Juan Rivera

I attended a memorial service on April 21st for another "kid" from 55th street. It was a moving service for all who were there. There were many "kidz" in attendance, I'm sure I didn't recognize half of them. I knew Juan only as Juanita's husband but he was a well loved person and I was proud to be there to remember him.

Our hearts go out to Juanita, her children and to his sister Nilda for their loss. To them I send them this lovely poem which was read at my mother's funeral.

There Is No Death

There is no death. The life of a soul on earth lasts beyond his departure. You will always feel that life touching yours, that voice speaking to you, that spirit looking out of other eyes, talking to you in the familiar things he touched, worked with, loved as familiar friends. He lives on in your life and in the lives of all other that knew him.

Angelo Patri

For those of you far away who could not attend, following is a brief bio handed out to us at the service that I want to share with you.

In Memoriam

Juan Alberto Rivera was born on May 8, 1951 in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico and is preceded in death by his parents Apolinar Rivera-Martinez and Rosa Otero-Ortiz. The family moved to Chicago while Juan and his only sibling Nilda Rivera were still very young. In 1955, they moved to Woodlawn, a small Puerto Rican community located in the city’s south side where Juan attended St. Cyril Grammar School.

Later, the family moved to the Puerto Rican community centered around 55th and Halsted. He attended Visitation Grammar School and then Tilden Tech High School graduating in 1970. Upon graduation Juan entered the University of Illinois-Chicago Campus (then called circle Campus) graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Latin American History.

While studying at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), Juan was struck by the fact that, although the university was located in the heart of the city with a population of over 250,000 Puerto Ricans, the number of Puerto Rican students as compared to the total population was disproportionate. In addition, the university did not offer courses related to the History of Puerto Rico or the experience of Puerto Ricans here in the United States. Juan began to reach out to other Puerto Rican students who were troubled by the status quo of UIC and wanted change. Along with Mexican students who also felt under represented at the university, Juan and others began a series of meetings with UIC administration. These meetings became confrontational and contributed to the formation of Juan’s political and social views.

While the demands of the students were modest, the attitude of the university was hostile and threatening. Juan was faced with a life altering decision to either go along with the status quo and get his degree or fight a major public institution and risk expulsion. Juan courageously chose the latter.

After countless meetings, demonstrations, pickets, sit-ins, rallies and even civil disobedience, UIC relented and the Latin American studies Program was founded. This program evolved into the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES). Juan was also instrumental in demanding the university provide a physical space for Latino Students to study and host social and cultural programs. This space was named the Rafael Cintrón-Ortiz Center. All these programs continue to exist and function successfully at UIC 36 years later. They are a living testament to Juan’s commitment, work and love for his people.

Upon graduation Juan began to work in social services in the Pilsen-Little Village area of the city. Juan worked for close to 25 years as a Public Health Educator at the Cook County Jail. Juan also became active in various Puerto Rican community and political organizations. Among these, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Committee to Stop Grand Jury Repression, Committee to Free the five Puerto Rican Nationalist Prisoners and its successor, the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, La Colectiva Pedro Albizu Campos and El Movimiento de LiberaciónNacional-Puertorriqueño (MLN). Juan was also active in providing recreational activities for young people on the south side of Chicago.

In September of 1976, Juan married Juanita Medina and together they have three children, David, Angel Cristóbal and Alicia Yamil. His grandson Angel Apolinar and his sister Nilda also survive him.

Throughout Juan’s life he dearly loved his family and was devoted to them. He was a loving and caring husband, father, son, and friend. Juan never turned anyone down who needed help. Even as his health deteriorated, Juan found the strength to help his ailing father. Juan was never too sick to help anyone.

All our lives are better today because of Juan Rivera. All who had the honor and privilege of knowing him will miss him.

Rest in Peace Juan

Thanks, Norma

Afterthought:

Please feel free to leave comments by clicking on the comments tab at the bottom of the post. The first comment was from Nilda (Juan's sister) which I put in for her. She comments:

"Norma-Thank you so much for your blog on my brother Juan. There were so many people at his memorial that I know I missed a few. It meant alot to us to see to have so many share a celebration of his life. I will miss him. Please post this on your blog." Nilda.

Mini Reunions

Since my last posting I have had the privilege of getting together with some of the "kidz". I have been able to see Luz & Tom Cotto, Angel Agosto, Mimi Yerkovich, Luciano (Donald), (Wendy) Midna Rodriguez, Myriam Sanchez and Archie Sanchez Velasquez, Delberto (Moose) Medina, Juanita Rivera (Medina).... let's see am I missing anyone... of course my Florida family whom I've been with all my life, but those reading this may not have seen them since we lived on good 'ole 55th street. Those are of course, Jesse & Mara Veguilla Cortes, Carmen (Millie) Veguilla Manly. It is always good to get together with those you grew up with.

Let's play a 'member game (that's short for remember... 'member?) OK... 'member those dances at 'el cloob' (that's club) San Jose? Boy! I 'member that mom use to use it as a bomb over our heads. "Si no terminan todos los que haceres no van a ninguna parte hoy!" 'member? Man, you have never seen three sisters work so hard, and 'member we still had to put the curlers in our hairs, pluck the eyebrows, and shave the legs! But it was all worth while. We'd get to the dance and there we sat with our curly hair (of course in the summer that would turn to friz before the evening was out!). We would sit there at a long table with Mom and Dad lookin' on to see who was going to ask us to dance... YIKES! Check it out.





