$ 25,000 DHP Grant Awarded to Archives To Highlight History of South Bronx Puerto Ricans

****Below is the text of an article I wrote originally posted here in 2013

The Centro Library and Archives was awarded a $25,000 grant, the most for any institution, from the Documentary Heritage Program/ New York State Archives/NYSED, which will aid in the preservation of documents belonging to and created by photographer Carlos Ortiz and Congressman Robert García.

The archival documents associated with these men help in understanding and chronicling the history and plight of Puerto Ricans in the South Bronx section of New York City.

Carlos Ortiz was a noted photographer, filmmaker and television producer and is best known for his photographs of the South Bronx.  His work is central to understanding the Puerto Rican experience in the area. He chronicled his neighborhood, along Longwood Avenue, and attempted to capture its decay and steep decline into poverty as well as the resiliency of his neighbors in the face of such adversity.

The materials in the collection consist of his personal files, correspondence, clippings, flyers, slides, and photographs dating from the 1970s through the early 2000s. The strength of the collection is the vast array of print photographs, slides and negatives that document not only multiple facets of Puerto Rican life but also of grassroots politics and organizations in the community. His pictures are noted for their somber portrayal of the desolation of the decaying landscape of the South Bronx.

Robert García served in numerous political offices and his papers document his political career in New York City and Washington D.C., providing   a snapshot of the concerns of the Puerto Rican community in the South Bronx during the 1970s and 1980s. The collection is a rich mix of materials, which include extensive correspondence with fellow politicians, community figures and constituents, files on local social service agencies and institutions, as well as on political issues which reflected the spectrum of woes directly affecting Garcia’s South Bronx constituents.

The correspondence, in particular, provides insight into everyday Puerto Rican life in the borough and speaks to the range of concerns in the community, including substandard housing and education, childcare, food stamps and public assistance, pollution and racial prejudice.

Pedro Juan Hernández, Centro’s senior archivist, said, “We are very thankful to the Documentary Heritage Program for funding these collections that have been in need of attention and care.  This grant allows us to reconnect with the [Documentary Heritage Program], which has been central to the work we’ve done in the past and whose funding is essential for the future of specialized repositories such as ours.”

By Madonna Hernandez