Poetry evokes natural passion of Puerto Rico

In verse and music, Puerto Rico’s natural beauty took center stage this week as the Sierra Club hosted a standing-room-only poetry reading at one of New York’s most famous spoken-word venues.

Puerto Rican nature poet Eric Landrón accompanied by guitarist and songwriter Raulo Colón captivated the crowd at Nuyorican Poet’s Café Wednesday night with 20 poems evoking the natural wonders of the island. From the surge of a waterfall to the worldwide ocean journey of los tinglares, leatherback turtles, the audience received an emotional and vivid description of what local activists are trying to protect.  

The audience enjoyed Puerto Rican’s delicacies such as tamales and beef empanadas. 

Orland Negron, Chair of the Puerto Rican Chapter and Camilla Feibelman spoke to the enthusiastic crowd about the Chapter’s efforts to explore and protect the island. They were joined by Miss Puerto Rico, parade organizers, allied conservation organizations and other New York poets. 

The poetry reading was an official event of this year’s Puerto Rican Day Parade, which takes place this Sunday, June 13. More than 40 members of Sierra Club Puerto Rico will wave on a float to an estimated crowd of 3 million. This year’s parade theme: “Celebrating the Natural Beauty of Puerto Rico.”