New York League of Puerto Rican Women

 

NEW YORK LEAGUE OF PUERTO RICAN WOMEN, INC.

We are currently accepting applications for our 2021 Scholarships.  These financial awards are granted annually to undergraduate Puerto Rican/ Hispanic women selected for their academic excellence and service to the community.

To be eligible, applicants must comply with all 7 of the requirements listed below,  A completed Scholarship Application form must be mailed to the P. O. Box above, by the deadline date of Monday, May 28, 2021, and an email a copy of the application, in pdf format, must be sent to Eunice_nylprw@yahoo.com, Lynettepm@gmail.com, and Rozmed@aol.com.  Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Must be currently matriculated as an undergraduate student in an accredited institution of higher education, having earned a minimum of 12 accumulated credits.

2. Must have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.0 with no failing grades.

3. Must demonstrate service to the community.

4. Must provide an official college transcript by the deadline date of June 11, 2021.

5. Must provide two (2) letters of recommendation from a professor, college advisor, employer, or supervisor.

6. Must email a 4" by 6" (minimum size) color headshot photo in high resolution, of the applicant in appropriate professional attire, with a neutral background, for inclusion in our Commemorative Gala Journal.  Email the photo to Eunice_nylprw@yahoo.com, Lynettepm@gmail.com, and Rozmed@aol.com.

7. Must be available to attend an interview with our Scholarship Committee.

The Scholarship Committee will review only those applications that comply with all of the above seven (7) requirements.  Essays should be written meticulously, and include the applicant’s educational and career goals.

Applications can be downloaded from our website, or requested via email to the three (3) emails listed above.

Please publicize this information to as many eligible students as possible.  For questions, please contact President Eunice Santiago at (347) 743-6066,  Vice-President Lynette Madera, (917) 806-6790, or Chief Financial Officer Rosalind Reyes-Medina, (917) 432-4043.

Sincerely,
Eunice Santiago, PresidentNew York League of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. www.nylprw.org13TH ANNIVERSARY SCHOLARSHIP GALA
THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2021
MARINA DEL REY IN THE BRONXy. 

Sincerely,  Eunice Santiago, President

For More Information or for a Scholarship Application Please Visit their Website

Download Membership Application at our website:  _www.nylprw.org_
(http://www.nylprw.org/)

NEW YORK LEAGUE OF PUERTO RICAN WOMEN,  INC.
P. O. Box 60337
Brooklyn, NY 11206-0337
https://www.facebook.com/nylprwinc

Ponce - La Perla del Sur

 The city of Ponce in Puerto Rico is one of the most breathtaking destinations in the Caribbean. Also known as “La Perla del Sur” or “The Pearl of the South”, the city is full of lovely neoclassical buildings, decorative colonial homes, and beautiful fountains. The city was founded in 1692 and was Spain’s southern region capital until 1898.

As Puerto Rico's second largest city, it has long been an important trading and distribution center for the Caribbean. Its port, one of the busiest in the Caribbean, has shipped agricultural products, textiles, electrical devices, and rum products around the world. Most visitors from the U.S. mainland travel to the island via flights that land daily at Mercedita International Airport.

 

Museo de la Musica Puertorriqueña

The city is sometimes called the “Museum City” for the large number of historical museums and cultural sites within its borders. The Museum of Puerto Rican Music and a School of Fine Arts are located there. It also holds the Ponce Museum of Art, an American Alliance of Museums’ accredited institution that holds the Caribbean’s most extensive art collection. Another prominent museum is dedicated to the historical development of the city and the people who made the city what it is today.

The beautiful Plaza de las Delicias downtown is seen as the heart of the metropolitan area with its many charming restaurants and shops selling locally made products. The historic Catedral de la Guadalupe stands in the center of the plaza, which also holds the Parque de Bombas museum, a century-old wooden firehouse that was previously the headquarters of the Ponce Fire Corps. Casa Alcaldía (city hall), the oldest colonial building in the city, and the Central Mercedita sugar factory are also located around the plaza.

The most stylish shopping mall in the city is Plaza del Caribe. The mall has six theaters, more than 100 shops, and an extensive restaurant area with a wide variety of local and international offerings. The city is also home to the historic La Perla theatre, which hosts regular performances, shows, and music concerts.

