¡Wepa, familia!
September came in hot (literally and figuratively), and DB has been on FIRE. We've been building comunidad, celebrating cultura, and raising conciencia like it's our full-time job (porque basically lo es 😅).
These two months we hosted legends, marched with pride, screamed at screens for Bad Bunny, and dove deep into dusty archives looking for our roots. Whether you've been with us since day one or just found us last week: bienvenidos! You're home now.
"Grab your cafecito and catch up on everything DB has been cooking up. Spoiler: bien sabroso."
— La Directive 2025 ✊🏽
(A.K.A. your hardworking, slightly caffeinated, always proud board)
Here's a look at the stations we stopped at this month:
Thursday, Sept 18 | 12:30-3pm | Yale School of Medicine
The first woman AND first Latina U.S. Surgeon General came through and blessed us. Dr. Novello shared her journey breaking barriers in medicine, serving as Surgeon General, working at the NIH, leading as NY Commissioner of Health during 9/11, and coordinating healthcare in PR after Hurricane María and during COVID.
Puerto Rican med students got a private trainee conversation with her afterward, and she even autographed books for DB!
Status: STANDING ROOM ONLY ✓
Saturday, Sept 20 | 8:30pm | Hopper Buttery
When Bad Bunny announced he was livestreaming his FINAL Debí Tirar Más Fotos concert from Puerto Rico, we gathered to watch together. Antonio cooked fresh alcapurrias and arroz con gandules in the buttery, plus homemade limber.
A night of music, food, and feeling connected, even from thousands of miles away.
Lesson Learned: Alcapurrias need to be frozen first before frying or they fall apart 😅
Sunday, Sept 21 | 12-3:30pm | Pope Park → Downtown Hartford
We marched as co-sponsors with Movimiento Cultural in the Hartford Puerto Rican Parade alongside thousands celebrating Boricua culture and community. We brought our instruments and made sure people heard us coming!
The energy, the flags, the pride, Boricua spirit. 🇵🇷
Vibe: Pure Pride
📸 SEPTEMBER IN PHOTOS 📸
These moments? Priceless. From watching Bad Bunny together to marching through Hartford with thousands—this is what community looks like. 🇵🇷✨
🖼️ Want to see all the photos?
Check out our Instagram @DespiertaBoricuaYale for the full gallery, or visit our website's photo archive to relive every single moment.
(Alumni: If YOU have photos from DB events—from this year or decades ago—we want them! See the Archivo Vivo section below.)
PHOTO ARCHIVE AVAILABLE AT:
📱 Instagram: @DespiertaBoricuaYale
🌐 Website: despiertaboricua.yale.edu/gallery
📧 Want high-res? Email us: despiertaboricua@yale.edu
September was just the warm-up. October brought even MORE heat:
Sunday, Oct 5 | 2-5pm | Beinecke Plaza
In honor of Puerto Rico's Día Nacional de la Zalsa (an annual festival celebrating our salsa legends) we teamed up with Sabro to bring the music outside.
Sabro led a salsa workshop, teaching choreography to anyone brave enough to learn, followed by social dancing with a salsa-only playlist echoing across campus.
Thursday, Oct 9 | 6-8pm | Luce Hall
Legendary Puerto Rican multimedia artist Antonio (Toño) Martorell came through, and DB got to moderate a fireside chat with him about his work, his creative process, and the political messages woven into his art.
Martorell brought his painting materials and created art live while talking. The audience (full of students, faculty, and alumni) were captivated.
Friday, Oct 10 | 1-4pm | Yale SOM
The Center for a New Economy and Yale's Tobin Center for Economic Policy commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Tobin Report on Puerto Rico—a landmark 1975 assessment of PR's economic challenges commissioned by the governor and led by Nobel laureate James Tobin.
Leading economists, policymakers, and scholars reflected on the report's legacy and discussed what it means for Puerto Rico's future today.
