portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsPuerto Ricans located in or around New York City, or of their descendants (especially those raised or currently living in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
). This term is sometimes used for Puerto Ricans living in other areas in the Northeastern US Mainland outside
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
as well. The term is also used by Islander Puerto Ricans (Puerto Ricans from Puerto Rico) to differentiate those of Puerto Rican descent from the Puerto Rico-born.
The term ''Nuyorican'' is also sometimes used to refer to the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
spoken by New York Puerto Ricans. An estimated 1,800,000 Nuyoricans are said to live in New York City, the largest Puerto Rican community outside Puerto Rico. Nuyoricans are not considered Puerto Ricans by some island Puerto Ricans due to cultural differences, which remains a point of controversy among both groups of Puerto Ricans. Nuyorican has a broad meaning; originally it meant Puerto Ricans, both island-born and mainland-born, living in New York, but many island-born Puerto Ricans use the term to describe assimilated Americans of Puerto Rican descent, living in any US state, or very assimilated or "Afro-Americanized" people of Puerto Rican ancestry, who largely lost touch with traditional Puerto Rican culture, and grew up culturally Afro-American, though still identify with Puerto Rico.
Ethnic enclaves
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
centered on Puerto Ricans include
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...
,
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
;
Bushwick
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
, Brooklyn; and the
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
.
Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, primarily for economic and cultural considerations, topped by another surge of arrivals after
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...
devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 – consequently, the New York City metropolitan area has witnessed a significant increase in its Nuyorican population, individuals in the region of Puerto Rican descent, increasing from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,494,670 in 2016, maintaining New York's status by a significant margin as the most important cultural and demographic center for Puerto Ricans outside
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
.
Etymology
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' cites this word as evolving slowly through roughly the last third of the 20th century, with the first cited reference being poet Jaime Carrero using ''neorriqueño'' in 1964 as a
Spanish-language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
adjective combining ''neoyorquino'' and ''puertorriqueño''. Many other variants developed along the way, including ''neoricano'', ''neorican'' (also written as ''Neo-Rican'' and ''Neorican''), and ''newyorican'' (also written as ''New Yorrican''). ''Nuyorican'' itself dates at least from 1975, the date of the first public sessions of the
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorkers) Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in Alphabet City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip ...
. Some of the best known "Nuyoricans" who have written and performed their experiences of being a Puerto Rican in New York are:
Miguel Piñero
Miguel Piñero (December 19, 1946 – June 16, 1988) was a playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement.
Early years
Piñero was born on December 19, 1946, in Gura ...
,
Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín Jr. (11 September 1941 – 30 November 2020) was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and a Rutgers University professor of English.
Early years
Algarín was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and ...
,
Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas; September 30, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was a Puerto Rican-Cuban writer and poet whose memoir ''Down These Mean Streets'' became a best-seller.
Early years
Thomas was born to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban ...
,
Sandra María Esteves
Sandra María Esteves (born May 10, 1948) is a Latina poet and graphic artist. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and is one of the founders of the Nuyorican poetry movement. She has published collections of poetry and has conduc ...
,
Willie Colón
William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is an American salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist and also sings, writes, produces and acts. He is also involved in the politics of New York City. Colón ...
,
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri (March 21, 1944 – March 3, 2004) was a Nuyorican poet and playwright and one of the co-founders of the Nuyorican Movement. He was considered by some as the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.
Early years
Pietri was born in ...
, and
Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include ''Empire of Dreams'' (1988), ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011).
Braschi writes cross-genr ...
. Some of the newer poets include
Willie Perdomo
Willie Perdomo is a Puerto Rican poet and children's book author. He is the author of ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'' (Penguin Poets, 2014), a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist, ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ( W. W. Norto ...
, Flaco Navaja,
Nancy Mercado
Nancy Mercado Ph.D. (Born December 1959) is an American writer, editor, educator and activist; her work focuses on issues of injustice, the environment, and the Puerto Rican and Latino experience in the United States. She forms part of the Nuyo ...
