About Us
The White Plains Puerto Rican Cultural Committee (WPPRCC) was founded in 2020 by a group of community members from White Plains and the surrounding area. It is led by Chair Evelyn Alicea-Santiago, a veteran ESOL and Bilingual Education teacher with a 35-year history of activism in the Hispanic community of Westchester County, honored by U.S. Congressman Jamaal Bowman in 2023 for her community advocacy and for working hard “to create cultural spaces for Puerto Ricans in Westchester.”
The mission of the White Plains Puerto Rican Cultural Committee is to highlight and celebrate the contributions of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics in White Plains and throughout Westchester County, with a cultural focus on music, art, dance, and literature. It is donations-based organization generously funded by members, donors, and allies.
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*The White Plains Puerto Rican Cultural Committee is a registered NYS Non-Profit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) designation. All donations are tax deductible.
The WPPRCC organized the first-ever White Plains Puerto Rican Flag Raising Event in 2021. The incredible success of the flag raising event and the interest from the Puerto Rican and Hispanic community in White Plains has led the WPPRCC to plan a variety of activities designed to engage the entire White Plains community. We have proudly collaborated with several community partners, including the City of White Plains, and the White Plains Recreation and Parks Department, and ArtsWestchester, among others. Since 2022, we have also celebrated an annual Greenburgh Puerto Rican Flag Raising Celebration in November of each year. ​
In 2023, we collaborated with Comité Noviembre, PRIDA, and several local artists to co-host the first-ever Puerto Rican themed art exhibit in the ArtsWestchester Main Gallery titled, ‘The Puerto Rican Community Through Arts and Culture’. Since 2021, the WPPRCC has also collaborated with the White Plains Public Library to present our Annual Three Kings Day Family Celebration featuring literature, art, technology, and gifts!
In June of 2025, the White Plains Puerto Rican Cultural Committee proudly hosted the Second Annual White Plains Puerto Rican Street Fair!
The WPPRCC Executive Board consists of community members from the White Plains area representing all walks of life: Honorable Evelyn Alicea-Santiago (Founder and Chair),
Wayne Bass (Co-Founder), Teresa Santiago, Luis Muñiz, Millie & Elizardi Castro,
Maggie Racioppo, Eddie Rodriguez, Grisselle Feliciano,
Dolores Batista, René Rodriguez, and Joe Maymi.