In 2023, HITN introduced a new initiative to involve middle-school students in celebrating Puerto Rican Heritage Month: a national short-film contest called Cortitos.
Mike Nieves, Arianna Carias, Carmen Cosme & Jelisa Carias
This special program invited students to write and produce a one-minute short film or ‘cortito’ featuring one of HITN’s five Puerto Rican Heritage Month honorees for this year.
On December 27th, Arianna Carias, the winner of the Tú Cuentas Cine Youth Fest 1st Cortitos Middle School Film Contest, visited our HITN studios in Brooklyn Navy Yard. Originally from Bushwick, young Ms. Carias is of Puerto Rican descend and her family has roots in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. Currently, Ms. Carias attends the Esperanza Charter Academy in Philadelphia.
In her visit to HITN, Ms. Carias met with Mike Nieves, President and CEO of HITN, and Luis Alejandro Molina, Executive Assistant and Co-director of the Tú Cuentas Cine Youth Fest. Arianna was accompanied by her mother, Jelisa Carias, and grandmother, Carmen Cosme.
During a brief conversation, Mr. Nieves and the Carias’ shared their experiences while living in Bushwick: from elementary and high schools attended to churches that are still there, to teachers, principals, and acquaintances that each knew across the generations. Afterward, they received a tour of HITN and were invited to next year’s Puerto Rican Heritage event at El Centro.
