Caridad De La Luz (La Bruja) to Present FROM POOR TO RICO at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture

Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, in association with Pepatián Bronx Arts ColLABorative, will present From Poor to Rico, a one-woman show written and performed by the Emmy Award-winning poet, musician and storyteller Caridad De La Luz, known as La Bruja (The Good Witch). The performance is on Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. on the stage of the Repertory Theater at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse (at 149th Street), in the Bronx. Tickets are available at www.hostoscenter.org or at the Hostos Box Office, opened Mon-Fri, from 1pm to 4pm and 2 hours before showtime. Call for tickets at (718) 518-4477.

Guided by Caridad, From Poor to Rico offers a powerful testament to the richness of Puerto Rican history, culture, and its people. Audiences meet a resilient island waiting to be free from the historical weight of colonization. Caridad envisions a future built on Indigenous - Afro - Taíno - Jíbaro culture and imagination. She dedicates her work to the Puerto Rican diaspora, a love letter to lives lost and to those still surviving. With original poetry, music, and visuals, Caridad invites us ALL to imagine a better future for Puerto Rico.

About Caridad De La Luz (La Bruja)

Caridad De La Luz won an Emmy Award as Script Writer of "Legacy of Puerto Rican Poetry", a cultural segment that aired on ABC TV during the National Puerto Rican Day Parade 2021. As of January 2022, she became the Executive Director of the Nuyorican Poets' Café, where she began her artistic career in 1996. She is a multi-faceted writer, performer, composer, and has been one of America's leading spoken word poets for over 20 years. She was named in the "Top 20 Puerto Rican Women Everyone Should Know" (La Respuesta). Known as a "Bronx Living Legend," Caridad received a Citation of Merit from the Bronx Borough President and The Edgar Allan Poe Award from The Bronx Historical Society. She has performed at The Apollo, Lincoln Center, Gracie Mansion, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, City Hall in New York City and international venues. Since her 1996 debut performance at the famed Nuyorican Poets Café, she is now its new Executive Director. Caridad is a 2019 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, a David Prize finalist and is cultivating her own art space in the Soundview area of The Bronx called "El Garaje." This new full-length work, "From Poor to Rico" will be available for future touring. http://caridaddelaluz.com @LaBrujaNYC on IG/Twitter/TikTok. For videos, check https://youtube.com/user/caridaddelaluz

About Pepatián: Bronx Arts ColLABorative

Pepatián: Bronx Arts ColLABorative is a non-profit, South Bronx-based arts organization founded in 1983 by award-winning artists Merián Soto, visual artist/MacArthur Fellow Pepón Osorio, and educator/director Patti Bradshaw. Directed by Jane Gabriels, Ph.D. since 1999 in collaboration with multiple artist consultants/ co-directors, Pepatián: Bronx Arts ColLABorative is dedicated to creating, producing and supporting contemporary multidisciplinary art by Latina/o/x and Bronx-based artists.

About The Hostos Center for Arts & Culture

The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture consists of a museum-grade art gallery, a 367-seat Repertory Theater, and a 900-seat Main Theater, presenting artists of national and international renown. It is easily accessible from Manhattan, Queens and New Jersey and is a mere 15 minutes by subway from midtown Manhattan. www.hostoscenter.org

About Hostos Community College

Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change, transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. Hostos serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, and a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. Hostos Community College is part of CUNY, the nation's leading urban public university serving more than 480,000 students at 24 colleges. https://www.hostos.cuny.edu/