VivirLatino

By definition a Nuyorican is a mix. The word is a blending of “New York” and “Puerto Rican”. The person is a Puerto Rican living in New York or a New York born person with Puerto Rican roots. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is. Trust me , I’m a Nuyorican. Originally it was used often as an insult. It was used by Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico to refer to NY Ricans who according to the stereotype spoke broken Spanish and were “Americanized” (although as a poet said, how much more American can you get than McDonald’s in Viejo San Juan).

More recently however the word has been reclaimed as a badge of pride and identity. Nuyorican is now used to name comedy troupes, bands, and a whole style of poetry and cafes where that poetry can be heard. But the last place I expected to see the tag “Nuyorican” used with such pride was in Puerto Rico.

The Nuyorican Cafe in Old San Juan , Puerto Rico, has no affiliation with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side of NYC, but the idea behind it is similar. The Nuyo, as island Ricans call it, was made to be an open space where artists of all genres can come together to show off and share their talents.

This past weekend in New York City, poets,musicians, and hip-hoppers from the Nuyorican in Puerto Rico came to chill with the Nuyoricans here. If the variety of talent that was here is any indication of what goes down in the Nuyo, bueno then that’s the place to see on your next trip to Puerto Rico. The Nuyorican Cafe in Viejo San Juan serves up food, dance, drinks, music, and poetry nearly everyday of the week.

Nuyorican Cafe