Vecinos, únanse al Loisaida Center para celebrar nuestro 3er Festival Anual de la Herencia Hispana del Lower East Side en Dry Dock Park y Playground, completamente gratis y abierto a nuestra comunidad.
¡Habrá juegos de baloncesto juvenil, música en vivo y entretenimiento, comida hispana, vendedores locales, arte, manualidades, mesas de dominó abiertas, recursos comunitarios y mucho más!
Wear a face covering when visiting Loisaida, Inc. Center. If you do not have a face covering, one will be provided to our guests.
COVID-19 Face Coverings: Frequently Asked Questions.
Dear guests,
Please email info@loisaida.org to schedule a visit to our center. Note that visiting hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM (EST).
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we ask that you review the following “If/Then” guidelines to ensure the safety of our staff and other visitors. The Loisaida, Inc. Center space, activity rooms, courtyards, gallery, project space and special exhibitions are open to individuals and by appointment for groups larger than 5 persons. Our regular business hours for guests are Monday to Friday, from 11:00AM to 5:00PM. We encourage large groups to make advanced reservations by emailing info@loisaida.org. In-person program/site access is subject to change, in accordance with city and state health authorities and protocols.
We ask all individuals entering our space to comply with the Covid-19 Precautionary Measures. Please review these in advance of your visit.
Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to welcoming you back at Loisaida Center.
Alejandro E. Torres
Executive Director
Loisaida Inc. Arts & Culture Center
We are Puerto Rican artists living in New York who have collaborated extensively with eco-conscious nonprofit organizations, journalists and media.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria we conducted a quick assessment of needs and have assembled a list of immediate relief items focusing on portability, reuse, waste reduction and effectiveness in off grid situations.
We took this terrible situation as an opportunity to rebuild in sustainable ways, especially given the dilapidated & dangerous state of the island’s waste management which has produced toxic ashes in now hurricane stricken areas.
Visit EcoKitPuertoRico.org
You can help by fulfilling orders here. These resources will be delivered and shipped from our Center directly to trusted sources on the island.
Place an order for items on the ‘NEEDS LIST’ page
Ship items to our pick up center:
Eco-Kits Duffle Help
Loisaida Inc. Center
710 East 9th Street
New York, NY 10009
Sorted items are immediately given to our volunteer travelers.
Eco-kits get picked up at airports in Puerto Rico by our contacted community coordinators and delivered to the following list of grass-roots organizations:
Iser Caribe is our fiscal sponsor, a non profit ecological organization based in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Loisaida Inc. Center, extending its support to the Puerto Rican community is housing our drop-off and pickups in its Lower East Side Location.
Creatives Mean Business, supporting with communications, and design needs.
Beneficiary Organizations in Puerto Rico, these organizations are the grass-roots recipients so far of the Pre-Assembled Kits:
Taller Salud
Casa Ruth
ASPPRO
Overseas Press Club
Comedores Sociales de Puerto Rico
Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
Asociación de Foto Periodista de Puerto Rico
Casa Pueblo
Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico
Boricuá: Asociación Boricua de Agricultura Ecológica
Farmer Foot Brigades
Colectivo Vueltabajo
Colectivo AgroEcologico Guayabacherry
Galeria Betances
Ridge to Reefs
Biblioteca Juvenil de Mayaguez
Planeta Feliz
Noche de Filin & Bohemia
Thursday, November 17th at 8:00 pm
Suggested donation of $10
710 East 9th Street New York, NY 10009
The Loisaida Inc. Center will revive the romantic times with the oldies: Anibal Ayala and Alma Adentro will be presenting a classic repertoire from Silvia Rexach to El Topo. The evening will include a special tribute to the romantic music of our Quisqueya brothers and sisters. Presented as part of 2016 BORIMIX Festival.
Lite refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by: AgeWell Health Plans
San Juan Noir Anthology Launches Amidst Puerto Rican Debt Crisis
San Juan Noir is an unprecedented volume of contemporary Puerto Rican fiction edited by renowned author Mayra Santos-Febres, creator of Puerto Rico’s Festival de la Palabra which its New York edition will be celebrated at Loisaida Inc. Center this same weekend.
She’ll be attending this special New York City launch, alongside anthology contributors Charlie Vázquez, Wilfredo Burgos Matos and Manuel Meléndez—as part of Festival de la Palabra. This will take place at the Loisaida Center on Friday, October 28th at 7:00p.m.
Publisher Akashic Books will be on-hand to sell both Spanish-language and English-language copies of this breakthrough volume of Puerto Rican crime fiction, which features writers from the island and the diaspora. The Loisaida Inc. Center is located at 710 E 9th Street, NY, NY 10009.
“Puerto Rico is often portrayed as sandy beaches, casinos, luxury hotels, relaxation, and never-ending pleasure,” Santos-Febres says. “But the financial downturn of 2008 hit us hard and as in many crises, art, music, and literature have also flourished. We have responded to our crisis with many stories to tell. In these times, many of those stories are noir.”
