Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz: Vámonos Pa’l Monte

On Saturday, October 17, artist Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz and Mural Arts Philadelphia present Vámonos Pa’l Monte, a living tribute to Puerto Rican culture, resilience, and the migration stories that shape communities across the diaspora. 

This public art and engagement project culminates in a processional performance on Saturday, October 17 (rain date: Sunday, October 18), starting in Center City and concluding in Northeast Philadelphia, shifting the city’s yearlong Semiquincentennial gaze toward the collective voice of a tightly knit community whose histories and traditions embody and articulate an inclusive vision of freedom. 

Philadelphia is home to the second largest Puerto Rican population in the mainland United States. The processional route through Philadelphia to Norris Square, a neighborhood long at the heart of that population, charts a course from civic and colonial symbolism to neighborhood-centered, communal affirmation. Raimundi-Ortiz’s custom wardrobe, designed by project costume and production designer Kristina Tollefson, draws from Puerto Rico’s landscapes, ecology, history, and regional motifs, weaving these images and themes with Philadelphia’s colonial and modern-day histories. The wardrobe reflects the project’s emphasis on diaspora and inheritance—what one receives, loses, invents, and passes on to the next generation—by incorporating objects that hold personal and cultural meaning, carried forward and reshaped by the experience of migration. 

Members of the public are encouraged to RSVP to join the procession at one of the following outdoor meeting times and locations:

10am 599 Market Street / 12pm Cruz Playground, 5th and Master Streets / 1:30pm Norris Square Park, North Howard & Diamond Streets.

A celebratory Bombazo in Norris Square Park will follow the procession, featuring dancing and commemorative photos that capture a shared moment in Philadelphia’s rich Puerto Rican history. 

“As the United States commemorates 250 years of independence, Vámonos Pa'l Monte asks a simple but powerful question: Whose independence are we celebrating?” says Raimundi-Ortiz. “Rather than offering answers, the procession creates space for dialogue and remembrance, centering the experiences of Puerto Rican communities whose contributions have been integral to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the nation. Vámonos Pa'l Monte is an invitation to walk together, to remember together, and to imagine more equitable futures. Through collective movement, the project reclaims public space as a site of memory, belonging, and liberation.”

Raimundi-Ortiz's vision is informed by her lived experience as the daughter of Puerto Ricans who relocated to New York City as part of the Second Great Migration. In addition, she has conducted two years of field research, listening sessions, and relationship building, both in Puerto Rico and in Philadelphia, with residents, artists, and culture workers of Norris Square. Partner organizations Norris Square Neighborhood Project and Taller Puertorriqueño have grounded the project in local histories and collective knowledge, and project curator Marángeli Mejía-Rabell has collaborated with these organizations to conduct a series of artist talks, paired with community art-making workshops. The project title, Vámonos Pa’l Monte (“Let’s go to the mountains”), is inspired by the classic salsa track by legendary composer and pianist Eddie Palmieri: an anthem and a love letter to life in the hills of Puerto Rico, and an invitation for others to join the journey. 

“Mural Arts is proud to support ambitiously authored works of public art that center our mission around community engagement,” said Jane Golden, founder of Mural Arts Philadelphia. “Vamonos Pa’l Monte is a rich addition to the work, partnerships and relationships we’ve built in Norris Square. We’re excited to watch this project continue a much needed dialogue.”

Major support for Vámonos Pa’l Monte has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the William Penn Foundation and Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

For more information about Vámonos Pa’l Monte and to RSVP for the October 17 processional performance, visit here.