The city of Hartford has announced plans for a Puerto Rican cultural center.
Officials want to help create a place for the local Puerto Rican community to call home — a spot in the city’s North End that would preserve history and celebrate culture through programming and activities.
The center will be located at the site of the now-shuttered Sacred Heart Church, which the city bought last year. The church is meaningful to State Rep. Jimmy Sánchez, D-Hartford, who was baptized at Sacred Heart and worshipped there when he was younger.
“This has always been and will be the center and the hub of the Puerto Rican community,” Sanchez said Thursday at a press conference inside the church. “Puerto Ricans who arrived from Puerto Rico arrived here and settled in this very area.”
Community leaders and elected officials gathered at the church to announce the news. The city will eventually select a company to lead the planning process to create the center. The city's seeking proposals this month.
The cultural center is an exciting project, said Fernando Betancourt, executive director of Hartford's San Juan Center. Sacred Heart was an “incubator” of groups and efforts that benefited the local Puerto Rican community, he said.
“This is an opportunity for the further development of the Puerto Rican community ... not only historically, but in recognition of our many, many contributions,” he said. “We have a rich history, rich culture and we ... contribute and continue to contribute.”