An excursion to the summit of El Vigia Hill gives visitors an amazing view of the city and nearby Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island). Serralles Castle, a beautiful example of Spanish Revival-style architecture built in the 1930s, is located nearby. This former home of the owners of the Don Q rum distillery is now a museum showcasing the history of the sugar and rum industries. Behind the castle is the Jardín Japonés, a stunning nature area containing ponds, trees, and bonsai.

Another fun place to visit is the boardwalk, La Guancha Paseo Tablado, which is a popular entertainment destination lined with restaurants and kiosks, Here, visitors can also find an old lighthouse built in 1887, several pristine beaches for soaking up some sun, and a pier with a regularly scheduled weekend ferry to an enchanting islet. Popular activities there include swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding.

Hacienda Buena Vista is another destination that offers a distinctive insight into Puerto Rican history. This restored coffee plantation hidden between the mountains features a main house, slave quarters, and farm buildings along with exhibits showcasing the practices of the era. In October, group tours are offered where visitors can try their hand at picking coffee beans and roasting them. The famous Salto Vives waterfall is also located nearby.

There are several unique natural areas located a short distance from the city. Visitors can travel about 40 minutes to the Guanica State Forest to see endangered birds or go to the La Parguera Nature Reserve to see monkeys and colorful coral reefs. There is also the El Charco Azul swimming hole and Cayo Aurora, playfully called Gilligan’s Island, for swimming or snorkeling.

No matter what type of vacation you are looking for, “The Pearl of the South” has something interesting to offer. Its amazing architecture, interesting museums, delicious restaurants, and distinctive natural spaces makes it one of the best destinations in the Caribbean for travelers.

Report: Military cleanup in Puerto Rico islands slow-going

 

By DÁNICA COTO

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The reopening of hiking trails and various white-sand beaches on two tiny Puerto Rican islands long used as Navy bombing ranges and now popular with tourists will be delayed more than a decade, according to a federal report released Friday.

Cleanup efforts in Vieques and Culebra led respectively by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue through 2032 at an additional cost of $420 million for a total of $800 million, stated the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

“Substantial work remains,” the report stated. “Challenges include logistics, the islands’ topography and environment, and the safety concerns around handling unexploded munitions. The Navy also faces challenges on Vieques with community distrust of the military handling cleanup efforts.”

So far, crews have removed munition including 32,000 bombs, 12,000 grenades and 1,300 rockets from Vieques, where the U.S. government relocated residents when the Navy began using the island as a training range in the 1940s. Meanwhile, crews have cleared more than 5,000 unexploded ordnances since January 2020 in Culebra, where the military ceased all activities in 1975. An unknown number of munitions remains on both islands located just east of Puerto Rico as teams use tools ranging from machetes to drones to help clean the area.

In addition, the Navy identified perchlorate in the groundwater in at least one site in Vieques, where it operated a training range on 14,500 acres until its closure in 2001. The area was later designated as a Superfund site believed to contain mercury, lead, napalm, depleted uranium and other contaminants.

The GAO said that substantial work remains to be done in one site that covers some 11,500 acres underwater and extends from Vieques’ shoreline to a depth of 10 to 15 feet. Meanwhile, cleanup at 14 of 15 former military sites in Culebra will continue through fiscal year 2031, the agency said.

The report noted, however, that the U.S. Navy expects some 5,000 acres in Vieques might open by 2021 for hiking and other activities.

Overall, the report’s findings are a disappointment to many of those who live in Vieques and Culebra and to Puerto Rico’s government, whose robust tourism sector represents only 7 percent of the U.S. territory’s economy but has remained afloat despite a more than decade-long economic crisis. The beaches that are open in Vieques and Culebra attract tens of thousands of tourists a year, and officials were hoping to increase that number.

According to the GAO report, “(federal) officials told us that the beaches and coastlines present a challenge because some beaches, for example, are open to the public, and closures need to be coordinated with local officials, potentially affecting tourism.”

A couple of locals and tourists have been injured across the years by live munition, including a young girl who was burned after picking up an old shell that contained white phosphorous. Police at the time said officials found six live bombs near the shell.

Another challenge to cleanup efforts is the weather, with officials stating that crews have to sometimes resurvey sites to ensure that a hurricane did not push munitions into a previously cleared site.

