La Bruja: Caridad De La Luz on Her Artistic Journey and Cultural Activism
Story written by Yesica Balderrama
Poet and Bronx Legend Caridad De La Luz “La Bruja”
“When we write, we spell, and when we create spells, we are spelling. It's in the language when we work with words.”
When I asked Caridad De La Luz how she got the "La Bruja" moniker, she explained, "My parents got married on Halloween." The Bronx-born native was born to Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York City in the 1950s. She referred to herself as a "Boogie Rican," also the title of her first off-Broadway production, Boogie Rican Blvd. A writer, singer, and actress, she has made art for over 26 years and has been a prominent Latinx figure in New York City.
La Bruja has written poetry since childhood and credited her grandmother, who died when she was ten, for introducing her to the craft. She has published two poetry books and shared videos of her readings online. Her literary influences include Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and Shakespeare. Contrary to her name, she does not practice witchcraft. "I come from a long line of matriarch healers and practitioners. When we write, we spell, and when we create spells, we are spelling. It's in the language when we work with words.”
La Bruja's writing centered on the Latinx experience and tackled the intersection of politics, gender, and culture. These themes also influenced her activism, "I teach what I do." She organizes events with The Bronx Indigenous Futurisms Group to preserve Caribbean Taino heritage, an Indigenous people native to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba. "The Bronx Indigenous Futurisms Group is going into its fifth year. I feel proud to be part of the foundation for Latinx embracing their ancestral roots."
At the onset of La Bruja's career, she had a record deal but left the music industry. Since then, she has created music independently, collaborating with Grammy Award-winning and nominated artists. "I've made hooks for Joel Ortiz, Jadakiss, and B-Real of Cypress Hill." The self-produced "Whap Whap," written during the pandemic, satirized Cardi B's "W.A.P." and featured scenes of her in a pool as she sang about women's roles in a patriarchal society. "W.A.P was the perfect opportunity to create an acronym piece. I do conscious hip hop; I know little girls are watching, and I wanted to give them something to ponder."
A notebook has been La Bruja’s songwriting instrument. “Ideas come to my mind, and then when I have enough, I sit at the computer and transcribe. Then I edit, find a beat, and go from there.” Most recently, she wrote a one-woman show titled From Poor to Puerto Rico, a play about the search for cultural identity. “I’m different people at various times. It’s an abstract journey. The protagonist finds herself as a Puerto Rican [in her search] to find the truth of who she is and who we are as Puerto Ricans.”
This past January, she was appointed the Executive Director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a performance space on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. “We just opened [in] March with brand new programming in addition to the classic programming. We have the Monday night open mic and the Wednesday and Friday night [poetry] slams which are poetry competitions. I started funding the Writer’s Workshop retreat on Sunday, where we actually serve coffee at the cafe, which is something that has not been done.”
La Bruja is glad to contribute to the space that nurtured her talent as a young artist. Painters, writers, actors, musicians, and playwrights have shared the labors of their creative pursuits in the multicultural space for 49 years. An original goal of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was to empower marginalized creators – a legacy she is determined to continue. “I know what my Founding Fathers valued. Now I’m making sure to hold true to those values.”
La Bruja’s variety of mediums is an expansive exploration of self-expression. “I’ve done poetry, hip hop albums, film, and I’ve been on Broadway and off-Broadway. I have had a broad career. It’s been beautiful, and I’m committed to the arts.”