Lunch and Learn: Social and Cultural Expressions of Puerto Rican Settlement in Postwar Hartford

Image credit: “Puerto Rican Parade Float with Replica House, Hartford,” 1967. Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library.

Our Lunch and Learn series highlights scholarship around topics important to Connecticut history and culture.

Today, Connecticut has the highest percentage of Puerto Rican residents of any U.S. state. This presentation by Elena Rosario will trace the settlement of Puerto Ricans in the post-War World II period to highlight the development of Hartford’s early Puerto Rican community. It will focus on the ways Puerto Ricans settled into the city by examining historical moments and cultural events such as the 1964 Connecticut Puerto Rican Day and parade.

This presentation is virtual and free. Click here to register. The Zoom link will be in the attached ticket you receive with your confirmation email.

Questions? Email Jennifer Busa at jennifer_busa@chs.org.

About our Speaker:
Elena Marie Rosario is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Michigan and a public historian. Her dissertation project focuses on Puerto Rican migration and settlement in Hartford, Connecticut, during the post-War World II era and pairs in-depth archival research with community-centered methodologies, such as oral histories and community engagement projects. Her research interests include labor, education, urban development, social movements, and identity formation. She is a member of Hartford’s Puerto Rican community and received her B.A. from Connecticut College in 2014.