Villa Victoria Overview
At this site, you will listen to an introduction by Dr. Lorna Rivera about the history of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción and Villa Victoria. In the early 20th century, abandoned by Boston's politicians, the South End became an affordable neighborhood for immigrant and lower income communities, among them Syrians, Greeks, African Americans, Chinese Americans, and Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans settled primarily in the area between Tremont and Washington Streets known as Parcel 19. While apartments were affordable, the condition of the housing was deplorable and the neighborhood soon became targeted in the 1950s as part of Boston's so-called urban renewal project where "renewed" meant "demolished." A group of mostly Puerto Rican residents met in the basement of St. Stephen’s Church in the late 1960’s to fight for their community. The group which incorporated as the Emergency Tenants’ Council (ETC) and later formed the sister social service organization, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), rallied the neighborhood with the motto "no nos mudaremos de la parcela 19"—“We’re not going to move from Parcel 19.” How did Boston's Puert Rican community resist so-called "urban renewal"? How did they organize to make a stronger community for themselves and future generations?Next, read this article from CUNY Hunter College's Center for Puerto Rican Studies: https://centropr-archive.hunter.cuny.edu/centrovoices/barrios/honoring-villa-victoriaThen, read this Bay State Banner article on the 50th anniversary of Villa Victoria: https://www.baystatebanner.com/2017/11/29/iba-looks-back-at-50-years-of-community-achievements/Finally, read this Bay State Banner article on a new mural that was painted in 2021 by Héctor Collazo to honor Puerto Rican heritage: https://www.baystatebanner.com/2021/10/06/painting-puerto-rican-pride-in-bostons-south-end/
Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial
At this site, you will listen to audio that describe the Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial that was created on this site in 2013. It is the nation’s first-ever memorial to Puerto Rican veterans and was the result of 14 years of activism by the Puerto Rican community in Boston. Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. military since its founding and hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have been drafted or volunteered to serve in all the branches of the military. However, it is a complex history as the United States continues to keep Puerto Rico as a colony and Puerto Ricans were often forced to serve in segregated military units."The effort to construct the monument began in earnest in 1999, after Vietnam veterans Tony Molina and Jaime Rodriguez secured the triangular plot of land from the city and installed a plaque honoring the 65th Regiment, a Puerto Rican force that distinguished itself in the Korean War. From then on, the pair would come once or twice a week to clear litter and weeds from the park, cut the grass and maintain the plantings. It was a simple memorial, with flagpoles for the U.S., Puerto Rican and Massachusetts flags, but then — as now — it was the sole monument to Puerto Rican fighters in the United States. Molina and Rodriguez embarked on a fundraising campaign, hitting up corporations, hospitals and other institutions in the Boston area, often with disappointing results. 'We sent 21 proposals for funding to major banks in Boston,' Rodriguez says. 'We got $500.'" In the end, they were able to raise $400,000 to develop the park and memorial. What is the importance of this monument and park for the Puerto Rican community of Boston? How does Puerto Rican military service relate to U.S. colonialism? How does this monument help us better understand the history of Boston's Puerto Rican community?Next, read this article from CUNY Hunter College's Center for Puerto Rican Studies on Puerto Rican's service in the U.S. military: https://centropr-archive.hunter.cuny.edu/digital-humanities/pr-military/puerto-rican-experience-us-military-century-unheralded-serviceNext, read this Bay State Banner article on the Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial: https://www.baystatebanner.com/2013/11/25/first-in-the-nation-memorial-park-in-boston-honor-puerto-rican-veterans/Next, read this WGBH article on a recent ceremony at the Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial: https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/05/30/puerto-rican-veterans-honored-at-south-end-ceremonyFinally, read this article about a statue to honor Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente that was also placed at this site in 2015: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2015/11/19/roberto-clemente-honored-with-statue-in-south-end/
Betances Mural of Villa Victoria
At this site, you will watch a video describing the details of the Betances Mural of Villa Victoria. Made in 1979 and located in Plaza Betances, which is at the center of the Villa Victoria housing project, the mural was the result of a movement to fight an urban renewal project that would have displaced the Puerto Rican residents of the South End neighborhood in the late 1960s. The mural created by artist Lilli Ann Rosenberg in collaboration with community members, including children, to honor Puerto Rican heritage and the Villa Victoria community. The central figure is Dr. Ramón E. Betances, who was a Puerto Rican activist and humanitarian fighting for Puerto Rican independence and the emancipation of enslaved people. What is the importance of this mural for the Puerto Rican community of Boston? How does it relate to the gentrification and displacement of Puerto Rican Bostonians? How does it symbolize liberation and freedom?Next, you can read more below about the Betances Mural, including its history and importance.Northeastern University report: https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/downloads/neu:m040q664f?datastream_id=contentYale University blog post: http://campuspress-test.yale.edu/engl247f2018/betances-mural-in-boston-ma/UMass Boston Mass Media (student newspaper) article: http://www.umassmedia.com/art_lifestyle/my-top-favorite-public-artworks-in-boston/article_c7f5300a-09a7-11ec-9734-b3f2febebe61.html
St. Stephen's Church - The Beginning of a Movement
At this site, you are looking at St. Stephen’s Church, where in the basement in the late 1960s, a group of mostly Puerto Rican residents met to fight for their community when the city and state planned to demolish their neighborhood. This gave birth to Emergency Tenants’ Council (ETC) and later formed the sister social service organization, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA).Next, as you walk toward the site of the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, you will be walking through the housing that Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción foughe so hard to build. During the design process, "ETC flew one of its allies, an architect named John Sharratt, to Puerto Rico to study the architecture that would feel most like a community to them. The architecture of the resulting Villa Victoria achieved that goal, with its plaza and parks and casitas facing one another. The development also provided a facility for the elderly to keep aging relatives close. Several indoor community spaces included a youth and arts center, a community credit union, and the home of one of the first bilingual preschools in the country."Read more from this Harvard University article: https://archive.revista.drclas.harvard.eduAs you walk to the next stop, notice the choices that were made in these buildings. What choices did the community make in the creation of these homes? If the community did not have a voice in the development of Villa Victoria and government officials had their way, what might it have looked like?
Villa Victoria Center for the Arts
At this site once stood the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, which was a former church turned into an arts center for the community. Sadly, in September 2019, the building was ruled unsafe and demolished. It is being replaced by a new community arts and gathering space that will be used by IBA and the South End neighborhood.Arts Boston Calendar for Villa Victoria Center for the Arts: https://calendar.artsboston.org/organization/villa-victoria-center-for-the-arts/
Betances Plaza
To end the walking tour, watch this short film directed by Pablo Cabrera on the history of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción and Villa Victoria.
