Kensington: Jim Hardy Gives Back To Community Through Education and Soccer
Jim Hardy has been a social studies and world language teacher at Kensington Health Sciences Academy for almost 10 years. Hardy is a pillar in the community and one of the notable advocates for social change in Kensington. Hardy co-founded the Teachers Action Group, an organization that aims to give educators a voice during the policy-making […]
Fairhill: Promoting Latino Culture and Resources Through Community Events
El Centro de Oro, the golden center, fosters Latino dance, music and culture in Fairhill, while also bringing light to an abundance of resources available in the community. This has been showcased since 1979 at the Feria Del Barrio celebration. The annual celebration is put on by Taller Puertorriqueño, Congreso de Latinos Unidos, HACE and Raices […]
Fairhill: Latino Organizations Band Together for Change
Take a trip up 5th Street between Cumberland Street and Allegheny Avenue and you’ll be transported to Fairhill, a district distinct from any other neighborhood in the city. Puerto Rican flags adorn almost every conceivable surface, from porch awnings to car antennae to license plates – an unmistakable indicator of the residents’ ethnic roots. You’ll be […]
El Bloque de Oro: the Cultural Center of Latino Philadelphia
Spending a day in “El Bloque de Oro” will have you thinking you’re in a tropical Caribbean island. Fake palm trees sit on every corner down North Fifth Street while store signs are read in Spanish. It is very possible to spend the entire day in this neighborhood and function perfectly only speaking Spanish while […]
Taller Puertorriqueño: The Cultural Heart of Latino Philadelphia
Although Taller Puertorriqueño is divided into two buildings one block apart, the organization is united in its mission to develop and promote Latino art and culture in the community. Since 1974, Taller has been at the heart of the art scene in El Bloque de Oro providing the community with art and art-based educational programs for […]
Al Dia: Five Places You Should Know
“Welcome to the center of gold” as the mural reads, or in this case the heart of Philadelphia’s Fairhill section, located at the intersection of 5th Street and Lehigh Avenue. Fairhill has the highest concentration of Latino residents of any neighborhood in Philadelphia, but it is just one of many Latino hotspots located throughout the […]
Fairhill: Taller Begins Conducting Neighborhood Study
When Taller Puetrorriqueňo dismantles its current featured exhibit, which is a gallery of art pieces by Esperanza Cortes, the culture organization will launch what it is calling the Claiming Places Laboratory or “CP Lab.” The CP Lab project will bring together Urban Planner and Architectural Researcher Ariel Vazquez and artist Mabel Negrete of the Counter […]
Fairhill: Taller Puertorriqueño Hosts Artist Danny Alvarez
The arts-based Latino outreach group, Taller Puertorriqueño, this week hosted print-maker Danny Alvarez at its building on 2721 N. Fifth St. Alvarez’s prints and other artwork will be showcased by the Brandywine Workshop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art along with a host of other artists, said curator Shelly Langdale. Alvarez lives and works in El Paso, Texas, but […]
Fairhill: Creating Places at Taller Puertorriqueño
[vimeo 49519327] “We’re sort of a gateway between the outside and the community, and it’s a way for the community to know what’s happening outside, connecting to North Philadelphia,” said Rafael Damast, the arts program manager at Taller Puertorriqueño, a Latino culture organization in Fairhill. Located at 2721 N. 5th St., Taller Puertorriqueño, established in 1974, […]
Kensington: Taller Puertorriqueno Prepares for New Art Facility
[vimeo 41261534] What’s more fun than an energizing concert performed in the city you live in? A free concert takes place right in your community. On a Friday evening in April, Taller Puertorriqueno kicked off its summer event series with a live performance by Los Pleneros de la 21 right in North Kensington. The outcome […]