Contributed by Bessy Reyna
I can’t remember when I first learned about El Instituto. Sadly, when I was a grad student at UCONN (1970-72 MA) and a PhD candidate later, there were no Latino groups I could be involved with. The Puerto Rican Center was the first of the student centers to be created. I created the Women’s Center and advocated for gay and lesbian rights. I don’t remember exactly how I first knew about El Instituto; maybe a friend told me, or I decided to introduce myself to the then-director. That first introduction resulted in a warm welcome, and I felt comfortable sharing information about my writing and upcoming poetry readings. That relationship has continued to this day, and I am very grateful to the staff for their support of my work. I hope El Instituto will continue to be allowed to serve not only as an anchor for Latinos at UCONN but also to extend knowledge and appreciation of our culture to the general population.
-Bessy Reyna MA 1972, JD 1986..(www.bessyreyna.com)
Bessy Reyna is a poet, memoirist, and journalist. Born in Cuba and raised in Panama, Bessy is a graduate of Mt Holyoke College (BA Magna Cum Laude) and earned her Masters and Law degrees from the University of Connecticut. She had the opportunity for a poetry reading at the CT’s Old State House in October 12, 2024. She is the author of two bilingual books of poetry, The Battlefield of Your Body (Hill-Stead Museum, 2005) and Memoirs of the Unfaithful Lover/ Memorias de la amante infiel (tunAstral, A.C., 2010, Toluca Mexico). Born in Cuba and raised in Panama, Bessy is a graduate of Mt Holyoke College (BA Magna Cum Laude) and earned her Masters and Law degrees from the University of Connecticut. For nine years, she was a monthly opinion columnist for The Hartford Courant and a frequent contributor to Northeast, the Sunday magazine of the Hartford Courant. She conducted radio interviews with poets appearing at Hill-Stead Museum’s renowned Sunken Garden Poetry Festival in Farmington, CT, for several years. She wrote an arts-and-culture page for the Hispanic newspaper Identidad Latina and www.CTLatinoNews.com.