The History of the Welfare Poets

Hector Luis Rivera Jr. (vocals, congas) Hector has been writing and performing poetry for the past 12 years. His poetry was commissioned for "Blind Alley," a Puerto Rican travellig theater production written by Nancy Nuevez. His poetry was also included in Taller Boricua (NYC) 30th. Anniversary exhibition. As an activist Hector has participated, organized and led many community struggles around housing, environmental justice, police brutality, political prisoners, and most recently, Vieques. Hector has participated in two acts of civil disobedience against the immoral presence of the US Navy in Vieques. Hector is also an educator at many New York city-based schools.

Ray Ramirez(vocals, congas) - Ray is a third generation Puerto Rican, born in El Barrio, New York. He is the cofounder of the Welfare Poets and has worked as an educator in various Comminuty-based centers. For the past 3 years he has consulted as a Writer-in-Residence at over 25 schools through out the city, working through Teachers and Writers Collaborative, The Carribean Cultural Center and The Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center. He has published dozens of student anthologies and spoken word Cds. He was an Assistant Engineer on the Project Blues album and is a plaintiff in a class action suit against NYC Street Crimes Unit, for racial profiling. His work has been published in various antholgies including A Gathering of the Tribes, and the award winning publication, Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Cafe

Dahu Ala (vocals, trumpet) Papa-hu is a mentor to many youth in East Harlem where he lives and grew up. Dahu is a poet and heads the horn section in the Welfare Poets.

Angel Rodriguez (congas, timbales, chekere) Angel has been playing percussion for 35 years with the likes of Vanessa Williams, the Apollo Rockers (house band of the Apollo), Seventh Star, Paquito Guzman, Latin Jazz Coalition and many others. Angel has been teaching percussion to South Bronx youth for free for six years at the Point CDC. Angel is a master percussionist who documents and preserves the vast cultural legacy Puerto Ricans and Latinos have in this country, particularly in the Bronx. Angel recently was featured in the New York Post's 200th Anniversary issue

Djibril Toure (bass guitar) Producer and Electric Bass player, Djibril has performed with and alongside a wide array of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Ayers, The Roots, Fat Joe, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Slick Rick, Q-Tip and Jeru the Damaja. His work can be heard on several recordings by Wu-Tang Clan, Hedrush, Rise & Shine, Rha-Goddess, and the Welfare Poets. He is also a committed grassroots activist and has been involved in organizing efforts around police brutality, political prisoners, and Vieques PR.

Jorge Vazques (timbales, congas, beats) Jorge, still under thirty, has recieved "Master of Percussion" award from Amigos de la Plena. He performs with many Puerto Rican folklore groups such as Yerba Buena and has recently appeared on La Bruja's latest album.

ME (keyboards, trumpet) ME plays keyboards and is also a teacher in NYC public school.

Awards and Media Appearances:

Honorary Album of the Year, 2000, Latino.com.

Appeared: CBS NEWS: Eye on America,1999

PBS:Nuyoricans: the Spirit of Puerto Rico, December 2001

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POETS		Past Performance Venues:
1. April 1990 - Ray and Hector give their 1st college performance at Union College up near Albany, New York, followed by several appearances throughout Central New York and Cornell University 2. 1995 - The Welfare Poets perform at the now closed Aguebana Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY 3. 1996 - The Welfare Poets perform at the North Eastern Latino Collegiate Conference at SUNY Albany with Mariposa 4. September, 1997 - Dahu Ala enters the group as a poet and trumpet player 5. July 25, 1998 - Anniversary Marking 100 years of US Colonialism in Puerto Rico, the Welfare Poets (with Pharoah D) perform at the UN in front of an organized protest of 10,000 people 6. July 1998 - Djbril Toure enters the group as our bass player 7. September, 1998 - 130th Anniversay of El Grito De Lares, the Welfare Poets perform in San Fransisco, California and at Berkely for the Critical Resistance Conference (against the Prison Industrial Complex) 8. 1999 - Filming of the Hip Hop documentary Freesttle which featured the Welfare Poets 9. Early 2000 - The Welfare Poets perform for the 1st time at Rikers Island Correction Facility with DeadPrez 10. Summer 2000 - The Welfare Poets release there first album: Project Blues. The album relase party is at the Clemente Soto Velez Center and it featured performances by Pedro Pietri, Tato Laviera, Yerba Buerna, Rise and Shine, Mariposa, C-Rayz Wallz, Flaco and Tahir 11. August 2000 - The Welfare Poets perform at Black August -- the Hip Hop concert to raise awareness about our collective political prisoners 12. April 2001 - The Welfare Poets perform in San Jose, California at La Maacla 13. May 2002 - The Welfare Poets perform in Puerto Rico for the 1st time in Old San Juan at the Nuyorican Cafe. The Welfare Poets also perform in Vieques for a 6 day cultural affair with a large group of cultural workers.artist form New York 14. August 15, 2002 - The Welfare Poets appears on PBS in a documentary about Puerto Ricans in New York 15 September 15, 2003. The Welfare Poets perform before 500,000 demonstrators in New York city as part of world-wide protests against military intervention in Iraq		Colleges & Universities:
		Ithaca College, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Old Westbury, Stoneybrook University, SUNY Albany, Syracuse University, CUNY Hunter, Marymount Manhattan College, Rutgers University, Yale University, Cornell University, New York University, Stevenson College, Rutgers University, Columbia University, D'Youville College, Pratt University, Borough of Manhattan College, Columbia University, Harvard University, City Collge in New York, Queens College, Haverford College, Union College, Eastern Connecticut State University, Smith College, Brown University, Buffalo State University, University of Buffalo, Princeton University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Dartmouth University, Wesleyan University, UC at Berkley
		Community Centers:
		Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Southside Community Center, Hispanic Aids Forum, Charter Oak Cutlureal Center of Hartford, CT, Atabex Ache of NYC, Casa Mutua, the Point CDC, El Puente, Hartley House, Latino Interfaith Pastoral Center, St. Mary's Church, Local 1199, Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Center, Community Service Society, Elmira Prison Facility, BAAD (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance), Rikers Island Correctional Facility, Eastern Correctional Facility, The Puffin Room, Aquebana Bookstore, African Arts Festival, Boston Ballet, Anthony Baez Foundation, Racial Justice Day, NYC, Rally Against The Death Penalty, March Against Police Brutality, The Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, California, La Maacla Community Center, San Jose, California, Martin Luther King Forum, Oakland, California, James Weldon Johnson family day 2001, Taller Puertoriqueno, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
		Elementary Schools & High Schools :
		PS 121, Central park East II, St Raymond's Catholic HS, PS 79, PS 131, St Simon Stock School, Hartford Public HS, Newington HS in CT, Zora Neale Heasrston Academy, El Puente High School, Murry Bergtraum High School, Escuela Roosevelt, Vieques, PR.
		Cafes:
		Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Cafe Creole, the Beal Bodtch Cafe, NewsRoom Bar, SOB's Sistah's Place, Joloff's Cafe, Nuyorican Café, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Clemente Soto Velez Center, Rockwells Bar.