El Maestro

LAFF Reception at El Maestro Boxing Gym

Saturday, July 26, 2025
5 – 10 PM

Schedule:
• 6 PM I Short Film Screenings:
“La Torre” by Mikey Cordero, “Casa Laurel” by Pati Cruz, “Toñitas” by Sebastian Diaz + Beyza Boyacıoğlu

• 8 PM I Poetry by Bonafide Rojas, Las Lolitas NYC + Raphael Pavon + Angel Goméz + Rodrigo Peña Lang

• 9PM I Music by Daso y El Grupo Cemí

El Maestro Boxing Gym
1300 Southern Blvd
Bronx, NY

This event is held in conjunction with the BDC’s 8th Annual Latin American Foto Festival.

Join us at El Maestro Boxing Gym for for an evening of short films, poetry, live music, and photography as part of the 8th Annual Latin American Foto Festival, hosted by the Bronx Documentary Center (BDC).

This year, we’re proud to bring LAFF to El Maestro highlighting a space with deep roots in the Bronx community.

Founded in 2003 by Fernando “Ponce” Laspina in the South Bronx, the gym honors “El Maestro”, Pedro Albizu Campos, a Puerto Rican independence leader. A former gang leader turned educator, Laspina established the gym after prison to fulfill a promise to his mother, offering South Bronx youth boxing, cultural education, and political awareness. Doubling as a community center, it hosts poetry, film screenings, and cultural events championing redemption, resistance, and solidarity amid Puerto Rican history.

Archival images of the historic gym will be on view from July 24-Aug 3.

Please note: This event takes place at El Maestro Boxing Gym, not at the BDC.

The Latin American Foto Festival is curated by Cynthia Rivera and Michael Kamber. 

Outdoor vinyl exhibitions printed by Photoville.

Wheat pasting is being done in collaboration with DYSTURB.

The Latin American Foto Festival’s citywide events are organized in collaboration with The Action Lab, FujiFilm, and Montefiore Einstein.