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Puerto Rican Artists at The Gathering, 2015

PerformerPerformed by Ramón Arroyo (Puerto Rican)

Date2015 May 16

Mediumborn digital video

DimensionsDuration: 41 Seconds

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections

CopyrightIn Copyright

Object number2015.196.452.4

DescriptionVideo of Puerto Rican artists at The Gathering held in Waterbury, Connecticut on May 16, 2015. A performance by Junior Martinez and Los Soneros playing Puerto Rican jibaro music. Singer Ramon Arroyo joins in.

NotesSubject Note: The Gathering is an expansive and inclusive one-day festival that celebrates the cultures of western Connecticut, particularly the ethnic groups in Waterbury. Held from 2013-2019 and organized by journalist John Murray of the Waterbury Observer, councilman Geraldo Reyes, and several other supporters including members of city government, The Gathering attracts thousands of visitors to Library Park in Waterbury. Over 100 ethnic and civic groups display art works and information on their cultural group at tables set up around the Park, and music and dance groups perform throughout the day on four stages. Dozens of food vendors sell ethnic cuisine. The day starts off with a parade of ethnic groups through downtown Waterbury. The goal of event is to bring together the many ethnic groups that reside in the area; many of them host their own ethnic events and The Gathering aims to introduce them to each other and to the public.

Biographical Note: Junior Martinez and Los Soneros de Borinken performed Puerto Rican música jibara, the folk music of Puerto Rico. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, they also involved Hartford singer Ramon Arroyo in their performances. Los Soneros played at The Gathering in 2015 and 2018.

Biographical Note: Ramon Arroyo was an honored jibaro singer who performed often with La Primera Orquesta de Cuatros, a large performing group of cuatristas and singers which would hold regular concerts in local churches and halls around Hartford. Later he sang with the música jibara group Amor y Cultura around New England. He competed as a trovador in the annual Concurso de Trovadores, a traditional competition for oral composition of the décima song form held in the 1990s and again in 2003 in Hartford. His composition Aguinaldo Cagüeña, accompanied by the New Britain group Amor y Cultura, reflects on Ramon’s early life in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Additional materials exist in the CCHAP archive for this event.

Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.

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