El Centro to host annual block party with live muralist from Puerto Rico

LORAIN — Hispanic Heritage Month will kick off mid-September with a community block party in South Lorain. El Centro de Servicios Sociales will host its annual block party 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 13, featuring Puerto Rican artist Hector Collazo Hernandez painting a mural on the side of the nonprofit's Pearl Avenue building. Collazo Hernandez's mural will be his fifth outside Puerto Rico as part of his ongoing "78 Pueblos y Una Bandera" or 78 towns, one flag, movement. The Ponce (Puerto Rico)-born artist began the project after he lost his brother to suicide, the Miami Herald reported when the artist came to the coastal city to paint one of his murals in 2019. Collazo Hernandez began traveling Puerto Rico's islands as a way to deal with his grief and explore his home. The project grew, eventually becoming the ongoing movement to highlight Puerto Rico's culture, which has broadened to highlight the larger Latin diaspora culture in the United States. The mural on El Centro's building will be the first in Ohio and the fifth outside Puerto Rico. El Centro Executive Director Victor Leandry said the block party's focus on mental health in the community came in part from Collazo Hernandez's story. For Leandry, painting the Puerto Rican flag on the side of the South Lorain nonprofit does not mean it will only serve the city's Puerto Rican community, but is to pay homage for the Puerto Ricans who helped build the south side and El Centro. "This community is so different in Ohio — over 75 percent of this Latino community is Puerto Rican," Leandry said. "So we want to celebrate that, but at the same time knowing that we represent El Centro it is not just Puerto Ricans we represent here — we represent everyone." El Centro may have been founded to serve the city's Latino population, but it's clientele has grown far beyond, he said, noting its leadership roles in the 2020 census and refugee resettlement efforts for families coming from Ukraine. Community members 18 and older can volunteer to help Collazo Hernandez paint, event volunteer coordinator Elsie Rodriguez said. Signups are available through Aug. 29. Mercy Health - Lorain will be conducting health screenings on site, El Centro board of directors member Marielee Santiago said, alongside tables from other local health partners. The event also aims to bridge the gap between the larger Puerto Rican and Latino communities in Cuyahoga County and Lorain, with Jose Colon, of Cleveland, serving as the emcee. "I am a community advocate, and my community is, as a whole, Hispanic/Latino, but my heart is Puerto Rican — I was born and raised San Juan," Colon said. When I see events like this that not only highlight the importance of our community and who we are in Northeast Ohio, it also highlights something that is very stigmatized in our community, which is mental health." There is a need for events and conversations focusing on mental health, Colon said, and if he can be a part of pushing for that, "there's nothing that's going to stop be from doing so." Leandry said it has been amazing to see individuals from Cleveland be so involved in planning this year's event. Breaking down the invisible wall between the two counties ties into Collazo Hernandez's involvement as well. His work in Puerto Rico, when shared on social media, highlighted each town he painted a mural in, Santiago said. "He is from a small town in Puerto Rico, but when he started this movement of going to different towns throughout Puerto Rico, he brought levels of awareness through social media like 'Hey, come and check out this town and take a photo with this flag' — it also bridged the gap of Puerto Ricans within the island going to other towns and supporting one another. … That, to me, is a representation of with the idea of having Hector come here, we should have people from Youngstown, Columbus, Cleveland (come here), not just specific to this community but definitely supporting this community." Colon agreed, noting economic development in Cleveland helps communities in Lorain and vice versa. "If we continue creating silos and working in silos, it's never going to work," he said. "We need to change." The event will include a car show, which is accepting registrations at Extreme Body Experts, 1010 Colorado Ave. Registration is $30. ATVs and four-wheelers are prohibited. To help cover the cost of the mural, insurance, inflatables and other activities, El Centro hopes to raise $20,000. Donations can be made online or at El Centro, 2800 Pearl Ave. Sponsorships ranging from $25 to $1,000 are also available. For more information, contact 78pueblosy1bandera@lorainelcentro.org or (440) 277-8235. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.