Repeating Islands

On Thursday, December 22, 2011, the group Calle 13, directed by René Pérez, will receive the Ramón Emeterio Betances Medal in the Puerto Rican Athenaeum, for his contribution to the integration of Puerto Rico to Latin America through his musical compositions, which have been recently awarded internationally.

At the ceremony, the Calle 13 members, with singer/songwriter Tito Auger, will raise the national flag while singing the national anthem “La Borinqueña,” by Lola Rodríguez de Tió. This flag ceremony will be dedicated to Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, who has been in U.S. prisons for 31 years. López Rivera’s biography will be read by Athenaeum vice president and poet Hamid Galib. A special guest will be Puerto Rican Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who has worked intensively for López Rivera’s release.

In addition, the Board of Puerto Rican Athenaeum will unveil the statue of Father of the Puerto Rican Homeland, Ramón Emeterio Betances, in the gardens of the Athenaeum at 12:00noon. The statue of the patriot, which represents the struggle of the Puerto Rican people for the reaffirmation of their spirit of Nation, Homeland and Identity, was created by Dominican sculptor José Cadaveda and its base, on which one can read the Ten Commandments of Free Men, has been designed by artist Antonio Martorell, in a structure by master builder Joshua Santos.

For original article (in Spanish), see http://www.noticel.com/noticia/115068/homenaje-del-ateneo-a-calle-13.html