Juanita Arocho Papers

A pioneering presence in the Puerto Rican community of East (Spanish) Harlem, Juanita Arocho was a dedicated organizer and independentista who worked for the rights and freedoms of Puerto Ricans both on the island and in her adopted home of New York. An active political figure, she was in addition an integral member of the Orden de la Estrella de Oriente, a local Puerto Rican Masonic Order, which figured prominently in both her personal and political activities.

Born in Lares, Puerto Rico in 1910, Arocho migrated to the United States in 1933 on the U.S.S. San Jacinto, joining the many other Puerto Ricans who took advantage of increased steamship travel between New York and the island to seek better opportunities abroad. Settling with her mother on 112th Street and 7th Avenue, Arocho quickly became active in community and independence politics. Taking impetus from her work on the women’s right to vote campaign in Puerto Rico and the inspirational political work of Pedro Albizu Campos, Arocho was involved in the founding of Casa Borinquen, La Asociación Cívica Lareña, and the Comité de Manhattan del Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, of which she was President. She also worked as a political assistant to Congressman Vito Marcantonio, who represented East Harlem, during three of his campaigns, starting in 1936. In addition, Arocho was an active journalist and wrote weekly columns for a number of Spanish language newspapers. These columns included commentaries on the state of women in the Puerto Rican community, editorials, and discussions of community events.

In the course of her political and community work, Arocho became acquainted with such figures as the poet Julia de Burgos, political leaders Pedro Albizu Campos and Gilberto Concepción de Gracia, political prisoner and nationalist Lolita Lebrón, and political activists Erasmo and Emily Vando. Of particular note was her relationship with Albizu Campos, who looked to her to heighten the awareness of women’s issues in the independence movement.

In 1948, Arocho married Homero Rosado. Himself active in independence and nationalist circles, the couple supported each other’s efforts towards the empowerment of Puerto Ricans in New York and on the island. In 1959 they moved to Brooklyn where they would reside for the rest of their lives. Arocho would remain with her husband until his death in 1994.

Juanita Arocho died on August 22, 1998 in Brooklyn, New York. A seminal presence in the pionero community of East Harlem and the general Puerto Rican community of New York, she leaves behind a legacy exemplified by her extensive community work and support for the independence of Puerto Rico. This collection provides but a hint of the extent of Arocho’s activities and is supplemented by interviews that are part of the Centro Oral History Project. Researchers interested in the participation of Puerto Ricans and Latinos in the Masons and early organizational efforts within the Puerto Rican community of New York would do well to investigate both the Papers and the interviews.