“We owe a lot to the Foundation”

Ponce-born singer Carmín Vega headlines the event ‘For the Foundation from Caguas… Where It All Began,’ on Sunday, May 25, at Moneró Café Teatro & Bar.

The performer hopes that other artists will join in at Moneró Café Teatro & Bar in Caguas, in support of the cultural organization based in Old San Juan. (Photo by Alí Francis García for the National Foundation for Popular Culture)

By Edgar Torres | For the National Foundation for Popular Culture

The veteran artist of proven caliber, Carmín Vega, would never miss an event in support of the National Foundation for Popular Culture (FNCP). The singer and impersonator of iconic figures joined the show “For the Foundation from Caguas… Where It All Began,” which took place on Sunday, May 25, at 4:00 p.m., at Moneró Café Teatro & Bar. That same afternoon, she shared the stage with two OTI winners: Nydia Caro and Rafael José.

“It’s difficult because there isn’t much support to sustain the FNCP. I reached out to Judith Felicié (president of the board of directors of the cultural organization) to tell her I wanted to do a show so that everything raised would go to the Foundation,” Vega said. From the beginning, she realized a larger venue than the FNCP’s café theater in Old San Juan was needed to allow other talents to participate. When she approached Ivonne Class, Executive Director of the Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas, the process was already well underway to hold it at Moneró Café Teatro & Bar.

Carmín stated, “We owe a lot to the National Foundation for Popular Culture, and it’s time to lend a hand. I know no one will say no.” The performer hopes other artists will join her in showing support at Moneró Café Teatro & Bar in Caguas. Regarding this significant appearance, she added that she will perform five songs under the direction of Martín Nieves.

She highlighted that the FNCP, along with its Executive Director Javier Santiago, has been key in her professional growth, especially upon returning from Mexico. Thanks to their support, opportunities immediately opened up for her in Puerto Rico. “It’s time to lend a hand, and do it well,” she added.

The Ponce-born artist praised the mission of the nonprofit organization, dedicated to documenting Puerto Rican presence in popular culture, emphasizing its diverse exhibitions, expanding library, café theater, record store, digital portal, and classrooms for bomba and other art disciplines.

Memorable performances at the Foundation – Carmín Vega treasures a special performance at the FNCP café theater, specifically in the bohemia series “A las puertas del Ocho Puertas” in 2017, attended by members of the Latin diaspora in New York. That same year, on various weekends in May and June, her colleagues Alberto Carrión, Awilda La Mimosa, Carmen Nydia Velázquez, and Danny Rivera also performed. (Vega debuted in 1964 at the historic nightclub located at the corner of Calle Fortaleza and Calle del Cristo in Old San Juan, right in front of the FNCP headquarters.)

She also became emotional recalling the 20th anniversary of the National Foundation for Popular Culture, held at Teatro Tapia in Old San Juan, where she received one of the strongest ovations of the event.

Unforgettable bohemia in the Ciudad Criolla – The artist, known as “the woman of a thousand voices and a thousand faces,” remembered that in Caguas—during the tenure of the late Mayor William Miranda Marín and in a production by Ivonne Class—she participated years ago in a successful series of bohemias alongside Lucy Fabery, Nydia Caro, Tony Croatto, and Jacqueline Capó. This musical concept also included the collaboration of journalist and historian Javier Santiago from the FNCP.

During her performance, a tribute was paid to Carmita Jiménez, who at the time was convalescing at home. In an emotional moment, Carmín, along with Mayor Miranda Marín, presented engineer Francisco Buxó with a large card containing messages dedicated to Carmita from the audience at her Noche de Bohemia in Ciudad Criolla—a night the artist recalls as highly moving and unforgettable.