Pedro Albizu Campos

In remembrance Of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos. First Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law, returned to PR to represent the poor and stand up to injustice.

Portrait above created by Nayda A. Cuevas. This is a portrait out of sugar paper (paper made of sugar). After graduating from Harvard he returned to PR to practice poverty law, where he represented sugar cane workers (Denis, p.116). Albizu and the sugar cae workers formed the Association de Trabajadores de PR (Workers Association of PR) and negotiated on their behalf to increase their wages. " the workers would received $1.50 for a twelve hour day, more than double the amount they'd gotten before." (Denis, p120) 
Please visit http://waragainstallpuertoricans.com/

Taking a little inspirations from Artists: Vic Muniz “The Sugar Children, 1996” and Kara Walkers 2014 installation in Brooklyn at the abandoned Domino Sugar factory.

Kara Walker Sugar Sphinx

As I entered the building to look at this exhibition the wall had text that read; "An homage to the unpaid and overworked artisans who have refined our sweet tastes from the cane fields to the kitchens of the new world on the occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant." The same company that Puerto Rican cane workers also refined.

 The Sugar children: Valentina, the fastest; Jacynthe, loves orange juice; Lil Calist can't swim; Valicia bathes in sunday clothes; Big James sweats buckets; Ten-ten's weed necklace (in 6 parts) ,by: Vik Muniz

On April 2015 I obtained my copy of the book entitled War Against all Puerto Ricans by Nelson A. Denis. A few essays published on Latino Rebels, found through Twitter, sparked interest on the unknown history of the Island I was born in. To be honest, my least favorite subject in school was history and therefore I had no knowledge of Puerto Rico’s history and relationship with the United States.

I had herd the name Pedro Albizu Campos, as this Nationalist no one in my family or Puerto Ricans friends talked about. I also knew that Dr. Campos was compadre with my great grandfather Angel Ramos Torres (godfather to one of my gran aunts). And I now know that my great grandmother had a “carpeta” and would often visit Laura, Pedro’s wife.

My interest grew stronger and I was unable to put down the book. Chapters 13 and 14 were the hardest to read. I am still digesting all the information I just learned and as an artist I will regurgitate this information through Visual form. Words cannot express the sadness in my heart for the history of my people and Puerto Rico’s current economic crisis. Leaving the island is what many Puerto Ricans result to.