,
Emanuel Xavier
Emanuel Xavier (born May 3, 1970), is an American poet, spoken word artist, author, editor, and LGBTQ activist born and raised in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn. Associated with the East Village, Manhattan arts scene in New York City, he emerged ...
Caridad de la Luz
Caridad de la Luz (born January 21, 1977), a.k.a. "La Bruja" (''The "Good" Witch''), is a Nuyorican (a New York-born Puerto Rican) poet, playwright, actor, actress and activist. She is considered one of the leading spoken word poets in the world. ...
aka La Bruja,
Lemon Andersen
Lemon Andersen (born Andrew Andersen; April 21, 1975) is an American poet, spoken word artist and actor. He is sometimes credited as Lemon. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he still resides there. He is the son of Milagros "Mili" Quiñone ...
, and Bonafide Rojas.
Historically, the term has been used as a derogatory term by native Puerto Ricans when describing a person that has Puerto Rican ancestry but is born outside of Puerto Rico. It also can sometimes include those born in Puerto Rico who now live elsewhere in the United States (other than New York). This changed from the original meaning with the increase in travel back and forth to different parts of the United States and the globe. The definition includes those born in New York who have moved to Puerto Rico as well.
The term is used by some members of this community to identify their history and cultural affiliation to a common ancestry while being separated from the island, both physically and through language and cultural shifts. This distance created a dual identity that, while still somewhat identifying with the island, recognizes the influences both geography and cultural assimilation have had. Puerto Ricans in other cities have coined similar terms, including "Philly Rican" for Puerto Ricans in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and "Chi-Town Rican" for Puerto Ricans in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
.
History
Many Nuyoricans are second- and third-generation Puerto Rican Americans whose parents or grandparents arrived in the
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
during the ''Gran Migración'' (Great Migration). Puerto Ricans began to arrive in New York City in the nineteenth century but especially following the passage of the Jones-Shafroth Act on March 2, 1917, which granted U.S. citizenship to virtually all Puerto Ricans.Jones-Shafroth Act , U.S. Library of Congress, accessed May 25, 2010. The ''Gran Migración'' accelerated migration from Puerto Rico to New York during the 1940s and 1950s, but such large-scale emigration began to slow by the late 1960s.The ''Gran Migración'' , Maura Isabel Toro-Morn, Marixsa Alicea, Migration and Immigration: A Global View.
In 2000, the Puerto Rican population of New York was over 1,050,000. As of the 2010 census, Puerto Ricans represented 8.9 percent of New York City alone (32% of the city's Hispanic community), and 5.5% of New York State as a whole. Of over a million Puerto Ricans in the state, about 70% are present in New York City, with the remaining portion spreading increasingly within the city's suburbs and other major cities throughout New York State. Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, primarily for economic and cultural considerations, topped by another surge of arrivals after
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...
devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 – consequently, the
New York City Metropolitan Area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
has witnessed a significant increase in its Nuyorican population, individuals in the region of Puerto Rican descent, increasing from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,494,670 in 2016.
Historically, Nuyoricans resided in the predominantly
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
/
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
section of
Upper Manhattan
Upper Manhattan is the most northern region of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its southern boundary has been variously defined, but some of the most common usages are 96th Street, the northern boundary of Central Park ( 110th Street), ...
known as
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...
, and around the
Loisaida
Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is bounded by Houston St ...
section of the East Village, but later spread across the city into newly created Puerto Rican/Nuyorican enclaves in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, and the
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
. Today, there are fewer island-born Puerto Ricans than mainland-born Puerto Ricans in New York City.
Prominent figures of the Nuyorican movement include poets and novelists
Piri Thomas
Piri Thomas (born Juan Pedro Tomas; September 30, 1928 – October 17, 2011) was a Puerto Rican-Cuban writer and poet whose memoir ''Down These Mean Streets'' became a best-seller.
Early years
Thomas was born to a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban ...
and
Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include ''Empire of Dreams'' (1988), ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011).
Braschi writes cross-genr ...
, while
Miguel Algarín
Miguel Algarín Jr. (11 September 1941 – 30 November 2020) was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, and a Rutgers University professor of English.
Early years
Algarín was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and ...
