Bronx Culture Trolley

POP students enjoyed a cultural art night out in the Boogie Down Bronx by participating in the Bronx Council of the Arts, Bronx Culture Trolley to view exhibits Dream Sequence at the the Longwood Arts Gallery, Fosforera at Hostos Community College and Mi Sangre at Pregones Theater. Students also won Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird as part of the Big Read in the Bronx event.

"I am A Photographer"

At the World Savvy Global Youth Media and Arts Jam Session, POP students broke into various workshop groups with talented teaching artists exploring different genres within performance art and then gave the audience a show. Jasmine, a 7th grade POP student from Mexico living in the Bronx acted out with the rest of her group how she identifies herself. Jumping up on the stage, Jasmine flashed, clicked, positioned photo after photo as her peers charaded their individualism. At the end, each student shouted one character phrase and Jasmine's proudly snapped, "I am a photographer!"

Jasmine in her breakout session during the workshop piece of the Jam session.


Jasmine proudly taking pictures during her identity performance piece.


Jasmine's photographs from the stage.

World Savvy Jam Session

POP students participated for the second year in a row in the World Savvy Global Youth Media and Arts Jam Session on Saturday March 7th in Brooklyn, NY. Below is the "Stories from the Field" hosted on World Savvy's website.

The Jam - "I learned today that there is no limit to what I can do!"

On Saturday, March 7, more than 100 students and teachers from New York's five boroughs gathered for World Savvy's Jam Session in Brooklyn Heights. The Jam is part of the Global Youth Media and Arts Program and began with a rousing performance by Senegalese hip-hop artist Baay Musa, who rapped about his own experience as an African immigrant, his struggles and his determination to succeed. Students carried Musa's inspirational message into small breakout workshops where they explored Immigration and Identity with professional filmmakers, dancers, theater-artists and musicians.
Workshops ranged from personal identity exploration through Indian music and dance to spoken-word reflections on the borders that young people encounter in their own lives. After two hours, groups returned to the auditorium full of nervous energy and excited to share their creative projects. Teachers exclaimed with pride as some of their shyest students broke out of their shells and took center stage, revealing aspects of their cultures, rallying against stereotypes and articulating their own American dreams.
On World Savvy surveys, 100% of participants said that the Jam Session gave them a better understanding of Immigration and Identity than they had before and that the Jam helped them see how Immigration and Identity effects them, their communities and the world. Students also shared more personal feedback; one World Savvy Columbian-American teen wrote, "I learned today that there is no limit to what we can do!"

Kassandra's Quinceañera

I am currently editing the photos I shot from Kassandra's quinceañera/sweet sixteen in the Bronx. Kassandra chose to merge both Puerto Rican and American traditions by celebrating her quinceañera on her sixteenth birthday. Her coming of age celebration was full of rituals and symbolism. Below, Kassandra relaxes in the banquet hall after her party has ended. Her grandpa pinches her cheeks and gives her a good night beso, or kiss. The doll in the foreground is her última muñeca, the last doll she will receive in her childhood, a symbol of both maturity and purity. The última muñeca, dressed identically to Kassandra, is pinned with leftover capias, or charms, that were given as recuerdos, or keepsakes, to the quinceañera guests.

The Grid Multimedia Piece

During the Eddie Adams Workshop, my group, team silver, created this multimedia piece revealing the six degrees of separation between community members in the town of Liberty, NY. We were the first group in the history of the workshop to combine audio,video and still photography. Check out this article in Photo District News.

Eddie Adams Workshop Images

Last fall I was selected to participate in the Eddie Adams Workshop. I was assigned to photograph two sisters, Megan and Hunter, their relationship to each other, their friend Zayerra and the community of Liberty, NY. They were amazing young women to photograph. These images reveal only a glimpse of their layered lives.

Winter Break POP Camp

POP students have enjoyed reflecting on their lives and exploring NYC during their winter break. Students have had classes at the New York Public Library, visited the Full Moon: Apollo Mission Photographs of the Lunar Landscape at the Rose Center for Earth and Space (Hayden Planetarium) located in the American Museum of Natural History, and a visit with World Savvy to see the Queens International 4 exhibit at the Queens Museum of Art. Additionally POP students visited and compared and contrasted Central Park and Flushing Meadows Corona Park and warmed their bellies through Latin American, Indian and Jewish cuisine!