The fifteen stories compiled in San Juan Noir have been published in both Spanish and English editions and were written by Ernesto Quiñones, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, José Rabelo, Luis Negrón, Ana María Fuster Lavín, Janette Becerra, Manolo Núñez Negrón, Tere Dávila, Edmaris Carazo and Alejandro Álvarez Nieves. Come celebrate this historic moment…
Info: info@loisaida.org
Book cover:
Workshop Dates:
Concept:
“Garbagia Island” is a dystopian representation of the Island of Puerto Rico and it’s current economical and political situation. The story goes along the lines of pirates arriving to an island full of trash, and discovering magical creatures made out of garbage. What it seemed to be a simple pile of waste becomes a fantastical tale for the pirates to appreciate. The pirates who are already filled with music and celebration unify forces with the creatures and people living in the island. The moral of the story is creating consciousness and renaming waste into resource and emphasizing people’s creativity as a tool for recovering gradually from the crisis. We will use historical LES “nuyorican” and LES characters like Carmen Pabón, Jorge Brandon, Bimbo Rivas, Pedro Pietri, Sylvia Rivera, Petra Santiago, Chino García, Silvia Rivera, Adam Purple as inspiration.Currently the island of Puerto Rico is facing a huge colonial consequence. The people are finally noticing the impotence and fragility of our economy and political situation. It’s very important now to point out to the solutions, more than the problems or flaws. Similar to the self-help spirit of the early residents/founders of the Loisaida neighborhood, the project will emphasize the history of pirates around the Caribbean and their challenging attitude towards how we re-define either/or dichotomies such as: garbage/ treasure, waste/resource, empty lot/green haven, fiscal crisis/ sustainable opportunity, forced migration & displacement/ community building. This way we use our creative thinking into problem solution and acquire a more optimist view of our situation.
Description:
The summer program will be developed in two weeks during July, creating an open platform for the community to participate in an integration and creative process. We will have open workshops five days a week, for the community and will have arranged visits from summer camps around the Lower East Side. They will all take place between Loisaida Inc.Center and La Plaza Cultural. During the workshops we want to educate the community about re-purposing waste into materials. They can be a tool for developing kids motor skills and adults perspectives and creativity. All the efforts will be directed into the final activity, it will take place at La Plaza Cultural. The activity will be compound of a fashion and creature show. We will have a live pirate band, a pirate host and a DJ. This activity will be a community celebration for the outcome of the workshops and will be open for the public. After the activity we will do a symbolic peregrination to Carmen Pabón re-opend garden as a showing of our support and admiration for Carmen Pabón’s legacy. We want to stand out community awareness of current legal garden’s risk and motivate people to take action in democratic process.
Outcome of the Summer Program:
The Summer Program will be composed of a two-week intensive open workshop accessible for the public. There will be five directed workshops for Summer Camps or School groups. Screening projections and other audiovisual material for educational purposes about the history and important people in the Loisaida (Lower East Side) Community. Then we will have the final activity open for the public were we will show a pirate fashion and creatures made out of recycled materials. It will all end with a symbolic peregrination to the Carmen Pabón garden.
Screening projections and other audiovisual material for educational purposes about the history and important people of the Loisaida (Lower East Side) Community. Then we will have the final activity on Saturday, July 30th at La Plaza Cultural Garden also open to the public. We will show a pirate fashion show and puppet creatures made out of recycled materials, then it will all end with a symbolic peregrination to the Carmen Pabón garden.
Pedagogical benefits:
Participants will develop a socio-political approach and learn about crucial contributors to the history of LES through active participation. This will be directed with a pedagogical perspective into recreating what important key people (yet invisible to the mainstream narrative) did for the neighborhood. This will create awareness into reusing waste and reconstructing its concept into resource. Also pointing out the use of communal spaces for the benefit of the community. We will like to empower participants to be active in their communities. The art workshops are beneficial for trans-generational bonding, mental health, motor skills and cognitive development in younger participants. Infusing the creative act with social contemporary issues at stake in the neighborhood and the larger world of many residents, creates empathy, conviviality and a sense of agency to make a difference.
Overview: The Summer Program will be composed of a two-week intensive open studio workshop accessible to the public; Weekdays 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm from July 11th – 29th. There will be five directed workshops for Summer Camps or School groups; Dates are Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm from July 16th – 29th. Contact info@loisaida.org to schedule your group visit.
Pedagogical benefits: Participants will have a political approach to the history of LES by active participation. This will be directed with a pedagogical perspective into recreating what important people did for the neighborhood. This will create awareness into reusing waste and reconstructing its concept into resource. Also pointing out the use of communal spaces for the benefit of the community. We will like to empower the people to be active in their communities. The art workshops are beneficial for the mental health, motor skills and development of the participants. Using creativity with political consciousness to create more initiative and active people in the community.
Loisaida’s First Summer Program is made in collaboration with La Plaza Cultural & the Museum of Urban Reclaimed Space
Thursday, December 11th from 7:00pm – 9:00pm
FREE!
The Loisaida Center -710 E 9th Street and Avenue C
With the participation of : Lena Burgos Lafuente, Monxo López, Oscar Montero, Urayoán Noel and Vanessa Perez Rosario
Proud to present an all-star panel of specialists on De Burgos and diasporic poetry, part of the public programming for La Casita de Julia – a commissioned multimedia installation by Dey Hernández Vázquez now on view.