We don't do this alone. This month, we linked up with some incredible orgs to create magic:
A blend of Brazilian and Puerto Rican music, coquito meets caipirinha—celebrating our shared Latin American roots.
Co-hosted with CSO, DSA, CAUSA (+ Sabro support)
The ANNUAL Caribbean mixer: dancing workshop, social dancing, dominoes, and incredible food. DB brought Pan del Cielo II pastries and homemade coquito. DSA made arroz con leche, CAUSA brought mocktails, and CSO/Sabro led the dance workshop.
🇵🇷🤝🇩🇴 DB x DSA COLLABS 🇩🇴🤝🇵🇷
☕ "Cafecito Estilo Domino"
Friday, Oct 10 (3-5pm) | DB Room + LWAY Room
After many requests, we finally held a joint cafecito with DSA! DB brought 50 pastries from Pan Del Cielo II, connecting our Boricua and Dominican communities over coffee and conversation.
🎶 Reggaeton y Dembow Party
Saturday, Oct 11 (10pm-1am) | GodQuad
The collab people had been waiting for: DB x DSA party with the best Puerto Rican and Dominican music in one room.
🌟 When we come together, magic happens. Period. 🌟
We show up for each other. That's what community means. Solidarity, that's how we operate.
Our history is RICH, y'all. But for too long, it's been gathering dust in attics and storage boxes. Not anymore.
We've officially launched our archival initiative to recover, preserve, and CELEBRATE the legacy of Despierta Boricua and La Casa's many student organizations. Huge shoutout to Kristen, Nina, Sonia, and Amanda who've been digging through decades of memories at the Beinecke and in La Casa's attic.
This is bigger than us. One of our own is writing their PhD dissertation on DB's history. That's how deep this goes. While we're making history, we're preserving it, studying it, and making sure future generations know where they come from.
A dream years in the making is finally happening: we're building a coalition of Puerto Rican student organizations across the entire Northeast. More voices, more power, more impact.
One big goal? Bringing back the Puerto Rican Conference. If you're an alum who remembers those days, you KNOW what's up. If you're new, just wait—you're about to be part of something legendary.
We're working to open doors for students on the island who dream of higher education but might not know where to start.
In partnership with Club Puerto Rico and the Latino Alumni Association, we're creating pathways, resources, and support systems. Because a Yale education shouldn't be a fantasy: it should be accessible.
WE NEED YOUR MEMORIES & MEMORABILIA
"Cada foto es un tesoro. Cada historia es un riel que conecta el pasado con nuestro futuro."
Here's the thing: our history belongs to ALL of us, not just the people in the room right now, but everyone who came before.
Because right now, multiple students are working on archival research and one of our own (Amanda Rivera) is writing their PhD dissertation on DB's history.
Your memories aren't just nostalgia; they're scholarship. They're proof of what we built and who we are.
Even if you think it's "not a big deal," it is. Every story matters. Every photo is a treasure.
📧 SHARE YOUR STORY 💬 CONTACT USIf you haven't checked out our website yet, ¿qué estás esperando?
Tu boleto digital al movimiento 🎫
Scan, bookmark, share, use.
This website is our home online, not just a page. It's where we will keep our history alive, where we organize, and where we make sure no one is ever left out of the loop.
The semester is just getting started, and we've got MORE fire events coming your way. Stay tuned for:
We've got events in the works that will blow your mind. Cultural celebrations, educational workshops, community gatherings—all the good stuff. Follow us on Instagram and check the website calendar so you don't miss out!
Got an idea for an event? A speaker you'd love to hear from? A collaboration you want to see happen? A skill you want to teach?
We want to hear it. DB is built by ALL of us: your voice matters, whether you're a first-year or an alum from the '70s.
We always need more hands (and ideas). Hit us up:
We're everywhere, and we want YOU in the mix:
Got questions? Wanna get involved? Just wanna talk about the latest Bad Bunny drop?
We're here. Always.