El Barrio is first home and a political and cultural center for Puerto Ricans in the United States. It holds rich memories reflecting collective and individual experiences. Thousands of Puerto Ricans settled in the area in the late 1940s seeking a better future, my parents among them. Despite the marginalization of its residents, El Barrio has produced renowned political leaders, artists, musicians and institutions. 

I was born in Flower Fifth Hospital on 106th Street. My parents lived on the other side of the park, and I got to know the community of El Barrio through fam ily members in the neighborhood. We shopped at La Marqueta, bought birthday cakes at Valencia Bakery and took special occasion photographs at Rudy’s Studio on 116th Street. I went to neighborhood parties and to church. 

When the Young Lords burst into the El Barrio streets to protest the racial and economic exploitation of Puerto Ricans, I joined. We organized demonstrations, free breakfast, clothing and health programs, and political education classes. The 1970 takeover of the People’s Church on Lexington Avenue became a symbol of militant resistance, brought national attention to the plight of Puerto Ricans, and galvanized a generation. 

In subsequent decades as new immigrants arrived, El Barrio remained true to its legacy. Today Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and African Americans live side-by-side building relationships based on similar traditions of family and justice. For Puerto Ricans, the neighborhood reflects more than 60 years of history that transformed “East Harlem” into a place called,“El Barrio.”