,
Miguel Piñero
Miguel Piñero (December 19, 1946 – June 16, 1988) was a playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement.
Early years
Piñero was born on December 19, 1946, in Gura ...
, and
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri (March 21, 1944 – March 3, 2004) was a Nuyorican poet and playwright and one of the co-founders of the Nuyorican Movement. He was considered by some as the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.
Early years
Pietri was born in ...
co-founded the
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorkers) Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in Alphabet City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip ...
, a performance space for Nuyorican poets and musicians.
Notable Nuyoricans
File:Marc Anthony 2010.jpg,
Marc Anthony
Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...
File:Herman_Badillo.JPG,
Herman Badillo
Herman Badillo (pronounced ''bah-DEE-yoh''; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Pu ...
File:Robert Garcia.jpg, Robert Garcia
File:Lisa_Lisa,_American_singer.jpg,
Lisa Lisa
Lisa Velez (born January 15, 1967), better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.
Early life
According to Spin Magazine, ''Spin'' magazine, Velez ...
File:TIFF 2019 jlo (1 of 1)-2 (48696671561) (cropped).jpg,
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
File:Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito (6217502867) (cropped).jpg,
Melissa Mark-Viverito
Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the New York City's 8th City Council ...
File:Rosie Mendez 2011 CROPPED.png,
Rosie Méndez
Rosie Méndez (born February 28, 1963) is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 2nd district from 2006 to 2017. She is a Democrat.
The district includes all or parts of Chelsea, the East Village, the Flatiron ...
File:Lin-Manuel Miranda by Gage Skidmore.jpg,
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...
File:Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Official Portrait.jpg,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
File:MJ Rodriguez.png,
Mj Rodriguez
MJ may refer to:
Fictional characters
* M.J. Delfino, in ''Desperate Housewives''
* Mary Jane Watson, in Marvel comics
** Mary Jane Watson (Sam Raimi film series), the film adaptation of the character
* MJ (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a characte ...
File:Princess_Nokia_-_Press_Photo_One.jpg,
Princess Nokia
Destiny Nicole Frasqueri (born June 14, 1992), known professionally as Princess Nokia, is an American rapper and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''Metallic Butterfly'', in 2014, followed by the 2015 mixtape ''Honeysuckle''. As P ...
File:Josieserrano.jpeg,
José E. Serrano
José Enrique Serrano (born October 24, 1943) is an American politician who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 until his retirement in 2021. Serrano, a Democrat from New York, represented a district that is one of the ...
File:Sonia Sotomayor in SCOTUS robe.jpg,
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
File:Ritchie Torres 117th U.S Congress.jpg,
Ritchie Torres
Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician from New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Torres is the U.S. representative for New York's 15th congressional district. The district covers most of the South Bronx. It is ...
File:Neil deGrasse Tyson in June 2017 (cropped).jpg,
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
Nuyoricans have made breakthrough contributions in government, science, law, culture, and the humanities, including those who have broken records, significantly impacted U.S.
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
, won landmark cases that changed laws, or have been recognized by national awards.
*
Eugenio Alvarez
Eugenio A. Alvarez (July 21, 1918 – February 12, 1976) was an American lawyer and U.S. Representative from New York.
Life
He was born on July 21, 1918, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The family moved to New York City. There he attended Public Schoo ...
– Late
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
.
*
Marc Anthony
Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...
– Record holder in the
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for best-selling
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
artist and the most number-one albums on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Tropical Albums
Tropical Albums (formerly known as ''Tropical/Salsa'') is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, ...
charts.
*
Amanda Ayala
Amanda Ayala (born September 23, 1997) is an American singer from New York who made her first appearance on the national scene on NBC's Emmy Award-winning show ''The Voice.'' Following her time on The Voice she continued her success serving as s ...
- Singer/Songwriter
*
Herman Badillo
Herman Badillo (pronounced ''bah-DEE-yoh''; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Pu ...
– Late U.S. representative from New York State
*
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...
– Artist, whose painting ''
Untitled
Untitled or (Untitled) may refer to:
Artworks
* ''Untitled (2004)'', by Banksy
* ''Untitled'' (1982 painting), by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled'' (Devil), a 1982 painting by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
* ''Untitled' ...
