Casa Paoli's

BRIEF HISTORY OF OUR CENTER

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The Centro de Investigaciones Folklóricas de Puerto Rico, Inc. (CIFPR) [Puerto Rican Folklore Research Center] is a private non-profit educational institution founded in 1976 and registered with the Puerto Rico State Department in 1980.

It is dedicated to the study of Puerto Rican culture.

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The Center has maintained its headquarters in various buildings, all located within Ponce's historical quarter:

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• Caribe Building on Salud street, corner of Jobos Street

• 33 Marina Street, corner of Aurora Street

• Casa Zalbo-Nebot at 35 Marina Street

• Casa Paoli (current and permanent home) at              2648 Mayor Street, near the corner of Aurora Street

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The main objective of its founders, Néstor Murray–Irizarry, Carmen Iris Ramos-Texeira, and Narciso Vilaro-Canals, was to establish an institution dedicated to the study and research of Puerto Rican national culture and in particular, its folklore.

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The first major task that the Center set itself was to establish an alliance with the Estudio Etnográfico de la Cultura Popular de Puerto Rico [Ethnographic Study of Popular Culture of Puerto Rico], attached to the Centro de Investigaciones Sociales (CIS) [Center for Social Research] of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. This union of purposes and wills allowed us to begin training the Center's volunteer staff and to offer two courses in folklore research by Professor Pedro C. Escabí Agostini, who directed the Estudio Etnográfico. Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo, director of the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe (CEAPRC) [Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean] was consulted, and he supported the initiative to create CIFPR and also authorized Escabí to serve as professor at CEAPRC, incorporating the two courses in folklore that Escabí offered in Ponce into its catalogue of master's degree subjects. Over the years, twelve CEAPRC master's credits were offered by our Center.

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The second objective that was part of our work plan was research into the most relevant topics in our area of work. In 1981-82, CIFPR successfully submitted two proposals to the Oficina de Conservación Histórica [Office of Historical Conservation]: 1) the inventory and research of the old and historic urban center of Ponce and 2) an archaeological survey of the hydrographic basin of the Yauco River. Murray–Irizarry directed the inventory and researchers Edgar Maíz Pérez and Eduardo Questell Rodríguez led the survey. The results were very valuable. The inventory proved that 25% of the old or historical buildings had been demolished, while the survey helped discover more than 14 new archaeological sites in the area. The findings of both studies can be found in the archives of the Oficina de Conservación Histórica at its Ballajá headquarters in Old San Juan.

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The third purpose was linked to the dissemination of a variety of research and study topics on the country's culture. Two proposals were submitted to the Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades (FPH) [Puerto Rican Foundation for the Humanities] called: Humanismo y Folclore: Ciclo de conferencias públicas [Humanism and Folklore: Cycle of public conferences]. Six humanists participated in the first phase and 20 in the second cycle. Each dialogue held by the humanists with the public was recorded in the same place where they were held: the Antiguo Casino in Ponce. The dialogues were then transferred to one-hour cassettes, where the participants' questions and answers were also included as part of the content of the conferences. Each labeled cassette was placed in a plastic folder. The folder covers were decorated with silkscreened prints by artist Sixto Cotto depicting an allegorical design of the content of one of the cycle topics. The folders were distributed to major educational centers in Puerto Rico and the USA.

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​Second folder created by the Center for the cassette recordings of the humanists that participated in the second Paliques de la Comunidad  [Community Chats] in 1983, with the support of the Fundación para las Humanidades. 

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The second proposal submitted to FPH was a continuation of the first proposal. The same format was followed and the number of humanists and participants was expanded. Each night of the event more than six hundred people attended the conferences, which were held in the conference room of Ponce's Secretary of Recreation and Sports of the Municipal Administration. Those who attended all the talks were awarded a certification of attendance. Over the years, the FPH has included CIFPR in its list of Regional Centers. This agreement has allowed us to receive an annual donation from FPH to organize a cycle of conferences. This alliance has been in place for more than 20 years.

 

Subsequently, a plan was prepared that is reviewed and updated every ten years, titled CIFPR's Vision and Mission. Each general objective that is part of our vision and mission is complemented by a series of projects or seminars that constitute programs of activities that respond to the purposes for which they were created. Examples of projects and seminars already established in Casa Paoli better illustrate the basic structure of our cultural activities and include, among others:

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• Social Research Seminar (History and Literature Conference and Humanities Conference);

• Afro-Puerto Rican Studies Seminar

• Project MAIZ: Children's Art Calendar by Neighborhood

• Colloquium on Art and Literature for Children

• Publications (more than 50 titles, 3 DVDs, 1 CD)

• Traveling and permanent exhibitions

• Communication projects in electronic and virtual media

• Education Project for teachers, librarians, principals, and students

• Concerts and recitals

• Casa Paoli Cultural Festival

• Conservation project for Antonio Paoli's birthplace and family residence

• Fundraising campaign for donations for CIFPR/Casa Paoli

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Each project has had a dedicated poster printed (more than 40 to date), commissioned from local painters and graphic artists.
 

This organizational structure has made it possible to work without interruption on cultural events that have transpired in and outside of Puerto Rico for 45 years (1976-2021).

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In addition, the Center has offered concerts, recitals, gatherings, conferences, exhibitions, and workshops in which more than 35,000 people have participated during that period. This does not include the countless listeners who have tuned in to our radio program, "Miradero: The people, their ideas, and their experiences," on WPAB AM, for more than nine years.

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The Center receives donations from individuals and public and private entities in Puerto Rico and the US, particularly from friends interested in acquiring, as incentives, the portfolios of work by visual artists who have donated them to the Center to finance in part, its financial needs.

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Since its registration with the State Department in 1980, through 2017, we have received a small stipend from the island's legislature. Also, in the past, donations have been received from the Municipal Administration of Ponce, Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples, Miranda Foundation, and the Puerto Rican Family Institute in New York, among others. The Puerto Rican Fundación para las Humanidades continues to contribute funds annually.

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Currently, the Flamboyán Para las Artes Fund includes our Center among its affiliates. With the financial support of this Fund, CIFPR has been able to develop several new projects, including the William Cumpiano Workshop for the Arts—screen printing and assembly-manufacture of traditional instruments of the country—at the Center's headquarters; an animated film on the history and manufacture of the Puerto Rican tiple and the rescue of the Center's heritage in the wake of earthquakes that occur on a regular basis in southwest Puerto Rico.