BCA offers free Culture Trolley

The Bronx Council on the Arts presents an afternoon of free trolley rides and attractions as Culture Trolley Saturdays returns on June 6 with ¡VIVA Cultura! – A Celebration of Puerto Rican Heritage in the Bronx. Co-produced and sponsored by Wally Edgecombe and the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, the trolley will shuttle people from noon to 6 p.m., along its afternoon route.

In a celebration of the thriving Puerto Rican culture in the Bronx, trolley stops will include art and cultural venues and riders will enjoy music from a number of Bronx Indie performers.

Bronx Indie events are designed to encourage artists and arts collectives to explore performance sites, to break new ground in various musical genres and to get closer to their audience, thus increasing community participation and fostering an environment for the arts to thrive.

For the June 6 event, live musical performances are scheduled all day long at the casita Rincon Criollo located at Brook Avenue and 158th Street. This casita (a little house built to mimic the mid-twentieth century houses in Puerto Rico) is one of the few centers that continues to evoke the com-munity and culture of Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico and mainland Bronx.

The afternoon line-up is as follows: 1 p.m.: Obanilu Allende y Pura Plena; 3 p.m.: Norka Adal – Bambula; 5 p.m.: Matthew Ayala y su Cumbalaya. There will be a DJ in between setups.

The trolley offers an opportunity for guests to share cultural experiences on and off the trolley:

• Bomba Yo will be performing their fabulous musica folklorica on the trolley.

• LDR Studio Gallery will showcase Five Points, an exhibition exploring five artists’ unique vi-sion of Puerto Rican culture, religion and history via photography, poetry, paintings and multimedia installations.

• Bruckner Gallery at the Bruckner Bar and Grill will exhibit OBAMA! Reflections, a collection of work inspired by the campaign, election and inauguration of President Barack Obama.

The tour starts at noon at Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos, (718) 518-6728, 450 Grand Concourse.