'' (1982) sold for $110.5 million in 2017, a new record high for an American artist at auction.
*
Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include ''Empire of Dreams'' (1988), ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011).
Braschi writes cross-genr ...
– Writer, a
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
Literature Fellow, published the first
Spanglish
Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...
novel ''
Yo-Yo Boing!
''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) is a postmodern novel in English, Spanish, and Spanglish by Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. The cross-genre work is a structural hybrid of poetry, political philosophy, musical, manifesto, treatise, memoir, and dra ...
''
* Miguel Braschi – Attorney, won the landmark legal case '' Braschi v. Stahl Associates Co.'' in the New York State Court of Appeals, which marked the first time state law recognized a gay couple as a family.
*
John Carro
John Carro (born August 24, 1927) is an American judge. He served as a judge for 25 years and was involved in many high-profile cases. A New York Supreme Court Justice serving in the Appellate Division, where he served as an associate justice f ...
– was the first Nuyorican to be named a judge on the NY State Supreme Court, Appellate Division.
* Luis Ferré-Sadurní is a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
with ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
Latin freestyle
Freestyle music, also called Latin freestyle or Latin hip-hop ''(sic)'' is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area and Philadelphia, primarily among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the 1980s. I ...
La India
Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Aw ...
George Lamond
George Lamond (born George Garcia, February 25, 1967), sometimes styled George LaMond, is an American freestyle music and salsa music singer.
LaMond has released seven albums (five via Sony Music) between 1989-2014. Best known for his 1989 #2 ...
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
– performing artist, entrepreneur, and founder of
Nuyorican Productions
Nuyorican Productions, Inc. is an American production company founded by Jennifer Lopez and Benny Medina.
History
Lopez owns the film and television production company Nuyorican Productions, which was launched as early as 2001. It was co-foun ...
, made
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
list of most powerful entertainers, with annual earnings in excess of US$52 million.
*
Lynda Lopez
Lynda Lopez (born June 14, 1971) is an American journalist and author based in New York City. She is also a co-founder of Nuyorican Productions, an American production company founded in 2001 with Benny Medina which became active in 2006 with the ...
–
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and author
*
Margarita López
Margarita López is a former member of the New York City Council who represented New York City's 2nd City Council district from 1998 to 2005. The 2nd district comprises the Lower East Side, Alphabet City, and the East Village. López was elect ...
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
, serving from 1998 through 2006
*
Melissa Mark-Viverito
Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the New York City's 8th City Council ...
–
Speaker of the New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs.
The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...
from 2014 through 2017
*
Angie Martinez
Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join ...
– Rapper and radio host
*
Lisette Melendez
Lisette Melendez (born 1967) is an American freestyle/Latin pop/dance-pop singer. She is best known for her Top 40 hit "Together Forever", which reached No. 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1991, and its follow-up "A Day In My Life (Without Y ...
– Freestyle singer
*
Rosie Méndez
Rosie Méndez (born February 28, 1963) is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 2nd district from 2006 to 2017. She is a Democrat.
The district includes all or parts of Chelsea, the East Village, the Flatiron ...
– former member of the New York City Council (2006-2018)
*
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...
, creator of the Broadway musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
Nicholasa Mohr
Nicholasa Mohr (born November 1, 1938) is one of the best known Nuyorican writers, born in the United States to Puerto Rican parents. In 1973, she became the first Nuyorican woman in the 20th century to have her literary works published by the maj ...
– Author
*
Richie Narvaez
Richie Narvaez (born 1965) is an American author and professor. In 2020, he won an Agatha Award and an Anthony Awards, Anthony Award for his novel ''Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco.'' His work focuses on the Puerto Rican and Nuyorican exper ...
– Author
*
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
– politician who serves as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
New York's 14th congressional district
New York's 14th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, represented by United States Democratic Party, Democrat A ...
.
*
Antonio Pagán
Antonio Pagán (August 22, 1958 – January 25, 2009) was an American politician, who held roles in the municipal government of New York City. He represented the 2nd district of the New York City Council for six years, and was subsequently appo ...
