Yes, there’s a fascinating, lively and comprehensive new magazine in town, Centro Voices. [Many thanks to Harry Franqui for bringing this item to our attention.]

This newly designed and revamped electronic magazine “chronicles and preserves the dynamic lives, histories and culture of Puerto Ricans and their communities in the mainland United States.” In Centro Voices, you will find essays, fiction, memoirs, research, opinion, history, poetry, and art. Edwin Meléndez (professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College and Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies) says, “With the re-launching of Centro Voices, we take a momentous step towards providing a national, web-based platform for the exchange of ideas and scholarship not regularly covered by traditional academic journals.”

Description (excerpt): Today, there are more Puerto Ricans living in the United States than Puerto Rico, and they are more dispersed than ever, with Central Florida and the South displacing New York and the Northeast as ports of entry and the fastest growing enclaves. Significantly, first generation migrants represent a minority of our population as two-thirds of stateside Puerto Ricans were born in the United States, not on the island. The historical context for Puerto Ricans has changed as well, with a growing pan-Latino presence that now constitutes the largest ethno-racial group in the country and the resulting heightened culture wars.

Despite these significant demographic, socio-economic and cultural transformations affecting Puerto Rican communities, there are few mechanisms linking these communities and sharing information about the challenges and aspirations of our people. The question now is: What is the role of The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) in this new changing milieu? Centro Voices is part of the answer to such a critical question. [. . .]

To read full description, see http://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/centrovoices/current-affairs/listening-centro%E2%80%99s-voices-welcome

Also see http://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/about/centro-news/centro-relaunch-voices-e-magazine

To contribute to Centro Voices by submitting your writings, photography and/or video pieces, follow these editorial guidelines.

To read Centro Voices, go to http://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/centrovoices/