Our Position on the Future of
the Clemente Soto Vélez Center

July 5, 2004

To our understanding from the five years we have been there (as Cine Huracán, and now as Centro Bravo) the CSV Center was created as an organic institution, to be a part of the artistic, cultural and social 'pulse' of the Puerto Rican, Latino and multi-cultural communities in New York City and abroad.

Clemente Soto Vélez, the building's namesake, was, among other things, a visionary, a labor organizer, a poet and a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Clemente was also a loyal compatriot and friend to Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, one of the most influential figures of the 20th century in Puerto Rico and Latin America, who's unyielding devotion to freedom and sovereignty from colonial oppression spread from the shores of Puerto Rico to as far across the Atlantic as the Republic of Ireland.

Like Albizu Campos, the passion for justice and liberty in Soto Velez radiated beyond the Puerto Rican community, as it is evident in his prose and verse. His political and social vision was advanced, even by today's standards. Following the steps of Ramon Emeterio Betances, Eugenio Maria de Hostos, Arturo Schaumburg, Julia de Burgos, Jose de Diego, Bernardo Vega, Jesus Colon, Lola Rodriguez de Tío, Clemente Soto Vélez shared his history and vision of the Puerto Rican and Latino experience, so we may study and enrich ourselves as we look upon the continuing struggle to keep our culture and community alive.

Although the Puerto Rican community continues in that struggle, we have not only held our doors open to everyone, but have fought valiantly for the rights and liberty of others outside our respective communities – our history is a testament to this. In fact, the flag of Puerto Rico was originally designed for the military brigade, which volunteered to fight in Cuba to secure its liberty against Spain.

This is the spirit and legacy upon which the CSV Center was formed – to help defend free expression through art, education and the preservation of culture, of Puerto Ricans, Latinos and other poor communities in New York City and abroad.

Only when greed and self-serving opportunists have threatened our struggles, has our inclusive nature been questioned.

Although it is true that the physical community of the Lower East Side (or Loisaida, as we grew up to know it, and as the City acknowledged in the renaming of Avenue C) has changed a great deal, as it has in so many other neighborhoods, we believe the concept of "community," when referred to CSV extends beyond the physical boundaries of the neighborhood, as it is the case for so many other cultural institutions throughout the world. This is one of the reasons why there is such strong emphasis on the Puerto Rican & Latino identity when it is applied to the character of the building and its programming.

This is also the reason why the building was named Clemente Soto Vélez – not just because he was Puerto Rican and a staunch defender of economic, artistic and political rights for all Latinos in New York City, but because he also believed strongly in creating and maintaining infrastructures that our community could use to support those rights, no matter where they found themselves, or where their economic plight would push them to.

Clemente Soto Vélez believed in the same political principles that have governed the struggles of many other immigrants and their respective nations. Clemente believed that we should not demand our rights until we have the power – a concept based in the heart of democracy, and specifically in the struggles that freed this nation, as well as the Irish Republic (for the most part) and others from the colonial rule of the British Empire.

This, to us at least, is important to not just understand but to internalize in this process of defining the future of CSV.

We do not believe that anyone in the building is looking to challenge the City. However, there are a lot of emotions, "people's rights," as well as real-world & tangible considerations that are being weighed in considering the future of 107 Suffolk Street. Unfortunately, it has surprised us that, in a building full of so many artists, there has been little synergy, foresight and overall vision – with exceptions, of course.

Nelson Landrieu and Mateo Gómez, for example, have given their blood and sweat to keep CSV running safely for artists and the community to enjoy and use as an artistic and educational resource. And they have achieved much progress with little more than their morals, their dignity and the help from the building’s residents and community. However, their struggle was not only for the safe function of the building, but also for the continuance of a cultural and social legacy. In many ways, the CSV Board had the double duty of being activists and entrepreneurs, and they have endeavored to those ends with little resources. In our opinion, it is their responsibility to continue those efforts. But they cannot do it alone.

