For a few hours, we didn’t need a plane ticket to Puerto Rico. On September 19, my husband, radio personality DJ Chamo King, and I transformed GoggleWorks Center for the Arts into a little piece of our island during our 2nd Annual “El Boricuazo” Cultural Festival. We brought together Puerto Rican music, food, traditions, artisans, and, most importantly, our people.
What began as my desire to preserve and celebrate my Puerto Rican culture became something much bigger than I imagined. For many Latinos, it was their first time visiting GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and that filled me with pride. Puerto Rican culture is so much more than food and music; art and creativity are deeply rooted in who we are. Our artisans help preserve our traditions through their creations, from vejigantes and coquís to pavas and art inspired by our jíbaro roots. That’s why GoggleWorks Center for the Arts felt like the perfect home for our second El Boricuazo.
At El Boricuazo, traditional Puerto Rican music filled the air. People danced, artisans displayed their creations, Puerto Rican food was everywhere, children learned about our traditions, and families arrived wearing pavas and the colors of Puerto Rico.
One person described the event as “turning GoggleWorks into Old San Juan.” Another said it felt like Fiestas Patronales, the San Sebastián Street Festival, an artisan fair, and Christmas in the neighborhood—all in one place. Those words touched me because that is exactly why El Boricuazo was created. So even though we may be far from the island, for a few hours, we can feel like we are back home.
Berks County is home to more than 40,000 residents of Puerto Rican heritage, with nearly 30,000 in the City of Reading alone. This makes preserving and celebrating Puerto Rican culture an important part of our community’s story.
Perhaps the most beautiful part was seeing grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren experiencing our culture together, while people of different nationalities celebrated alongside us. This is how our traditions survive. We have to create spaces where the next generation can see our culture, hear it, taste it, dance to it, and fall in love with it.
El Boricuazo was a labor of love. And it was made possible by musicians, dancers, DJs, artisans, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, and the incredible GoggleWorks team.
When people told us, “We want El Boricuazo for many years to come,” I knew we had created something special. Because Puerto Rico lives wherever our culture is loved, celebrated, and passed down from generation to generation. And for one beautiful day, Puerto Rico was right here in Reading.
Rosa Julia Parra
Founder, Palo Magazine
palomagazine.com
