Puerto Rican Association of Community Affairs (PRACA) & Muévete Records

During the 1990s and early 2000s, multiple community organizations, initially founded by the National Latinas Caucus and later carried on by the Puerto Rican Association of Community Affairs (PRACA) and ASPIRA, hosted annual conferences named “Muévete: The Boricua Conference” with the intent to help build and strengthen Puerto Rican youth leadership in the community.

The photographs in this collection stem from one such conference held on October 9, 1993. There are 125 color photographs taken from that day that captured the primary conference activities which included: panel discussions, guest speakers, entertainment, and displays of literature, art, and community resource information. Interspersed throughout the collection are photographs of musical performances and dance with some performers wearing traditional dress. Additionally, many photographs in the collection document the array of speakers at the event including important political and cultural figures such as Antonia Pantoja, Alice Cardona, Yolanda Sánchez, Luis Guzmán, Piri Thomas, Richie Pérez, and others.

To promote the Muévete conferences throughout the years, posters and t-shirts were created on behalf of PRACA and other organizations featuring original designs and artwork. There are nine posters in the collection promoting the conferences held from 1993-2001 as well as seven different t-shirts with similar designs promoting conferences from the same timeframe.

And finally in the collection, there are handbills, posters, and fliers featuring three different original designs advertising the yearly 106th Street Festival in El Barrio hosted by PRACA. The materials reflect three different years of the festival and promote various performers, musical acts, and artisanal products representing Puerto Rican and Nuyorican culture.