Audience at the opening of the Villa Victoria Cultural Center.

1986

People fill rows of seats in the hall and the balcony of the Villa Victoria Cultural Center to watch the inaugural ceremony. The occasion was marked with speeches by various politicians and community leaders and with musical performances. Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, led by Hernandez, purchased a former church on West Newton Street in Boston's South End and renovated it into a cultural center and performing arts venue for the city's Hispanic community. The Center was renamed the Jorge N. Hernandez Cultural Center in honor of Hernandez, who died just a few weeks after this inaugural ceremony.