The cleanup, in addition to the longtime presence of contaminants on both islands, have angered many locals who blame the U.S. government for their health problems. The Navy has agreed to limit controlled burns to two acres a day, and it expects to start using a closed detonation chamber late this year, something that locals had been requesting for a decade, the GAO said.

The new mayor of Vieques, José Corcino, did not return messages for comment.

The U.S. government has said that past military actions and ongoing cleanup efforts pose no risk, but many have disputed those findings. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a grant to the University of Massachusetts-Boston to launch a three-year assessment of environmental health risks in Vieques.

Puerto Rico to reopen historic church after long restoration

 By DÁNICA COTO  March 12, 2021

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The construction worker stood on his tiptoes and tried to arrange a crown of thorns on a statue of Jesus while architect Jorge Rigau fired a flurry of directions from beneath the ladder.

“Grab it like this and move it just a bit,” he said, motioning with his fingers. “Move it to the right, but don’t lower it.”

It was one of the final touches on a detailed restoration of the second oldest surviving Spanish church in the Americas, whose construction had begun by 1532 on land donated by famous explorer Juan Ponce de León and whose base was erected atop an Indigenous settlement.

The church was built for a Dominican convent where the renowned Spanish priest Bartolomé de las Casas once lived, served as shelter during an attack by the Indigenous Taínos, became Puerto Rico’s first high school and was damaged by a cannonball during the 1898 Spanish-American War in which Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S.

But the San José Church — surpassed in age only by the Spanish cathedral in the neighboring Dominican Republic — was shuttered in 1996 due to serious deterioration. San Juan’s own cathedral dates to 1521, but the original wooden building was destroyed and the current structure dates to 1540.

The $11 million restoration became a personal project for businessman Ricardo González that took nearly two decades to complete. Many thought it would fail due to funding problems, the lack of an original blueprint to provide guidance and widespread deterioration including termites, pigeon droppings and tree roots that had pierced the church’s Gothic-style nave whose ribbed vault was once described as “a grand accomplishment rarely seen outside Europe.”

González, who is active in the Catholic Church, volunteered to help oversee its reconstruction in the early 2000s with permission from Msgr. Roberto González, the archbishop of San Juan. He figured it would take one year to complete.

But as workers probed with radar and laser technology and physically peeled away the church’s layers, they uncovered centuries-old murals and architectural techniques once used by the Romans. Ricardo González realized he faced a deep and lengthy restoration process.

“When we started on that, there was no turning back,” he said.

In 2009, he founded the Patronage of Monuments of San Juan, Inc. to raise more funds for the project. Donations ranged from a couple of quarters to large amounts given by businesses, nonprofit organizations and wealthy Puerto Ricans.

Actor Benicio del Toro joined the pleas for donations as the building was added to the 11 most endangered historic places listed by the U.S. National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For years, tourists and locals had all but given up on being able to once again visit the site.

On a recent visit to the church, González’s eyes teared up.

“Every day I walk through there and get emotional,” he said as he stood on the roof and gestured at the building. “I’ve seen the movie, you know?”

It began, he said, with National Park Service experts showing construction workers how to use lime in accordance with the church’s original workmanship. Workers then had to chip away the concrete that covered the walls of the nearly 17,000-square-foot church bit by bit, in tiny sections to avoid damaging what might be below.

Later, experts were hired from abroad to restore murals and other art, including armored mermaids painted in the corners of one chapel.

The renovation was halted only three times in nearly 20 years: briefly after 2017′s Hurricane Maria, during last year’s pandemic lockdown and in 2008, when the lime supplier temporarily ran out of material.

Rather than face that problem again, González decided the workers — many of them from the Dominican Republic — would learn how to make their own lime, a lengthy process that requires aging the mixture. Instead of horsehair once used to help bind such material, González opted for strips of fiberglass.

They shunned the easier but less authentic concrete used during a prior restoration.

“The cement does not allow the walls to breathe,” he said, noting that humidity played a role in the deterioration of the church, which was built near the ocean atop an Indian settlement at the highest point of San Juan’s historic district, known as Old San Juan.

The church and its walls have survived a lot over the centuries, said Archbishop González, who is not related to the businessman.

“It’s a wonder,” he said as he scanned the church while sitting on one of the pews that will be used for Masses after the opening on March 19.

