In the year 1977, several Puerto Rican residents of the Dayton metropolitan area became quite concerned about the lack of knowledge about Puerto Rico throughout the Miami Valley region.
For this reason, the Puerto Rican Cultural Society of Dayton was organized in March 1978 by Puerto Ricans residing in Dayton, Centerville, Fairborn, Huber Heights, Englewood, Beavercreek, Kettering, Bellbrook and other surrounding communities. It was incorporated as a non-profit organization under the laws of the state of Ohio. In 1983, the Internal Revenue Service approved the tax-exempt t[501( c ) 3] status of the Society.
As stated in its constitution, the objectives of the Society are to promote the heritage and culture of Puerto Rico and also to provide the people of the Dayton metropolitan area with information about Puerto Rico. This information includes but is not limited to such topics as history, geography, culture, music, sports, economics, politics, education and heritage.
In order to accomplish the above stated objectives, the Puerto Rican Cultural Society participates in the Dayton International Festival, the National Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Fiesta LatinoAmericana and other activities in which the promotion of Puerto Rico's culture is possible. For this purpose, the Society has established several standing committees such as the Public Relations Committee that provides talks and lectures to local civic organizations, government agencies, schools, colleges and universities. The committee is composed of several speakers who provide the talks using slides, movies and videotapes as necessary. The Society also has organized a Folkloric committee, which includes, the "Rondalla Puerto Rico", who provides performances to the general public and participate in a variety of entertainment and musical activities. And last but not least we also have a Cultural Events Committee which is responsible for bringing presentations such as the Vivos de Milagros Group, the Folkloric Ballet "Gibaro", the Quinteto Figueroa, the exhibit Contrastes, Ballet Hispanico, Fiesta Filarmonica, Plena Libre, Orfeon San Juan Bautista, and many others to the Miami Valley and Dayton area.
In its 27 years of existence the Society has been recognized as one of the most active and successful in the community. And it is now considered the premier Latino/Hispanic arts organization in the Dayton community. Its offices are located at the Metropolitan Arts Center along with many other cultural organizations in the community.
The vision of the PRCS remains steadfast in partnering with the city, academia, and businesses to take the society to new heights and to remain the premier Hispanic Non-profit organization in Dayton.
