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 Named after the respected Puerto Rican poet, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (CSV) was established in 1993 with the mission of nurturing and developing Puerto Rican and Latino arts in the Lower East Side.
In 1993, Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Nelson Landrieu and Mateo Gómez, all of whom are actively involved in the Latino arts community of New York City, founded CSV. At the time, Teatro La Tea, established by Landrieu and Gómez, was the only functioning theater in the building that now houses CSV. A year later, after much hard work and payment of an outstanding debt of over $30,000, the devoted trio acquired the lease to the City-owned building, on 107 Suffolk Street, from Solidaridad Humana, a community-based education and human services organization.
Housed in the one hundred year-old former public school building, CSV’s physical structure was in serious disrepair at the time. In addition, the surrounding streets and community were in a state of despair and the block was a crime infested drug supermarket. Undaunted by the task that lay ahead, the CSV founders and Board of that a strong Puerto Rican-Latino cultural and educational center would have to overcome these challenges.Its first duty was to clean up the building, as well as the surrounding neighborhood. Arts and culture eventually replaced the drug culture in the building. Bright out door lights were installed and internal condition of the building was attended to through hours of hard work and the dedication of countless volunteers. What was once a neglected building came to life, and in cooperation with the local authorities the area was transformed into a safe place that everyone could visit.
The Struggle For A Permanent Home For Latino Culture
As with most Latino arts centers and organizations throughout the country, CSV has struggled against many odds to keep its doors open. Lack of funding or benefactors and patrons to support Latino arts present hardships. Nevertheless, the space is steadily being improved with the intention of making CSV a locus of Latino art and culture in New York City.
As a public building that is owned by the City of New York, the CSV facility has been placed on the auction block on numerous occasions. This has placed the growing cultural and educational center in peril of displacing the resident theater and arts companies and artists. Such a situation would render them homeless. Nevertheless, each time the building was placed on auction block, CSV has fought hard and strong, and with the help of artists from across the city, has triumphed. The artists support the maintenance of a center that openly embraces Puerto Rican/Latino art and culture.
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