Restorers intentionally left the church’s history exposed in some areas: centuries-old, clay-colored walls and columns as well as faded murals and a niche that once served as the original confessional. A slightly elevated line inside the church’s entrance outlines the shape of the original roof. The restorers framed the area where the cannonball hit during the 1898 war.

“We let the church talk to you,” Rigau said, adding that visitors “will find witnesses, ghosts, memories, scars.”

But at least one mystery remains. All the figures depicted on the church’s gilded altar have been identified except for one: a woman with flaxen hair in the upper left-hand corner holding a palm frond, which indicates she was a martyr, but offers no other clues.

The young Puerto Ricans returning to the land

Officials Seeking Answers to Puerto Rico Telescope Collapse

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The National Science Foundation said Friday that it could cost up to $50 million just to clean up the debris at a renowned radio telescope that collapsed last year in Puerto Rico, adding that investigations into what caused its cables to fail are still ongoing.

The update is part of a report that the federal agency, which owns the telescope, had to submit to Congress as the investigation continues into the Arecibo telescope. It was until recently the world’s largest radio telescope and was used to study pulsars, detect gravitational waves, search for neutral hydrogen and detect habitable planets, among other things.

The NSF noted that results from the forensic evaluations by engineering firms, including mapping the distribution of debris, won’t be ready until late this year. In addition, the NSF said it asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to launch an independent and expedited study into what caused the telescope to collapse.

“Ensuring safety has continued to be the NSF’s top priority,” the report stated. “This includes not only the safety of personnel on the site, but also the safety of the environment in the area and the need to address concerns about historic and cultural preservation.”

Estimated cleanup costs range from $30 million to $50 million, with crews so far sampling soil and excavating areas contaminated by hydraulic oil. The telescope is located in Puerto Rico’s karst region, which serves as an important water source and contains the island’s richest biodiversity.

The NSF said officials also plan to analyze soil and water and prevent sediment and pollutants from migrating.

Meanwhile, the University of Central Florida, which manages the telescope, is charged with screening the debris to identify any equipment that could be reused or possibly displayed at the site or at another museum.

“All scientific infrastructure that can be utilized is being saved,” the NSF said.

The federal agency said it’s still evaluating whether to repair any damaged technology that could be saved. Some technologies are still in use, including two LIDAR facilities used for upper atmospheric and ionospheric research such as analyzing cloud cover and precipitation data.

The dish was damaged in August when an auxiliary cable snapped and caused a 100-foot gash on the dish, breaking about 250 of the dish’s 40,000 aluminum reflector panels and damaging the receiver platform that hung above it.

Then in early November, a main cable broke, with engineers warning that further cable failure would likely be catastrophic.

A month later, the telescope’s 900-ton receiver platform and the Gregorian dome —a structure as tall as a four-story building that houses secondary reflectors— fell more than 400 feet onto the dish.

It was a crushing event for scientists around the world who had been using the telescope for nearly six decades.

BoriFeria

 

¿Qué es BoriFeria?

Saludos Amigos:

Le presentamos una sinopsis de cómo fue creada la Iniciativa de BoriFeria.  Esta Plataforma surge por una inquietud de nuestra artesana Wanda Ivelisse Ramirez mientras buscaba alternativas para poder ser resilente dentro de la pandemia y a la vez ayudar a otros. Pensando que el arte no podía morir y buscando herramientas útiles, le hace el acercamiento a otro artesano, Jonathan Rivera, con mayor entendimiento en tecnología y a otras dos personas más, un artesano de nombre Fernando Cordero y una Boricua residiendo en tierra extranjera.  Con una plataforma digital, unen fuerzas para crear BoriFeria. Los cuatro con diferentes talentos, pero con una misma visión de ayudar a la familia artesanal de forma gratuita. De las situaciones difíciles nacen grandes ideas. Donde no hay otro camino que reinventarnos, de ahí surge BoriFeria. La Plataforma que tenemos los artesanos puertorriqueños para llegar a cualquier parte del mundo, una puerta para transformar lo que hasta este entonces era imposible, lograr convocar a tantos artesanos en una misma Feria Virtual Interactiva.

