Caguas Fine Arts Center Opens Permanent Gallery Honoring 28 Figures of Puerto Rican Art

The Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas (BAC) unveiled, this Saturday, October 4, the second phase of its "Galeria de Nuestros Artistas" (Gallery of Our Artists), a permanent photographic exhibit honoring 28 figures from Puerto Rican arts, letters and culture. The portraits of the honorees were installed permanently in the building's main entrance area, right before the lobby, the same space thousands of people pass through every time they attend a concert, a play or a school activity at the center ¹.

The initiative is not a one-off event but the continuation of a project the BAC launched in 2024 to preserve, through images, the memory of people who have left a mark on music, visual arts, theater and literature in Caguas and Puerto Rico more broadly ¹. The center's executive director, Ivonne Class, explained the thinking behind this second round of honorees: "Each one represents a voice, a trajectory and a unique way of interpreting the world," she said during the unveiling ceremony ¹. Caguas Mayor William Miranda Torres also took part in the event and addressed the artists present with a message of recognition: "Each one of you represents a story of effort, creativity and commitment" ¹.

The numbers behind the tribute

The list of 28 names mixes living figures with posthumous tributes. According to the report, the living honorees include Iraida Garcia Rosa, Jorge Armando, Jorge Antares, Hector Escalante, Eduardo Cortes, Mario Donate, Guersom Baez, Haydee Zayas, William Gracia, Julio Ramos, Carlos Ruiz, Awilda Caez, Jose Manuel Sola, Luisito Ayala, Suzette Canetti, Joan Polanco, Alexis Trinta Correa, Orlando Laureano, Ismael Rosario, Pedro Guzman, Fabiola Mendez, Jesus "Chuito" Munoz and Belen Caballero ¹. Posthumous tributes were paid to the memory of Gloria Burgos, Ruben Gonzalez, Juancito Torres, Nelson Milian, Jose Luis Monero and Rubila Roldan ¹.

Admission to the new gallery is free and it stays open to the public during the center's regular hours, including days with scheduled shows or events ¹. The BAC is located on Calle Padial, corner of C. Ruiz Belvis, in downtown Caguas, and its box office operates Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a midday break from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.; the general information line is 787-305-3600 ².

What this means for you

For Caguas residents and any visitor, this translates into a new, free, permanent space to learn about Puerto Rican cultural figures without waiting for a festival or buying a ticket. There is no need to travel to a museum in San Juan: the next time someone picks up tickets for a concert or brings a school group to a show at the BAC, they will literally walk past a hallway of portraits of the people who built the cultural scene of the island's central region. It is also a sign that municipal cultural centers are investing in recognizing their own artists while they are still alive, not only posthumously, something that does not always happen in Puerto Rico.

How to do it / Checklist

1. Plan a weekday visit: the BAC's box office and administrative offices are open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a midday break until 1:00 p.m. ².
2. Head to the building located on Calle Padial, corner of C. Ruiz Belvis, in Caguas; the gallery of the 28 honorees is in the main entrance area, before the lobby, so it can be viewed without buying a ticket to any show ¹².
3. Call ahead to 787-305-3600 if you want to confirm there isn't a private event that day limiting access to the lobby ².
4. Use the visit to ask the box office about "Vision 4," on view at the center through October 30, 2026, and "Antologia de un Artista," running through November 30, 2026 ².
5. If you are a teacher or lead a community group, ask about guided visits or educational activities tied to the new permanent gallery; because it sits in the center's lobby, it lends itself to being folded into school trips that already visit the BAC for other shows.
6. Share photos of any honorees you recognize on social media: the initiative is specifically meant to get the community talking about and identifying the cultural figures from its own region.

What's next

The BAC has already signaled that this is the second phase of a project that began in 2024, leaving the door open for future rounds of honorees in coming years ¹. In the meantime, the center keeps its exhibition calendar active: "Vision 4" remains on view through the end of October and "Antologia de un Artista" runs through November 30, meaning October is shaping up to be a month packed with free or low-cost cultural offerings in Caguas, on top of the concert and theater programming the center announces separately ².