– late and first openly gay male and Puerto Rican elected to the New York City Council, serving from 1994 through 1998; former New York City Commissioner of Small Businesses (1998-2002)
* Noel Pagán – Freestyle singer
*
Damian Priest
Luis Martínez (born September 26, 1982) is an American professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Damian Priest, and is a member of the stable The Judgme ...
– professional wrestler
*
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...
– musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer
*
Princess Nokia
Destiny Nicole Frasqueri (born June 14, 1992), known professionally as Princess Nokia, is an American rapper and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, ''Metallic Butterfly'', in 2014, followed by the 2015 mixtape ''Honeysuckle''. As P ...
–
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
*
Charles Rangel
Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...
– former U.S. representative from New York
*
Sylvia Rivera
Sylvia Rivera (July 2, 1951 – February 19, 2002) was an American gay liberation and transgender rights activist September 21, 1995. Accessed July 24, 2015. who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag q ...
– Late
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
activist
*
Mj Rodriguez
MJ may refer to:
Fictional characters
* M.J. Delfino, in ''Desperate Housewives''
* Mary Jane Watson, in Marvel comics
** Mary Jane Watson (Sam Raimi film series), the film adaptation of the character
* MJ (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a characte ...
– Actress
*
David Rosado
David Rosado (born August 21, 1942) is an American politician from New York.
Life
Rosado was born on August 21, 1942, in Morovis, Puerto Rico. The family moved to New York City where he attended the public schools. He became active in community a ...
– former U.S. representative from New York
* Sa-Fire (Wilma Cosmé) – Latin freestyle singer
*
José E. Serrano
José Enrique Serrano (born October 24, 1943) is an American politician who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 until his retirement in 2021. Serrano, a Democrat from New York, represented a district that is one of the ...
– former U.S. representative, serving multiple districts in New York State
*
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
– the first Nuyorican lawyer to become a
United States Supreme Court Justice
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
Carlito's Way
''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels ''Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacin ...
Judy Torres
Judy Torres (born June 13, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer.
Early life and career
Growing up in the Bronx, Torres was the oldest of five siblings. She attended St. Thomas Aquinas, an ...
– Latin freestyle singer and radio host
*
Ritchie Torres
Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician from New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Torres is the U.S. representative for New York's 15th congressional district. The district covers most of the South Bronx. It is ...
– U.S. representative for
New York's 15th congressional district
New York's 15th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City, State of New York. The district has been represented by Democrat Ritchie Torres since 2021.
The 15th di ...
*
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia University. From 1991 to 1994, he was a po ...
Hayden Planetarium
The Rose Center for Earth and Space is a part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Center's complete name is The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space. The main entrance is located on the no ...
in New York City.
See also
*
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
*
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Par ...
*
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural assi ...
*
New York Latino English
The English language as primarily spoken by Hispanic Americans on the East Coast of the United States demonstrates considerable influence from New York City English and African-American Vernacular English, with certain additional features borrowed ...
*
New York City ethnic enclaves
Since its founding in 1625 by Dutch traders as New Amsterdam, New York City has been a major destination for immigrants of many nationalities who have formed ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods dominated by one ethnicity. Freed African American sl ...
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican (Puerto Rican New Yorkers) Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization in Alphabet City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip ...
*
Puerto Ricans in New York City
Puerto Ricans have both immigrated and migrated to New York City. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects. The following wave o ...
*
Puerto Ricans in the United States
Stateside Puerto Ricans ( es, link=no, Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos), also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans ( es, link=no, puertorriqueño-americanos,), or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the U ...
*
Racial inequality in the United States
Racial inequality in the United States identifies the social inequality and advantages and disparities that affect different races within the United States. These can also be seen as a result of historic oppression, inequality of inheritance, or ...
*
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and Upper New York Bay to the ...
*
Teatro Puerto Rico
The Teatro Puerto Rico was a music hall focused on the Latino community in the South Bronx section of New York City. During the 1940s to 1950s it presented ''la farándula,'' a vaudeville-style package of Spanish-language events, and attracted ...