The Domino Dialogues: Jugando con las Memorias

Puerto Rican Bread Gotta Be Warm | Domino Dialogues Short

In this short from The Domino Dialogues, the conversation turns to Puerto Rican bread, coffee, butter, cheese, and the kinds of food memories that instantly feel like home. Vanessa Vega, Ant Rivera, and Edwin Desamour reflect on neighborhood bakeries, pan sobao, and the small details tied to growing up Philly Rican. From dipping bread in coffee to stopping at spots around 5th & Cambria, the conversation captures how food carries memory, culture, and familiarity across generations. The conversation touches on Puerto Rican bakeries, neighborhood traditions, food memories, and the everyday moments that connect people back to home and community. This short is from Episode 8, Art as Responsibility, now available. Featured topics: Puerto Rican bread • Pan sobao • Philly Rican identity • Food memories • Neighborhood culture • Community traditions If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to share it and continue the conversation with your own memories and traditions. These conversations are part of Somos Society’ [http://www.somossociety.org]s work to preserve the historical living archive of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

“Our Stories Deserve To Be Told” | Domino Dialogues Short

In this short from The Domino Dialogues, filmmaker Ant Rivera reflects on Philly Rican identity, representation, and the importance of telling stories rooted in North Philadelphia. Ant speaks about growing up without seeing his community represented in film and how that shaped the work he creates today. From 2nd & Lehigh to family history, the conversation explores how storytelling becomes a way to document people, neighborhoods, and experiences that are often left out of history books. The conversation touches on representation, filmmaking, cultural memory, family stories, and the responsibility artists feel to preserve the humanity of their communities through their work. This short is from Episode 8, Art as Responsibility, now available. Featured topics: Philly Rican identity • Storytelling • Representation • Filmmaking • Cultural memory • North Philadelphia If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to share it and continue the conversation with your own memories, stories, and experiences. These conversations are part of Somos Society [http://www.somossociety.org]’s work to preserve the historical living archive of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

“We Don’t Wanna Coexist. We Want You Out.” | Domino Dialogues Short

In this short from The Domino Dialogues, Vanessa Vega, Ant Rivera, and Edwin Desamour discuss gentrification in North Philadelphia and the ways longtime residents experience cultural and physical displacement in their own neighborhoods. The conversation reflects on changing blocks, disappearing cultural identity, housing politics, and the frustration many community members feel watching resources suddenly appear only after outside investment arrives. Vanessa and Ant also speak about erasure, development, and the importance of protecting the people and culture that shaped these neighborhoods long before redevelopment conversations began. The conversation touches on housing, redlining, neighborhood change, cultural memory, and the realities of trying to preserve community in a city that continues to shift around it. This short is from Episode 8, Art as Responsibility, now available. Featured topics: Gentrification • North Philadelphia • Housing • Cultural erasure • Philly Rican identity • Community memory If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to share it and continue the conversation with your own experiences and reflections. These conversations are part of Somos Society [http://www.somossociety.org]’s work to preserve the historical living archive of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

“Open That Sh*t Up” | Domino Dialogues Short

In this short from The Domino Dialogues, Vanessa Vega and Ant Rivera discuss gatekeeping, mentorship, and the frustrations younger creatives often face trying to navigate community spaces and opportunities. The conversation reflects on generational differences, the importance of sharing knowledge, and why many younger artists feel they are still waiting to be taken seriously. Vanessa and Ant also speak about the role creatives play in shaping community identity and preserving culture. The conversation touches on leadership, access, collaboration, and what it means to create space for the next generation instead of making them repeat the same struggles. This short is from Episode 8, Art as Responsibility, now available. Featured topics: Gatekeeping • Mentorship • Young creatives • Philly Rican identity • Community leadership • Art and culture If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to share it and continue the conversation with your own experiences and perspectives. These conversations are part of Somos Society [http://www.somossociety.org]’s work to preserve the historical living archive of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

Art as Responsibility | Episode 8 | The Domino Dialogues

In Episode 8 of The Domino Dialogues, Philly Rican artists Vanessa Vega and Ant Rivera join Edwin Desamour for a conversation about storytelling, art, identity, and the responsibility of preserving culture through creative work. Filmed inside the Taina Sisters cultural space on Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia, the conversation moves through filmmaking, murals, Puerto Rican history, neighborhood change, representation, family traditions, and the importance of documenting stories that are often overlooked or erased. Vanessa and Ant reflect on creating from where they come from and what it means to carry community memory into their work. The conversation touches on Philly Rican identity, gatekeeping, gentrification, cultural preservation, neighborhood bakeries, saying “bendición,” and why younger creatives deserve space to tell their own stories. This episode is Episode 8, Art as Responsibility, now available. Featured topics: Philly Rican identity • Storytelling • Cultural preservation • Gentrification • Murals • Filmmaking • North Philadelphia • Puerto Rican culture • Community memory If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to share it and continue the conversation with your own memories, experiences, and reflections. These conversations are part of Somos Society [http://www.somossociety.org]’s work to preserve the historical living archive of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.