Celebrating Hispanic Heritage

Every year from September 15 to October 15, National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated to acknowledge the contributions made to America by Hispanic people and Americans with ancestry from Spanish-speaking countries. To commemorate the month, The NYCHA Journal is highlighting the Authority’s developments named after prominent Hispanic people.  

Bracetti Plaza: Mariana Bracetti (1825-1903) – She was a leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement in the 1860s and known as “Arms of Gold.” She is believed to have crafted the first Puerto Rican flag, known as the Boriquas Latin Cross, which today remains as the Puerto Rican symbol of revolution and independence. 

Campos Plaza: Pedro Albizu Campos (1891-1965) – Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he was a lawyer and activist and one of the most prominent members of the Puerto Rican independence movement. Campos served in the U.S. Army during World War I and, because of his mixed-race heritage, served in an all-Black regiment. After leaving the Army, he graduated from Harvard Law School and went back to Puerto Rico to lead the independence movement. He spent 26 years in prison for advocating for the violent overthrow of the U.S. administration in Puerto Rico. 
 
De Hostos Apartments: Eugenio Maria de Hostos (1839-1903) – An educator, humanist, abolitionist, philosopher, writer, and politician, De Hostos was a century ahead of his time in fighting for Puerto Rico to be a part of the United States, including U. S. citizenship for its residents. His mission was to keep Puerto Rico from being a colony, saying: “We want to be brothers of the Americans, not servants. We have a right to be first-class Americans with all the prerogatives of a free country.”  

Hernandez Apartments: Rafael Hernandez (1892-1965) – He was a legendary composer of some of Puerto Rico’s most famous songs which grew in popularity in all languages for generations throughout the Western Hemisphere. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I and was the director of the Puerto Rican Symphonic Orchestra.  
 
Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses: Justice Sonia Sotomayor (1954- ) – Justice Sotomayor is the 111th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court’s first Hispanic-American Justice. She is an iconic figure in the American legal community, considering her 30-year career. She lived at the Bronxdale Houses from 1957 until 1970, and it was renamed for her in 2010.