Choir of schoolchildren performing at the ceremony celebrating the opening of the Villa Victoria Cultural Center.

1986

The opening of the Villa Victoria Cultural Center was celebrated with music and speeches. A chorus of schoolchildren sings to the assembled audience from the stage. They wear sashes that are printed with the name "Blackstone," which suggests that they are from the Blackstone Elementary School. Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, led by Jorge 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.