Ricardo Nazario y Colón


Ricardo Nazario y Colón is a Puerto Rican poet, artist, higher education administrator, author, language teacher, and former United States Marine.

Life

Ricardo Nazario y Colón was born in 1967 in the old Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx to Francisca Colón Lopez, a waitress, and Benito Reinaldo Nazario Acosta, a piano finisher. He is a poet, environmental justice advocate and diversity consultant from the South Bronx area of New York City. He has two older brothers, Roberto and Oscar, a younger brother, Jonath Colon, and two younger sisters, Maritza and Solmelissa. In 2011 he was appointed by the Governor of Kentucky Steve Beshear to serve on the state's Native American Heritage Commission.

Government Service

In 2009 Ricardo was appointed by Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear to serve a three-year term on the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission.
In 2016 He was appointed by North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. In 2019, he became was nominated to serve a second term and became the chair of the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.

Education

Ricardo Nazario y Colón attended Jesus T. Piñero primary school in Carruzos, Puerto Rico and Lou Gehrig I.S. 151 in the South Bronx. After attending the DeWitt Clinton High School where he lettered in Cross Country and Track, he entered Fordham University in 1984 to study computer science on a Track Scholarship and lettered his freshmen year. In 1985 he entered the United States Marine Corps and trained at Parris Island, South Carolina and graduated as a Private First Class. In 1992 he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky in Latin American Studies and Spanish Literature. In 1996, he received a Master of Science from Pace University.

Affrilachian Poets

As a student at the University of Kentucky Nazario y Colón became a co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets. In 2001 he was featured in the PBS documentary Coal Black Voices produced by the Media Working Group. Featuring 2011 National Book Award Winner Nikky Finney, 2005 Lanaan Fellowship Award Winner Frank X Walker, Crystal Wilkinson, Kelly Norman Ellis, Paul C. Taylor, Bernard Clay, Mitchell L.H. Douglass, Daundra Scisney, and Shanna Smith. In addition, commentary was provided by Gurney Norman and C. Daniel Dawson, African Art Historian. His work has been featured on the Bob Edwards show, and the Kentucky NPR Affiliates WFPL and WUKY as well as in the program Casting the Dye: a Reading with the Affrilachian Poets, recorded Thursday, February 12, 2009, at The Art Institute of Chicago. Speakers include: Mitchell L. H. Douglas, Parneshia Jones, Kelly Norman Ellis, Ricardo Nazario Colon, Ellen Hagan, Frank X Walker, and Stephanie Pruitt, with a special guest reading by National Book Award nominee Patricia Smith on Chicago's WEBZ.
For the last 20 years Nazario y Colón has been traveling the Appalachian Region and other parts of the United States consulting on diversity, leadership development and working with community groups and universities. As a member of the Affrilachian Poets he is particularly engaged in the fight against mountaintop removal mining and works to educate individuals outside the Appalachian region.

Publications

Ricardo has been published by the following publications.
Ricardo has been Anthologized by the following publications.