Puerto Rican Division of Community Education

Local writers, artists, community organizers, filmmakers and musicians were employed by DIVEDCO to create works and programs in their respective fields on topics of public interest such as literacy, health care, democracy and civic engagement.Fueled by post-WWII and Cold War political anxieties, many governments turned to state-led programs in order to legitimize and disseminate the tenants of democracy to their citizens.[2] DIVEDCO provided an avenue for young artists in Puerto Rico to create popular works that made up a government sponsored art legacy on the island.[3] Due to the goals of DIVEDCO, the films produced under the program often appear as propaganda for the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and their ideological beliefs.In addition to employing major Puerto Rican printmakers like Rafael Tufiño Figueroa and Lorenzo Homar, many other visual artists had a hand in DIVEDCO.
Malaria poster in small hotel, San Juan , Puerto Rico. Jack Delano, December, 1941.
Una Gota de Sangre by Carlos Osorio, 1963
Puerto Ricoliteracyhealth caredemocracycivic engagementPopular Democratic Party of Puerto RicoLuis Muñoz MarínSan Juan1898 transfer of Puerto Rico into the jurisdiction of the United Stateseducational systemCold WarWorks Progress AdministrationFarm Security AdministrationJack DelanoNew DealAmericanizationOperation BootstrapCaribbean CommissioncapitalistcommunistPuerto Rican cultureRafael Tufiño FigueroaEuropean traditionpropagandaAmílcar Tirado’sCabo RojoLorenzo HomarIsabel Bernal