Puerto Rican Community in Orlando, Florida



 
 
 

Lizmaria Reyes, 12, of Kissimmee, shows off her bomba y plena moves during a practice of the traditional Puerto Rican dance with the Sembrando Raices (planting roots) dance troupe at a Kissimmee home.  Delaney Fernandez, 8, of Kissimmee, shows off her bomba y plena moves with Sembrando Raices, sponsored by the Centro de Cultura Puertorriqueno de la Florida Central (Central Florida Puerto Rican Cultural Center).

 
 
 Pastor Osvaldo Berberena, 50, preaches in Spanish at the Centro Cristiano Genesis In Orlando on Sunday. A long time central Florida resident, Berberena began his nondenominational ministry in 1987, which caters to Spanish language worshippers in the area. Ramonita Sempert, 66, of Kissimmee, looks for a match on her 25 cent bingo cards during a game at the Robert Guevara Community Center. Sempert has been frequenting the center's weekly senior mornings for a year and a half.

 
 
 
Carmen Delia Calderon, 72 (center) of Kissimmee, leads a group of seniors in exercise at the Robert Guevara Community Center. The center hosts weekly senior mornings where locals play dominoes, read the paper, play bingo called in both Spanish and English, exercise, and simply socialize. Salsa dancer Jessica Alicea, 17, of Orlando gets twirled by a classmate during a class led by Salsa Heat Dance Studio instructors at the Robert Guevara Community Center in Kissimmee. The twice weekly classes pack the center with salsa dancers of all ages and all levels.

 
 
 
Domino players reach for pieces decorated with the Puerto Rican flag during a game at the Robert Guevara Community Center. The center hosts weekly senior mornings where locals play dominoes, read the paper, play bingo called in both Spanish and English, exercise, and simply socialize.  Jose Bobe, 72, of Kissimmee, plays dominoes with a group of friends at the Robert Guevara Community Center. The center hosts weekly senior mornings where locals play dominoes, read the paper, play bingo called in both Spanish and English, exercise, and simply socialize.

 
 
Hada Castillo, 34, (left) of Kissimmee, takes a bite of her take-home dinner, while owner Olga Gutierrez helps her with the condiments, at the traditional puerto rican food restaurant, Pioco's Chicken in Kissimmee. Workers at Pioco's Chicken in Kissimmee laugh as they choose their dinner at the traditional Puerto Rican restaurant.