Jesús-Papoleto Meléndez nació en Queens, Nueva York. Se crio en la calle 111, entre la Segunda y la Tercera avenida, en el corazón de El Barrio, hasta que su familia se mudó al Bronx. Es poeta, performero, artista de Spoken Word y profesor.
Entre sus obras se encuentran Casting Long Shadows (1970), Have You Seen Liberation? (1971), Street Poetry & Other Poems (1972), Concertos on Market Street: Poems (1993), Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition (2012) y PAPOLiTICO: Poems of a Political Persuasion (2018).
“Primero y ante todo, me enorgullece ser puertorriqueño. Finalmente siento la sensación de familia, un abrazo. Me siento reconocida como artista puertorriqueño, no solo como nuyorican. Mantener la cultura para mí ha sido una serie de descubrimientos, como buscar conchas bajo las piedras en la playa. Esto, sin embargo, se siente como un abrazo, una afirmación de amor largamente esperada. Puedo volver a mirar al sol. Tengo muchas ganas de ir a Puerto Rico”.
Jesús-Papoleto Meléndez was born in Queens, New York. He grew up on 111th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, in the heart of El Barrio, until his family moved to the Bronx. He is a poet, performer, Spoken Word artist, and educator.
Among his works are Casting Long Shadows (1970), Have You Seen Liberation? (1971), Street Poetry & Other Poems (1972), Concertos on Market Street: Poems (1993), Hey Yo! Yo Soy! 40 Years of Nuyorican Street Poetry, A Bilingual Edition (2012), and PAPOLiTICO: Poems of a Political Persuasion (2018).
“First and foremost, it makes me proud to be a Puerto Rica. I finally feel like family, un abrazo. I feel Recognized as a Puerto Rican artist not just Nuyorican. Keeping culture for me was a series of discoveries, like looking for seashell beneath stones along the beach. This, however, feels like a hug, a long-awaited affirmation of love. I can look into the sun again. I am very much forward to going to Puerto Rico.”