DePaul Art Museum Hosts Bomba Performance Celebrating Lincoln Park's Puerto Rican Heritage

By Socialhood News · Il/Chicago/Lincoln Park · January 17, 2026

Lincoln Park residents have a unique opportunity to experience Afro-Puerto Rican cultural heritage this Sunday, January 18, as the DePaul Art Museum presents a special Bomba performance in conjunction with its acclaimed exhibition "Tengo Lincoln Park en mi Corazón: Young Lords in Chicago." The free event, taking place at the Holtschneider Performance Center, will feature artist and educator Arif Smith, who serves as Program Manager at the Old Town School of Folk Music and Research Associate at the Field Museum.

The afternoon performance will explore Bomba, the oldest Afro-Puerto Rican musical form, rooted in resistance and collective expression. Visitors will experience archival songs from the Young Lords Organization performed through Bomba for the first time, activating the traditional form as a tool for political imagination. Smith, who is also featured in the museum exhibition with a commissioned video installation created in collaboration with artist Rebel Betty, will lead a conversation about music's role in activism and memory.

The exhibition itself, which runs through February 8, explores the Young Lords Organization's trajectory in Lincoln Park, highlighting how gentrification and urban renewal displaced the vibrant Puerto Rican community of the 1950s and 1960s. Neighborhood residents interested in attending the Bomba performance can visit the Holtschneider Performance Center at 2330 N. Halsted Street at 3:00 PM on January 18, while the exhibition remains free and open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday at the DePaul Art Museum's 935 W. Fullerton Avenue location.

Sources:
1. https://resources.depaul.edu/art-museum/public-events/Pages/default.aspx
2. https://art.newcity.com/2025/10/29/young-lords-in-chicago-reminds-us-the-struggle-for-social-justice-only-ends-if-we-concede/
3. https://www.lincolnparkchamber.com/upcoming-events/