Nuyorican Movement
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The Nuyorican Movement is an intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent, who live in or near New York City, and either call themselves or are known as "Nuyoricans". The word Nuyorican derives from a combination of the words "New York" and "Puerto Rican". This phenomenon came about when many Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the middle decades of the 20th century, looking for a better way of life. Many of them faced difficult situations and hardships, such as racial discrimination. Their love for Puerto Rico and their situation of being in a faraway land that did not accept them totally, led to the creation of the subculture of the "Nuyorican".
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[edit] Literature and Poetry
Some of the best known "Nuyorican" writers and poets who have written about their experiences of being a Puerto Rican in New York and who have been responsible for the "Nuyorican Movement", directly or indirectly, are:
- Jesús Colón, who is considered the "Father of the Nuyorican Movement" and who wrote "A Puerto Rican in New York";
- Esmeralda Santiago, who wrote "When I was Puerto Rican";
- Piri Thomas' "Down These Mean Streets".
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, founded by poets and playwrights Pedro Pietri, Miguel Piñero and Miguel Algarín, is located on Third Street and Avenue C in New York. According to Algarín, "We must listen to one another. We must respect one another's habits and we must share the truth and the integrity that the voice of the poet so generously provide". Edwin Torres, another well-known Nuyorican poet, is a regular at the cafe.
Art for Change and Carlitos café y galeria in Spanish Harlem exhibits poets, artists, and filmakers. It is located 1701 Lexington Avenue (bet. 106-107st, 6 train to 103) New York City, NY 10029 212.534.7168
[edit] Music
"Nuyorican" music became popular in the 1960s with the recordings of Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" and Ray Barretto's "El Watusi". The lyrics to the songs used a mixture of Spanish and English, which resulted in what is known as Spanglish. The Latin musical bands, who had formerly played the imported styles of Cha-cha-cha or Charanga, began to develop their own unique Nuyorican music style by adding flutes and violins to their orchestras. This new style came to be known as the Latin Boogaloo, and some of the musicians who helped develop this unique music were Joe Cuba with "Bang Bang", Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz with "Mr. Trumpet Man", and the brothers Charlie and Eddie Palmieri. Subsequently, Nuyorican music has evolved into Latin hip hop, rap and reggaeton.
[edit] Playwrights
Among the playwrights who have based their works on the lives of Puerto Ricans in New York and who were the pioneers of the Nuyorican movement were Luis Rafael Sanchez, who wrote "La Guaracha Del Macho Camacho" and Rene Marquez whose production of "The Oxcart" (La Carreta) traces the life of a Puerto Rican family who moved from the country to San Juan and then to New York, only to realize that they would rather live a poor life in Puerto Rico than face discrimination in the United States. Miguel Piñero became an acclaimed playwright with "Short Eyes", a drama about prison life, which received a Tony Award nomination and won an Obie Award. Judge Edwin Torres, wrote the saga of a Puerto Rican drug dealer in "Carlito's Way" which eventually became a Hollywood film. Puerto Rican actress Miriam Colon founded the "Puerto Rican Traveling Theater", which gives young actors the opportunity to participate in its productions. Some of the productions, such as "Simpson Street" touch the subject of the Nuyorican's life in a New York ghetto.