The principles of this organization have been, and always will be staunch defenders of the rights of the poor, the working class and, specifically, the struggles of Puerto Ricans and Latinos in this country and abroad. As opposed to the growing specter of our nation turning into a plutocracy, we still believe that the rights for which we send our young people to fight and die for should not be dictated by anyone in a higher tax bracket, but inspired by the collective will of a free and fair nation.

As was pointed out in the June 28th meeting, people tend to use the "race" issue to paint over the real problems that afflict most of us all over the world: the continuing struggle between the economic and social classes; the history of slavery, labor and political oppression as it relates to established infrastructures; and the price of tea in China — the laws which govern trade and other aspects of commerce, which continue to favor certain groups of people at the expense of limiting the progress of others).

This is not a tangent from the issue at hand – this is very much the issue at hand. As Councilwoman Margarita López stated, "No one, no one, has the right to take our institutions away from us." However, if "we" do not have the power to defend those rights, as well as the ability to pay our bills, then our institutions, our culture, our arts and our legacy are once again, by default, in the hands of the few wealthy people with the means and ways to buy those rights.

In this conception, the CSV Center becomes a microcosm of an ongoing debate in this country, from inside the halls of our Government to the streets of our poor neighborhoods being targeted by private developers and the power-trip psychosis of local politicians — all supported, at times, by mandates, charters and bylaws created in an era when women and Blacks weren’t even allowed to vote.

The time has come to be bold again. Much of Councilman Gerson's structural recommendation can be useful and instrumental in shaping a thriving future for the arts, the preservation of Puerto Rican and Latino culture and the needs of the community around and beyond the neighborhood of the Center.

However, the CSV Board should not be punished for their struggle to maintain the building. Nor do we support any position that permits the Artists Alliance any major roll or control of the building and its programming, no matter how slick and effusive their public relations department may be. We need to address certain ongoing transgressions that have been hampering the efforts of maintaining and moving forward with the building. All rent for all spaces should be paid directly to the CSV management (or management entity under the charge of the CSV Board) by all individual occupants of the spaces. It is questionable at best that sub-leasing and other micro or pseudo real estate initiatives should be a part of an arts organization’s mission. Helping artists who cannot afford space elsewhere is noble and definitely should continue as an overall goal of the building, or as an initiative within any resident company that may wish to do so — but should be done under the consent of CSV's management apparatus, since they bear ultimate responsibility for the building and its occupants.

Just like the issues of race and class, the decision of the building is not a matter of black and white. While the concept of a "cooperative" is charming (as it has been suggested on several occasions, and as we continue to support), we must respect and yield to those who have valiantly fought to keep the building running. Should there be a cooperative board (and we agree that a shift in overall governance should lean in that direction, as we have advocated for since last year) it should exist within the framework of the current CSV corporation, and current CSV Board members should maintain a majority representation as well as continue as leaseholders of 107 Suffolk Street. An expanded board that would reflect more direct representation from the AAI, and the individual artists and resident companies would ensure the integrity of CSV's overall mission and would bring harmony to the future endeavors of all residents and the community. All unresolved matters should simply be left to arbitration, as supported by Councilman Gerson?s office.

The CSV Center is a public building with a distinct Puerto Rican and Latino heritage, and has a responsibility to evolve as an institution that will better serve the people and communities that need help the most. To that end, we should be mindful to not let ?the arts? define the totality of the building's service to the community. We must incorporate more productive and innovative ways to aid and embrace the struggles of Puerto Ricans, Latinos and other disenfranchised communities in New York City and abroad. We need to look beyond the poetic and philosophical world of our icons, like Clemente Soto Vélez, study their deeds, and find ways to continue their work in the 21st Century. With vision and courage, the CSV Center can become a beacon of growth and progress in our community.


©2004 grupoHuracán

107 Suffolk Stret Suite 308
Loisaida
New York, NY 10002
info(at)centrobravo.org
www.centrobravo.org
tel (212)369-4261
fax (212)202-3919


Centro Bravo is a non-profit venture of grupoHuracán