Oh man! 'member? We were all having such a blast!!!!


Mom and dad at the end of the table (sigh..) Brings back memories....



ok... Speak up if you see yourself.

Does anyone 'member the granny party we had at Donald and Blanca Rodriguez's house? I myself made about five granny gowns for myself and my friends. The guys wore these funky looking shirts to match with our dresses and we danced.... and we had a blast.

Does anyone 'member that the "Daughters of Mary"/"Hijas de Maria" wrote and produced their very own Christmas pageant and we put the whole affair on at the Visitation High School auditorium.... how did we get that? Anyone 'member that? If I 'member correctly it was pretty darn good. Can we have some reviews?... Anyone?

Ok well I'm done going down 'member lane for today. Hope all my buddies, and I know you are out there... somewhere, are doing well. Drop a comment so we can all know where you are and what you are doing... come on, don't be shy.

ciao, Norma

Catching Up

Hey! I know that there are a lot of us out there, but I never hear from any of you. With this post it is my hope that some of you will come out from the dark.

Here is how this works... you can all make comments on this blog! YES. Just click on on the "comment" link at the bottom of the post and you can say all you want to say!

Since I feel like I'm all alone out here I'd like to suggest that we all get to know each other again. Just click on comments for this posting and let us know who you are and what you have been doing with your life. If you want me to post a picture for you just e-mail the file to me at "rivera.norma AT gmail DOT com" (sorry for the crude e-mail description, but my son assures me it's the "quick and dirty" way of avoiding many "SPAM BOTS". He's so technical sometimes...) and I'll do my best to make you look good! (That could be a problem at our age!.. but not me, I look good!) LOL. Or even better maybe we can have some now and then pictures! The sky's the limit.

The other service I can offer is that if you have a link that you would like me to put on this blog, let me have the link and after looking at it (just to make sure there is no porn involved), I'll post it here. I already have two links posted, one for my business (I'm shameless) and one for my husband Julio... which is a blog that is quite empty right now... he isn't inspired yet.

So there it is, the stage is set and we (those of us who have been checking the blog out) would like to know where the rest of you guys are. Let us know!

ciao, Norma

LOVE YA................

Yesterday I received one of those e-mails that, although it's a chain mail sort of thing, it did remind me how fragile life is. So I thought I would share it with all of you who have been "dashes" (from an earlier post) in my life. Most of those who visit this blog are looking for and wanting to reconnect with some of their "dashes" because it is so important to thank all those persons who made them what they are today.



Today with the sadness of Sara and her family this little poem has a deep meaning. I hope you all enjoy it.... and ....LOVE YA!

LOVE YA................

One morning you will never wake up .
Do all your friends know you love them?
I was thinking...
I could die today, tomorrow or next week,
and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed,
friendships that needed rekindling or
three words needing to be said.
Let every one of your friends know you love them.
Even if you think they don't love you back,
you would be amazed at what
those three little words and a smile can do.
And just in case GOD calls me home
before I see you again....... I LOVE YA!!!

....Live today to the fullest

because tomorrow is not promised...........

Thanks for being A FRIEND.

Please read the "Sara Sanchez Update" post for more information about Her.


Another thought, on the right hand side of the blog page you will see some links to other sites. If you would like to see your link there, just send me an e-mail at rivera.norma@gmail.com and we will preview it and add it on.

Sara Sanchez

It is unfortunate that one of the first few posts to this blog is on a sad note, but as we all know life is a cycle and sometimes that cycle will stop short for some of us. There is one of our "kids" who is not doing well. Here is the story of Sara Sanchez as related to us by her brother and sister, Miriam and Archie.

Miriam gave us a brief bio this morning to be posted to the blog. Here goes:

Sarah is 57 years old and spent most of her adult years in the Beauty Salon Business

She grew up on the west side, married Sam Infanson and lived on the south side for a few years and then moved to the north side and started working in the beauty salon business.

She and Sam were married for approximately seven to eight years. They did not have any children. They divorced and she never remarried.

She has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which has developed into Leukemia. She is currently in the hospital because of bad white cells and her hemoglobin has gone down. The hospital is Our Lady of Resurrection. I don’t know how long she will be there.

She has been living at home with her mom and dad. Her sisters, Archie and Miriam, along with brother Orlando have been helping her as much as they can. Sarah does not have life insurance or medical insurance coverage, which has put the family in dire financial straits.

If anyone wants to help, here is some info:

Miriam I. Sanchez
5032 N Leonard Drive
Apt 1A
Norridge, Il 60706

The Kids of 55th Street

Welcome to the blog of "The Kids of 55th Street". This blog was created to share the stories and relive the memories of growing up on 55th Street in Chicago. However, this isn't just about one person's recount of 55th Street. We want to invite everyone to share their stories and memories, as well as tell us about where you are today!

We hope that you will enjoy the stories here at this Web site and hope that this will be the launching pad of everything for "The Kids of 55th Street". However, we need everyone's help to make this a success. We need your help in finding the "lost" kids of 55th Street. Make sure to forward the link to this Web site to all of the "kids" you have kept in contact with from 55th Street over the years.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with your stories and even offer to be one of the "kids" we profile here at "The Kids of 55th Street".