Puerto Rican Pride Shines
Our region is home to one of the largest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country. About 1.3 million Puerto Ricans live in the state and roughly half a million call Central Florida home.
On Super Bowl Sunday, global star and Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny thrust that culture into the spotlight. Millions watched from home or gathered at watch parties. At Made in Puerto Rico Lake Mary Social, every seat was filled at the new restaurant’s “Benito Bowl” watch party event. Benito is Bad Bunny’s real name. Engage stops by to talk with community members about why this moment mattered so deeply.
To better understand the broader significance and impact, Fernando Rivera, a sociology professor and Director of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at UCF, joins Engage. He studies Puerto Rican migration to Central Florida.
Melanie Maldonado, President of the Puerto Rican Organization for the Performing Arts in Orlando, also joins Engage to discuss preserving the island’s culture in Central Florida.
BCU Students Accelerate Careers with NASCAR
Fans will pack the track at International Speedway Boulevard for Sunday’s sold-out Daytona 500. Just a couple of miles from Daytona International Speedway, students at Bethune-Cookman University are revved up for the NASCAR Campus Lab Program. Over 12 weeks, participants get a behind the scenes look at careers across the industry. They gain hands-on experience in marketing and budgeting, while also receiving resume and interview coaching.
BCU President, Albert Mosley, and Instructor and Corporate Partnership Coordinator, Dwain Moore, join Engage to discuss what this partnership between an HBCU and NASCAR means for students and the Central Florida community. They’re joined by BCU junior Michael Ogunmola, a finance accounting major and a member of the 2025 cohort, who shares his experience in the program.
Step Back to Regency England at Jane Austen Festival
The Regency Period marks an era in British History spanning the 1790s through the late 1830s. It was a time marked by refinement and culture, but also by distinct and unequal class divisions. Those characteristics of the era are hallmarks of the literature of Jane Austen, one of the period’s most predominant authors. Novels like Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma examine relationships and society, often through the perspective of women constrained by the societal norms of their time.
A celebration of Britain’s Regency Period will be on display in Central Florida this weekend as a three-day Jane Austen Festival kicks off at venues throughout downtown Mount Dora. In addition to discussions about the author’s works and legacy, there are events reflective of the period including a lawn bowling workshop, a perfume-making symposium, and 18th century hair-styling classes. Attendees are encouraged to dress to party like it’s 1799, though Regency attire is not required. Mount Dora resident Margaret Andersen joins Engage to discuss creating the Jane Austen Fest.
