Salima Rivera

Salima Rivera (1946-2004) and her parents came to the US mainland from Puerto Rico when she was and infant, briefly living in Utah but then moving to Chicago. For the most part, Rivera was a self-taught poet. Her poetry, both graceful and forceful, centered on the experience of Latina women as well as on international Latin American and feminist issues. Rivera was the best known poet of a group called ALBA (The Association of the Latino Brotherhood) and Taller which she co-founded in the wake of police violence against Puerto Ricans. She worked with various community organizations including Casa Aztlán, Movimiento Artístico Chicano and the Westtown Concerned Citizens Coalition and became a key leader in Chicago’s Latino cultural emergence of the 1970s. In 2018, Rivera was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

Why this stop? The Blue Line Racine stop is 6 blocks from Rivera’s childhood home.

Listen to Salima Rivera read one of her poems.

Women’s L Project Connections — Salima participated at the first Festival de Mujeres held in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and organized by Mujeres Latinas in Accion, founded by Maria Mangual.

Mural by John Vergara (3501 W. Pierce Avenue - Chicago)