Cleveland’s Puerto Rican community is finally getting a cultural garden in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens after years of dreaming. The Cleveland Puerto Rican Heritage Coalition, a new nonprofit, presented its vision to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation and received approval in June.
Bringing the Vision to Life
The coalition’s founders, Leticia Maldonado and Gerardo Colón Jr., anticipate needing around $680,000 to bring the garden to life, which could take anywhere from three to five years. The garden will be located near the north end of the gardens, on East 88th Street across from Rockefeller Greenhouse.
Maldonado and Colón want to involve Cleveland’s broader Puerto Rican community in shaping the garden, with a focus on education. They want the garden to teach visitors about Puerto Rican history and the contributions of significant Puerto Rican figures in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Puerto Rican Heritage Coalition is hosting a soft opening at its garden site during One World Day on Aug. 30 and is recruiting volunteers and partnering with prominent Latin American organizations to get more voices on the final garden design.
Original reporting: Signal Cleveland — read the source article.