La población artesanal en nuestra isla de Puerto Rico, se compone de alrededor de 20,000 artesanos y el 80% aproximado de la familia artesanal, el arte es su única fuente de ingreso.  Algunos de estos artesanos son afiliados a diferentes organizaciones como la Hermandad de Artesanos, La Federación de Artesanos y otros más dependiendo el municipio donde residan, pero todos han sido golpeados con la pandemia, no importa quién sea o donde nos encontremos, hemos sido afectados de una forma u otra.

Nuestra página se dedica exclusivamente a promover, apoyar y ayudar a la comunidad artesanal de la isla.  De una manera sencilla, a través de salas individuales en , convocamos a los amantes del arte-sano a Ferias Virtuales Interactivas así como el proyecto de Mall Virtual Artesanal.  También tenemos presencia en Facebook e Instagram. Somos una entidad sin fines de lucro registrada en el Departamento de Estado, de esta manera solicitamos apoyo a entidades y la comunidad para poder darle validar y reconocer a nuestros artesanos. La métrica utlilizada para el reconocimiento de los artesanos será medida por la evaluación de los clientes.

Las salas de cada artesano emulan las mesas que usted encontraría en una feria presencial.  Las ferias virtuales coordinadas en itinerario por día a través del portal cibernético, le provee alternativas con la visión de ser virtual y si en algún momento se abre la opción presencial nuestros artesanos podrán seguir ofreciendo una alternativa diferente a sus clientes, virtual y/o presencial o ambas.  Pero en vista de la realidad que estamos enfrentando, BoriFeria vino para quedarse ya que parece muy lejana la realidad de volver a vivir lo que llamábamos ‘una vida normal.’  De esta manera, le extendemos una cordial invitación a que sean parte de este maravilloso proyecto, BoriFeria.  Pueden encontrar nuestra agenda de la propuesta artesanal en www.boriferia.com. Únanse a nosotros y hagamos la diferencia.

​

Attentamente,

Administración de BoriFeria Corporation

How to Support Your Local Puerto Rican Restaurants During COVID-19

 COVID-19 has shaken nearly every facet of our lives. While many industries have been impacted by the virus, the food and beverage industry has taken a heavier toll than most. To support your local Puerto Rican restaurants you can do your part to protect the staff, tip generously, and write positive reviews online.

Do Your Part to Protect Staff

You need to do your part to protect staff by wearing a mask, distancing, etc. These distancing signs are meant to keep both customers and staff safe. There are a lot of things that you can do to protect the staff. Wearing masks might be uncomfortable, but it's necessary to help stop the spread of the virus. You can also make sure to stay home if you’re feeling like you might have symptoms. Any symptoms can be spread and staying home will help to slow the spread. You should also make sure to stay a safe distance away from other people. Doing these things will help you to considerately protect the staff and other diners.

Tip Generously

If you want to support your local Puerto Rican restaurants during COVID, you should tip generously. In most states, servers earn a much lower minimum wage. That means tips make up most of the servers', bartenders', and delivery drivers' income. Even restaurants that are currently open are operating with a much lower volume, which means tipped employees are making far less—while also incurring the risk of catching the virus. If possible, tip restaurant workers well.

Write Positive Reviews Online

To support local restaurants, you should spread kindness and optimism. It’s needed now more than ever. Write positive reviews, even if your food was catered or delivered. You can talk about the timeliness of the delivery or the quality of the food. Restaurant reviews are critical nowadays. When choosing a spot to take family, friends, partners, or clients, many people rely on reviews. You should help get the word out and give your local Puerto Rican restaurants some virtual love and support. Your reviews might help other people to go out and support the business too.

To protect your local Puerto Rican restaurants during COVID-19, you should consider doing a few things. You should do your part to protect the staff, tip generously, and write positive reviews online. Doing these things will help you to protect local businesses.

Read this next: What Do You Need To Manage A Puerto Rican Apartment?

Why Traveling To Somewhere Warm and Sunny Will Do You A World Of Wonders

 

Traveling anywhere in the world can be fun, but the sunshine just makes life seem so much better. When the days are bright, warm and long you feel more positive about life in general,  your whole aura and outlook change. If you live somewhere that is cold and dark quite a lot of the time it can soon start to get you down, which can lead to poor mental health and ultimately depression. The sun naturally contains a vitamin source called vitamin D. Not getting enough vitamin D in your daily diet and therefore having a deficiency could lead to other problems such as osteoporosis. Not seeing the sun can leave you feeling blue and at risk of getting sads disease, which stands for seasonal affective disorder.

