PUERTO RICAN FOLKLORIC DANCE INC
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Mission Statement
The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) is the only center in Texas and the Southwest affiliated with the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) for ongoing programming that could not otherwise be experienced in this region. Founded in 1997 by Taino blood-descendant Dr. Ana María Tekina-eirú Maynard, the mission of our nonprofit 501(c)(3) is to promote cultural awareness and pride through educational programs and events based in folklore, history and traditions -- dance, music, community theatre, and indigenous Taino traditions. We are home to Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance (PRFDance), our performing company of dancers, musicians, and juniors who perform throughout the year. Our center brings a focal point to Austin for heritage programs whose achievement and quality have been validated by repeat support (since 2001) from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Texas Commission on the Arts, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, NEA Chairman's Award (2007), and Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (since 2011). Visit our website to learn more about us: http://prfdance.org
About This Cause
Enjoy our Mission & Accomplishments video (3 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Ryyh7SarA We are a community, bonded like Family, under our Bandera of cultural arts and Indigenous traditions. It takes a village to raise a child; we are that village, for them and for each other. You must travel to faraway cities like Chicago or New York City to enjoy another cultural center like ours! Through our multipurpose facility in East Austin, we serve the community with 10 weekly performing arts programs, ongoing cultural events, and opportunities to learn Taino heritage. Our cultural center includes indoor and outdoor areas where free, monthly cultural events and indigenous Taino gatherings attract tourism and give a resource-limited community opportunity to participate in living traditions. Our programs are open to all who wish to experience the joy of our people. We especially welcome those whose access to cultural programming is limited by economics. Our Programs Puerto Rico has a rich heritage based in Taino, West African, and Spanish roots. Trained by Island Masters, our cultural center is a focal point in the Southwest for unique programs that target our underserved community and draw tourism to our city's vibrant cultural landscape. In today's climate of racial intolerance, we are "subtle activists" inspiring the community at-large to "fall in love" with our Afro-Indigenous Boricua culture through the sharing of our joyful traditions. We are the only center on the Mainland with expertise to authentically teach and present the full cross-section of Puerto Rico's cultural heritage -- Afro-Boricua (Bomba, Plena), Mountain (Jibaro), Salon (Danza), ancestral fighting arts (Cocobale), and Taino music and dance (Areyto). We spiral Puerto Rico's history with cultural arts to offer programs in folkloric music and dance, percussion, community theatre, ancestral fighting arts, and our indigenous heritage. Our programs include both informal performances and mainstage productions that give students of all ages an opportunity to participate -- preschool through professional adults. We provide annual training and performance opportunities with Puerto Rican masters. We bring special workshops to local schools with significant at-risk populations, including K-12 and colleges. Our original bilingual plays based in oral history honor unsung heroes and bring to light forgotten elements of Puerto Rican heritage. Featuring live music, dance and community theatre, our musicals give opportunity for beginners to perform with professional actors, and seasoned professionals a platform to develop multidisciplinary skills. Our cultural center is a sanctuary for the rapidly growing Puerto Rican community in Central Texas; in the spirit of our welcoming culture, we adopt anyone who wants to join! Our multipurpose facility makes it possible to expand our outreach and grow community through the sharing of well-loved traditions including interactive picnics with live folklore; important holiday celebrations (Octavitas with the Reyes Mago); workshops to pass-on childhood games (trompos/tops) and ancestral sports (Taino Batu ballgame), and more! We share Taino history and traditions, music, dance, language, and more. Our active indigenous community -- Yara Taino & Guaytiao -- celebrates our heritage and shares life-ways on how we live in relationship with Nature. Our History & Accomplishments Founded in 1997 with a single class in traditional dance, we have grown to become a world-class cultural center dedicated to Puerto Rican culture and heritage. Since 1997, PRFDance has produced artistically acclaimed programming, including our annual Celebrando Salsa & Heritage Festival ($25K/year) featuring performances by Masters of Puerto Rican folklore, handcraft artisans, comida criolla, and dancing for all. Our three-dancer company which debuted in 1998 is now a 20-member, multi-generational company of dancers, musicians, and juniors. Our founding adult-dance program added youth classes in 2001, and today offers 12 weekly classes to students and professionals in folkloric dance and music, community theatre, ancestral fighting arts, and indigenous Taino traditions. In 2004 we debuted our first original musical for community theatre. Featuring live music and dance, our annual plays share oral history from Island elders who remember an undocumented past. In 2006 we renovated an industrial space in East Austin to host our programs. In operation since 2006, our multipurpose facility provides a platform to experiment and grow unique cultural programming based in old-world traditions, to serve our underserved community and attract cultural tourism. Today, there are more Puerto Ricans living on the Mainland than the Island. Texas is in the top three States experiencing the fastest growth in Puerto Rican population. In collaboration since 2001 with the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, our formal affiliation in 2005 named us Puerto Rico's Ambassadors in Texas and the Southwest. Our visibility on the world-wide-web has made us an information resource for Puerto Ricans travelling or moving to Central Texas. Our Community Our Puerto Rican Cultural Center is building a community who is passionate about experiencing and sharing Puerto Rico's heritage and history. Each week, students drive from 2 hours away to participate in our hard-to-find cultural programs. We welcome everyone -- regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, economic or social background. We especially target the traditionally underserved whose access to the arts is limited by economics. Our demographics include 85% Hispanic (various countries), 5% African-American, 5% American Indian, and 5% White. We are located in Central Texas where 84% of Puerto Ricans in Texas live [Census Data]. Thanks to our internet presence and social media outreach, our cultural events serve Austin tourism -- 40% of our audience are cultural tourists from other Texas cities (Dallas to Brownsville), other states, and even Puerto Rico. Active since 1997, our website is a resource for cultural education. Through Facebook (14,000 subscribers/followers across Director and business pages) we engage a virtual community in daily conversations that entertain, educate and instill cultural pride. We welcome all who want to be part of a community bonded together by joyful heritage. Through our programs people are discovering the healing power of music and dance. It takes a village to raise a child; we are that village, for them and for each other. We live that proverb by mentoring students and encouraging family-unity through shared performance experiences. We are an oasis where old-world values are alive -- community elders are encouraged to participate, share their wisdom and pass on oral history and traditions. Through our mentorship, our volunteers develop real-world skills in leadership, teaching, business administration, marketing, and computer-based business applications. Youth develop leadership skills through company apprenticeship and student-teaching. Thanks to Puerto Rico's rainbow of -- Hispanic, Taino, and Afro-Boricua -- ethnic diversity, youth experience personal pride through self-identity. Music and dance are a very important part of Puerto Rican culture. In 2005, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture named us Puerto Rico's Ambassadors in Texas and the Southwest. We are proud to share our rich traditions with the community, and hand down our heritage to the next generation!