I grew up in Puerto Rico, a small island that is huge in heart (our people’s heart), in music, food and, of course, stories. La Perla del Caribe, Puerto Rico, shaped the inquiries I have about the world today. From flora and fauna to the fullest moon, brightest stars and warmest ocean waves, this pearl of an island is often the earth from which the seeds of my poems and stories grow.

The research department at CENTRO, Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, CUNY, says:  “In 2018, New York contains the 2nd largest Puerto Rican population in the United States with an estimated population of 1 million Puerto Ricans. The Puerto Rican population continues to be 5% of the New York population and represent 29% of the total Latino population in the state.”

CUNY’S Graduate Center’s CLACLS more recent studies says:

“In 2020, there were about 1.19 million Puerto Rican-origin people living in the New York City metro area.”