3 pictures. first picture Hostos President David Gomez. second picture Group gathered. smiling. third picture 1 man speaker.
 
On November 4, the Hostos A-Atrium was filled to capacity for the unveiling of Las Casitas Archvies, the collection of art and remnants that celebrate working class homes, which remain a vital expression of Afro-Puerto Rican culture in the diaspora.
 
The original collection, Las Casitas: An Urban Cultural Alternative, was created in 1991 by the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) Longwood Arts Project, and is now permanently located on the Hostos campus.  
 
Attending were Hostos President Dr. David Gómez, longtime Hostos supporter and former Director of the Bronx Council on the Arts, Bill Aguado; Executive Director of the BCA, Deirdre Scott; and other BCA representatives and community leaders, including Lydia Clark and Betti-Sue Hertz.
 
Artist and Hostos alumnus Felipe Garcia also presented his photo gallery that has helped to capture the beauty of las casitas for years. The band, Los Instantaneos, also performed music that is deeply associated with this important tradition.
 
To read more about this event, click here.
 
The Hostos Library and academic departments will continue to encourage ongoing research on the collection and deeper study of its value to Bronx arts and culture, and the many neighborhoods in which casitas presently exist in the Bronx.
 
About the collection
The exhibition opened at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and it went on to be exhibited at the Bronx Museum of the Arts and Syracuse University. Later, in 2010, elements from the original exhibition were reconstructed and updated by the Longwood Art Gallery@Hostos and BCA with further research and programming throughout the community. 
 
“Las Casitas Revisited” opened at Longwood Art Gallery@Hostos and included photographs by the renowned photographer Martha Cooper. Due to the artistic and cultural value of this collection, along with the historic role of Hostos as an institution which serves the community, the Hostos Archives will serve as the permanent repository for these materials. 
 
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. It serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique Student Success Coaching Unit provides students with individualized guidance and exemplifies its emphasis on student support services.

Named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, Hostos offers 27 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.