“ En la bahía de mi cerebro hay un recuerdo de cuerpos negros , un salto jubiloso sobre un cielo alegre que besó mi vida .”
R o g e r C a b a n
It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of the well-respected , Puerto Rican photographer and founding member of En Foco , Roger Caban .
Caban will be remembered for his social work in El Barrio , which he was a proud native of . He was a social worker for Casa Mutua and Pathways to Housing . In 1993 , he became a board member of Hope Community , Inc . and helped found the organization ’ s annual poetry series , Poetas con Café , as well as the Ortiz-Wittenberg Art Gallery . Soy hijo legitimo de el Barrio , Caban would say fondly of his lifelong passion of El Barrio .
A self-taught photographer , Caban ’ s work have been published in numerous annuals and publications . In the 1960s and ‘ 70s , Caban was part of a group of young artist-activists creating community-based cultural organizations like En Foco and a writers collective , La Nueva Sangre . In collaboration with playwright Dolores Prida , he published a collection of poems and photographs titled , IRT Prayer Book , which led to a gallery exhibition . In addition , Caban worked with various Puerto Rican institutions including the National Puerto Rican Forum and ASPIRA . He was a member of the National Task Force on Hispanic Arts for the National Endowment for the Arts and a former chairman of the Special Arts Services
Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts .
Background photograph and text Roger Nueva Caban Luz I Portrait 3 of Roger Caban by George Malave