Timelines

Miguel Algarín was a poet and leading figure in the Nuyorican Movement of the 1970s. Cofounding the Nuyorican Poets Cafe alongside Pedro Pietri and Miguel Piñero, they created a new, revolutionary space for young Puerto Rican poets to express themselves beyond the stereotypes given to them. Algarín was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and moved with his family to New York City in the early 1950s where his literary expression only grew in the streets of New York. Later in his life during the 1990s, he and Bob Holman created the second iteration of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe which expanded from an ethnic-specific venue to a venue that included those from the feminist movement, the LGBTQ movement, and more. On December 1st, 2020, Miguel Algarin passed away at the age of 79. His impact on the Puerto Rican community and poetry world can be felt globally every day.