Experience more in the Sunshine

When the sun is shining and it is warm you just feel like you can do more activities, and realistically you can. Bad weather can be a hindrance to many outdoor-based activities and pursuits, and it is definitely nicer taking a long walk or riding a bike in the sun than it is in the rain. So what is stopping you? You have no excuse now, so get out there and try all those things that you have been putting off due to bad weather.

Feel Good and Look Good

The sun and warmer climate make you feel better and look better. Your natural glow comes through and you will get a lovely tan that shows off where you have been. There is no doubt the sun makes you feel really good and can put a smile on your face especially if you live somewhere such as England where it rains a lot. The warmth that you get makes you feel good too and can benefit you if you are suffering from any health conditions. Warmer climates are better for sufferers of conditions such as arthritis.

It is easier to get fit and healthy when the sun is shining as you don’t want to eat lots of heavy meals, and you want to look good in those gorgeous summer clothes you have been waiting all year to wear. Practicing yoga or pilates in the warm sunshine will leave you feeling more whole and complete than perhaps practicing when at home in a cold and uninspiring blank white room.

Time to Relax

In warmer weather, it is good just to take time out and relax. To unwind and focus on your wellbeing and health. This includes focusing on your mental health and wellbeing. Relaxing in warmer climates is easier to do and something that feels more natural, as you cannot get too stressed and worked up in any form of heat as you would overheat and most likely end up feeling faint. As well as being able to relax, you can rejuvenate and refresh your batteries. This is especially true if you have a busy life and you never get any real-time for yourself. Practice meditation in the sunshine, even if it is just for 15 minutes in the morning and you will soon start to feel more complete and ready to tackle anything life throws at you.

Reconnect under the Sun

Being out in the sun and warmth can provide you with the opportunity to reconnect with nature and focus on what is important to you and those around you. Taking time out to focus on where you have been and where you are going is easier to do when sitting outside bathing in the sun’s rays. Reading novels, inspirational quotes, and travel logs will help you enjoy and relish the moment, read these to get you started and let your mind wander and see where it takes you. Giving your brain a break is very good for your mental health and wellbeing, allowing you to shut off for a bit and hit the disconnect button.

Get in Touch with Nature

The sunshine encourages you to leave the four walls you are staying in and get outdoors to embrace and get lost in the beauty that is surrounding you. Losing yourself and embracing all creatures great and small going about their daily lives is something you can naturally do when it is warm and something great to do with other like-minded individuals.

Being warm and feeling the sun on your face is like nothing else in the world, it is a feeling that no amount of money can buy. Traveling through warmer and sunnier climates you will notice people are friendlier and happier, and this is something that you should adopt moving forward with your life and travels.

How To Make Traditional Tostones

Tostones are an absolute staple of the Puerto Rican diet and if we are talking snacks, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Tostones perfectly sum up the Puerto Rican kitchen and that is an overland of flavor mad using very simple ingredients and methods. Today we are going to have a look at how you can make your very own to tostones in the house, to give you that flavor of Puerto Rico in your own home.

To make

 this dish you will need green plantains, some vegetable oil for frying, a touch of butter cold water and some salt, garlic and lime for flavor, that is all. Once you have your ingredients, here is how to make the dish.

Plantain Prep

First up we need to peel the plantain and slice them into equal slices. You can go thin or thick with the slices but the key here is consistency, you want them all to be the same size as one another. Once you have done this, take 5 tablespoons of cold oil and add to a bowl, mixed with salt, lime and some garlic powder. Place the slices in cold oil and leave for 10 minutes. It is important not to touch the slices whilst they are marinating. Entertain yourself with a book, play some slots at casimba.com or call a friend to help you avoid temptation of touching or turning the plantains, they have to stay still.

Cooking Up

Transfer the oil to the skillet and add a further 2 tablespoons to top it up, dab the plantains with kitchen paper to remove the excess grease. Turn the heat to high and wait until that oil is piping hot before you then place the slices in to cook. Be very careful with this oil because it can hurt a lot of you get any on your skin. To help you here, try to use tongs or a slotted spoon with a long handle so that you don’t need to get too close.

