Cangrejos y Café

She came from a long line of successful but struggling coffee growers in las montañas. He was an obrero from San Mateo de Cangrejos. Their friendship spanned lifetimes. In his ancestral past, she saved his life. He returned in this lifetime to repay the debt.

Join the performing company of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Austin for our 20th original, bilingual theater performance. Sembrando Herencia shines light on important elements of Puerto Rican history at risk of being forgotten. Our annual stage production features an original story written by Tekina-eiru Maynard and original live music, dance, community theater and cocobalé (stick & machete fighting) action that brings history to life to honor unsung heroes. This year’s music includes original Jíbaro, Bomba, Plena, and Taino compositions.

Throughout Puerto Rico (and much of the United States), the 1950’s was an era when grand “modernization” efforts were transforming society. The effects, though different, were felt from the coastal cities deep into the mountains. As the economy shifted, small coffee growers in the mountains faced recurring economic challenges and were often forced to give up their land.

In the expansive area east of San Juan known as Cangrejos–a region rich in African heritage and culture–the government swept through, claiming land with little compensation, destroying homes and funneling the people into spartan housing projects where accessible jobs were sometimes hard to find. The region called Cangrejos eventually shrank to a fraction of its original size. To this day, developers are still fighting to acquire the last parcels of public land close to Viejo San Juan that are linked to this historic community.