Puerto Rican artist brings island pride to Philly's streets for America's 250th
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Philly artist Wanda Raimundi Ortiz on a beach in Puerto Rico. Photo: Courtesy of Jon Kaufman
Puerto Rican artist Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz is bringing a little slice of the island to Philly's streets.
Why it matters: Her planned four-hour procession from City Hall to Norris Square Park is one big walking party celebrating Puerto Ricans' resilience and contributions to the city as the nation marks its 250th birthday — a bash Raimundi-Ortiz says her people often feel excluded from.
The big picture: More than 130,000 Puerto Ricans call Philly home, making it the second-largest Puerto Rican community on the U.S. mainland after New York City.
- But Raimundi-Ortiz tells Axios she still encounters misconceptions about her culture and the island's relationship with the U.S. — including whether Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and whether Americans need a passport to visit the island.
Driving the news: Raimundi-Ortiz is turning Philly's streets into a giant catwalk for her public art performance, Vámonos Pa'l Monte, a nod to Latin jazz and salsa icon Eddie Palmieri's iconic song, which translates to "Let's go to the mountains."
- She'll make five stops along the route, each symbolizing a chapter in Puerto Rican history and exploring themes of self-determination and a community spirit — values that echo Philly's reputation as a "welcoming city."
Zoom in: Raimundi-Ortiz will start alone, ringing a bell as she walks down Market Street in a tricorn hat and 45-pound colonial-style dress made of reclaimed denim shingles.
- The first stop: Independence Mall, not far from where Thomas Jefferson holed up to write the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
- Spectators can join the party anywhere along the route. The procession will end with a huge bash at Norris Park, featuring food trucks, photo booths and music.
How it works: A 12-person crew will accompany her, helping with outfit changes, while performers beat drums and others carry protest signs to evoke the 1976 Sin Colonias demonstrations in Philly during the bicentennial.
1 cool thing: The signs highlight little-known facts about Puerto Ricans' contributions to Philly, including the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Temple University and a former cigar factory that employed many Puerto Ricans.
What they're saying: "The point that I'm trying to make is that there is another American story," Raimundi-Ortiz tells Axios.
Reality check: Raimundi-Ortiz says that story often gets overlooked by Americans who treat her people like second-class citizens in their own country, which has been underscored by high-profile incidents of anti-Puerto Rican rhetoric.
- Raimundi-Ortiz says even the Parker administration's decision to stop calling Philly a sanctuary city felt like a concession to President Trump, who has been criticized for insulting the Puerto Rican community.
Zoom out: Raimundi-Ortiz says many Puerto Ricans haven't forgotten how Trump tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd during a 2017 visit to the island after Hurricane Maria.
- She had family members who went weeks without power or access to clean drinking water.
The bottom line: The goal of the party is to remind people that everything is "borderless" — a lesson she learned on a recent visit to the island when she and her family were hanging out on the beach.
- "We're trying to make our little camp out kind of small, so that we're not encroaching on the next family who's having a birthday party. The people in the little area next to us … saw us trying to make ourselves smaller.
- "The woman looked at me. She goes, "This river doesn't belong to anyone. It belongs to everyone."