Serve and Flavor

Whilst the plantains are frying, it is time to prepare some lime and garlic water which we can dip the fritters into. Take 1 cup of cold water and add a teaspoon of garlic powder and the juice of 4 limes. Now, one by one, take each plantain fritter out of the oil and dip straight into the cold water. This will not only add flavor, but the cold water will ensure that the crispy batter remains that way after taking it out of the oil.

After each dip, place the fritter onto paper towel until they are all out, and then put them back in the oil again to fry a second time. Leave them in the oil for 3 minutes and then take out and once again place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Finally serve the plantains with a good sprinkle of salt and some guacamole for a delicious Puerto Rican snack.

Iconic Puerto Rican Poet Giannina Braschi

 From Tennis Champion to Award-Winning Author

The international writers organization, PEN calls the Puerto Rican poet and author Giannina Braschi “one of the most revolutionary voices in Latin American literature today”. In Puerto Rico, we are proud to call this Boricua more simply “one of us!”

Born in San Juan, Giannina Braschi was a founding member of El Coro de Niños de San Juan, a fashion model, and tennis champion in her teen years on the island. Her family friends and mentors included the legendary playwright René Marqués who wrote la Carreta and the public intellectual Nilita Vientós Gastón who legally defended Spanish as the language for the Puerto Rican court system. These and other Boricua heroes are described as influential to Braschi’s calling to literature.

Poets, Philosophers, Lovers: On the Writings of Giannina Braschi is a new book that celebrates the Puerto Rican trailblazing author whose experimental works dramatically expanded the canon of Latina/o literature in the United States.

Edited by “Professor Latinx” Frederick Luis Aldama and Tess O’Dwyer, this volume features a foreword by cultural theorist and Spanglish expert Ilan Stavans, lively essays by 15 scholars in 6 countries including Puerto Rico, plus a rare interview with Braschi on the buoyancy of literature and life.

Poets, Philosophers, Lovers, published by The University of Pittsburgh Press, is in bookstores now.

“At long last! Aldama and O’Dwyer have brought together a lineup of talent to match the vivacious audacity of Giannina Braschi," writes Christopher González, Director of the Latinx Cultural Center. "Admirers of Braschi will feast on every sumptuous page of this book, and they'll return to her lush storyworlds with renewed vigor. Poets, Philosophers, Lovers reveals the challenging necessity of this transformative Latinx author.”

The essayists shed light on Braschi’s cross-genre literature from various fields, from Latinx poetry to political philosophy. Contributors include: Professors Martiza Stanchich, Madelena Gonzalez, John Riofrio, Ronald Mendoza de Jesus, Francisco Jose Ramos, Laura R. Loustau, Rolando Perez, Daniela Daniele, Cristina Garrigos, Franciso Moreno, Elizabeth Lowry, and Dorian Lugo-Bertrán.

More about Giannina Braschi

The Library of Congress describes Giannina Braschi as “cutting-edge, influential and even revolutionary.” She is the author of the Puerto Rican poetry classic Empire of Dreams, the first Spanglish novel Yo-Yo Boing!, and the tragicomedy United States of Banana about the liberation of Puerto Rico. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature from the State University of New York. She taught at Rutgers, Colgate, and City University of New York.

Braschi has won awards/grants from National Endowment for the Arts, NY Foundation for the Arts, Danforth and Ford Foundations, Rutgers, Puerto Rican Institute for Culture, and PEN America. Her work has been adapted to theater, chamber music, comics, short-short films, painting, and sculpture. For example, a new graphic novel of United States of Banana, by the Swedish cartoonist Joakim Lindengren, is now available from The Ohio State University Press, with a teacher’s guide (by Amanda Smith and Amy Sheeran) on how to use Braschi’s books in the classroom. 

Braschi famously wrote in United States of Banana:

“Soy boricua. In spite of my family and in spite of my country—I’m writing the process of the Puerto Rican mind—taking it out of context—as a native and a foreigner—expressing it through Spanish, Spanglish, and English—Independencia, Estado Libre Asociado, and Estadidad—from the position of a nation, a colony, and a state—Wishy, Wishy-Washy, and Washy—not as one political party that is parted into piddly parts and partied out. Todos los partidos están partidos y son unos partidos.”

Visit the author’s website: GIANNINABRASCHI.COM