2025-2026: Boricuas in Relation

The 2025-2026 theme, “Boricuas in Relation,” invites researchers to engage with the phenomenon of Boricua archipelagic and diasporic community formation with other racial and ethnic groups. Boricuas have long developed and sustained political, social, kinship, creative, labor, and spiritual practices with multiple communities across the United States and beyond. One example to consider is the multi-generational relationships Puerto Ricans in Hawaii have created with Kānaka Maoli, Filipino, Japanese, Black, and Portuguese communities after over 100 years of colonization and cohabitation. We are interested in works that examine the experience and impact of migration, language, assimilation, cultural and linguistic resilience, and the connections between Puerto Ricans and other racial and ethnic groups.

2025-2026 Micro-Grant Recipients:

• Juan M. Usera-Falcón for El Taller Comunitario Afro-Puertorriqueño y Dominicano (CMDW): Boricuas in Relation through Movement and Memory.
• Amanda "iiritu” Morell for a Mini-Documentary on Ceiba Arbor’s Community Brigade Days
• Jacqueline González Wooton for Raíces en Tinta
• Archivo Histórico de Vieques to create an archival collection on the historical relationship between Vieques and St. Croix.
• Alycia Kamil for Diaspora Diaries, a multimedia experience investigating the undeniable cultural connections between Black Diasporic communities.
• Tabonuco for Savia: Micro-residencias de Etnobotánica y Arte at Tabonuco, a micro-residency series focused on ethnobotany and art, designed to welcome three participants from any discipline to explore their creative or research interests through a 5-7 day immersive residency experience.
• Maia Villalba for Tracing Muslim Nuyorican activism in New York City via archival fragments, oral histories, and visual narratives.
• 9 Millones for Círculos de la Memoria, an oral history tool aiming to validate our lived experiences and document our memories. 
• Natalia Marie Hilario De La Cruz for Hermanas del Agua for a series of monthly workshops led by Puerto Rican and diasporic facilitators.
• BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance for Decolonizing Our Hips, bringing together three dance artists to present works rooted in Caribbean traditions from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and St. Croix.
• Total Equity Now for the 13th Annual Literacy Across Harlem March, transforming the streets of East, Central, and West Harlem into intergenerational learning spaces.