Student groups honor Puerto Rican poet with reading

Poet and playwright Tato Laviera was already battling diabetes, blindness and dialysis when he had emergency brain surgery last December. Since then, he has struggled to find a steady home and pay his medical bills.

But last night, he wore a top hat and a wide smile when he stepped onto an NYU stage and declared that the moment was "one of the wonderful highlights of my life."

Laviera was honored at the Kimmel Center last night as NYU student organizations brought together talented Puerto Rican writers, poets, artists and musicians for a poetry reading.

The show was hosted by many NYU student organizations, including Bella Quisqueya, LUCHA, C-Roots, the Latino Studies Program and the Africana Studies Program, along with United Bronx Parents Inc. and La Carreta Made a U-Turn Committee.

CAS junior and event organizer Stephanie Rodriguez learned of Laviera through social and cultural analysis professor Juan Flores. After reading Laviera's poetry, Rodriguez was inspired to invite his fans and contemporaries to get together and show their support.

"I hope the event will motivate people to appreciate poetry for what it is," Rodriguez said. "It's important for everyone to come together and appreciate the culture and some of the people who have done really great things to bring Latino writers into existence."

Audience member Adal Maldono, a Nuyorican artist who had known Laviera when they were both growing up in New York, stressed the importance of honoring Laviera in his own lifetime.

"Galleries and museums often have their own agendas and push for their own artists," Maldono said. "In effect, a lot of people get left behind."

The money raised will go to United Bronx Parents Inc., who will direct it toward starting a non-profit organization for sick poets who need support. Some of the funds will also go toward helping Laviera pay for medical care.