A curated selection of the landmark documentary project, “Puerto Rican Diaspora: Themes in the Survival of a People,” will be displayed at “Dia de San Juan Salsa Festival” in Long Beach on June 11, at the Swiss Park Newark on June 17, and at LMU on June 24th. This event will offer a new generation of viewers a chance to experience this landmark project and connect with its beautiful, profound, and uplifting portrayal of Puerto Rican survival across the United States.  

From 1979 to 1981, the late Frank Espada, a pioneering Puerto Rican documentarian, conducted the largest review of the Puerto Rican migration. With funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Espada, who was born in Utuado, Puerto Rico, in 1930 and later settled in San Francisco, traveled extensively, capturing the experiences of Puerto Rican migrants across the United States, from New York to Michigan, California, Hawai’i, and more. This ambitious project resulted in 140 interviews and was showcased in exhibits across the country and Puerto Rico over a span of fifteen years. In 2007, a selection of the project was published in an award-winning book. Espada's powerful photographs are now housed in prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.

By 1980, the Puerto Rican population in the U.S. had surpassed 2 million, and today it stands at over 6 million, while depopulation continues to affect the island. "The Puerto Rican Diaspora Project" portrays the widespread social experience of displacement and dislocation. In situations where words fail to capture the profound sense of loss and longing for home, art becomes a potent means of documenting the lives of marginalized communities. Espada, an artist-activist driven by compassion and a commitment to social justice, harnessed the power of photography to effect change in the world, illuminate the shared humanity of individuals, and create a lasting legacy for the Puerto Rican community.

A curated selection of the landmark documentary project, “Puerto Rican Diaspora: Themes in the Survival of a People,” will be displayed at “Dia de San Juan Salsa Festival” in Long Beach on June 11, at the Swiss Park Newark on June 17, and at LMU on June 24th. This event will offer a new generation of viewers a chance to experience this landmark project and connect with its beautiful, profound, and uplifting portrayal of Puerto Rican survival across the United States.

Boricua Women Artists of the Diaspora, National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, SoCal

Join us via Zoom!

Meeting ID: 979 7167 3277

Passcode: 655211

In collaboration with Chapman University Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies Centro Comunitario Educacion, we are excited to present a free screening of Moving In Place: A Documentary About Puerto Rico's Young Diaspora. Young Puerto Ricans share their experiences navigating life on and off the island amidst its ongoing crisis and diaspora. They unpack the complexities of Puerto Rican identity and loyalty - and the difficult decision of whether to stay on or leave Puerto Rico - especially in the devastating wake of Hurricane María. The filmmakers will join us for this special event as part of Chapman University Ethnic Studies Summit on Saturday, April 27th.