss Preteen Puerto Rico (Tania Trinidad), and Little Miss Puerto Rico (Jasleen Caez) made an appearance. They were the winners of Hartford’s Miss Puerto Rico Cultural Pageant, which required each of them to learn about and present on a Puerto Rican town.
In a surprise announcement, Rodriguez called up a former colleague from his days serving on the Board of Education — rising senior at Metropolitan Business Academy Nico Rivera. Rodriguez presented Rivera, a student representative on the Board of Ed, with a piece of artwork and a Certificate of Special Recognition from Richard Blumenthal.
“As a young man, he has so much on his shoulders,” Rodriguez said. Rivera hopes to attend West Point Military Academy after graduation. His grandfather, father, cousins, and older sister have all served in the military.
“Growing up, I always thought, ‘What’s better than being Puerto Rican?’” Rivera, whose socks matched the colors of the Puerto Rican flag, said. He was met with a burst of applause.