A new mural in Philly Portrays a Group of Elderly Bomba Dancers

PHILLY — A newly painted mural has breathed new life into the Norris Square Senior Community Center (NSSCC). On the two walls flanking the entrance, there are images of smiling faces and swirling red, blue and yellow skirts. The mural pays tribute to “Grupo Alegría”—a group of elderly bomba dancers formed by the center as a way for seniors to socialize and stay active during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The NSSCC sits right across from the park—the heart of this neighborhood. 

“I think that having them here in the park is what brings this place to life,” said Puerto Rican artist Celso González, in an interview with 9 Millones. As the mural’s mosaic artist, he worked with Philadelphia-based artist Betsy Casañas, who designed this project. 

For the past two years, the local organization Mural Arts has selected Puerto Rican artists to colorfully restore public walls around the Norris Square neighborhood, a largely Puerto Rican hub in North Philadelphia. With financial support from Mural Arts, CAICU Norris Square Tours aims to preserve the neighborhood’s cultural history by showcasing Puerto Rican themes and local figures, one mural at a time. 

Most of the members in Grupo Alegría are 60 and older. Their smiling faces are framed by blue and red head scarves; their bodies, dressed in flouncy, traditional Puerto Rican outfits that pop against a backdrop of outlined palm leaves in cerulean blues. The mural also features Carmen Aponte—founder of the senior center and a renowned community leader—in a large black-and-white portrait, accented by a bright orange mosaic. The NSSCC center is named after her.

This colorful mural at NSSCC—one of five centers operated by Catholic Charities of Philadelphia—is the latest addition to the series that honors Puerto Rican heritage. The project surfaced in conversations with groups of around 60 residents, whose input during several meetings inspired the visual themes. Over the course of two years, the eight artists agreed on the subjects they wanted to represent based on the set of ideas. 

“While we were working on the project, we all ate together in the dining hall here [at the senior center]... It’s been really nice for me to get to know them, and work on this very unique project. Throughout my career, I’ve done so many things, but I’d never done a project that was so closely integrated with such an older community,” González added while walking through the senior center corridors. 

Sitting around an oversized oval table in the senior center’s board room, eight members gleefully shared photos and videos of past performances. They took turns recounting the stories behind the dresses they’ve constructed and the choreographies they’ve learned. It is clear that the group’s bond conveys the joy that gives them their name. 

“Look, this is one of the outfits,” Lidia Arevalo, one of the members, shows off, pointing to red jackets with embroidered bands.

When the group started in 2022, they performed solely bomba and plena—two traditional musical rhythms from Puerto Rico—but later expanded to include other styles. Arevalo’s list included styles such as Peruvian C’hunchu/Hyuayno, the Mexican Cumbia (a subgenre), and the American Twist. “We have a lot of dances. A lot of choreography,” she says proudly.

A Mural that Says: “We Latinos are still alive”

The Kensington area, along the Delaware River, has been shaped by Puerto Rican migration. Over the years, gentrification and increasing housing costs have pushed Puerto Rican residents to Northern enclaves of the city, like Norris Square. The long-time working class hub for Puerto Ricans since the 1950s has experienced waves of economic instability. More recently, residents have fought to keep the area affordable to live in as Latino residents move out to find reasonable housing costs. 

Despite the demographic changes, census data shows that North Philadelphia, as a neighborhood, continues to have the largest concentration of residents from the Puerto Rican diaspora. 

In early 2024, Mural Arts Philadelphia and Norris Square Neighborhood Project were awarded a $125,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. The “Our Town” prize was used to support CAICU, a two-year “socially-engaged” public art project series led by curator Marangeli Mejía-Rabell and muralist González. Their goal was to connect themes of belonging, identity and home between Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican diaspora and Loíza, Puerto Rico. 

Julia Ponce, a long-time resident and member of the dance group, sees the mural as a statement of their right to be respected in their culturally diverse identity.

“We Latinos are still alive, we're here, we're active,” Ponce said. 

CAICU is a public art series weaving together key figures and motifs that honor Puerto Ricans’ cultural presence in the city. González has become familiar with the Kensington area over the last six years, working on multiple mural projects with Mejía-Rabell. His work displays Norris Square’s Latino-Caribbean roots. Many residents, like Ponce, have lived in the area for over 45 years.

The health benefits of dancing for elders

Grupo Alegría was formed two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, explained Wanda Mercado, NSSCC’s manager. 

“As they dance and follow the choreography, it helps with dementia, balance, and various other areas. So, the goal was health and well-being,” Mercado said.

Research by David Marquez, an exercise science scholar at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), reveals that dance programs improve cognition and overall health among aging populations. Dancing requires challenging the brain and physical effort, while boosting brain health through socializing, which tends to reduce in older age groups.

“We older people matter… we make a difference”, declared Ponce, while she also spoke enthusiastically about the mural. “It  helps us at the center, because this is a place we come to, and they took the initiative to make it happen. So for us, it’s about moving forward... We’re going to stay active and make a difference.”

Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican seniors comprise almost 17% of a small but dwindling Spanish-speaking population, a 2025 Penn State Extension community survey recently found. As more of the Norris Square residents age, they will need targeted programming to stay active and social. 

That is what the Norris Square senior center focuses on: catering to the largely Latino residents in the area. Through traditional dance, a dedicated room to play dominos and Puerto Rican homestyle meals, NSSCC reinforces the cultural connective tissue that helps seniors to thrive in older age.  

With seniors’ needs rising, Mercado worries about stagnant or potentially reduced government funding. Federal health grant cuts and restructuring of federal priorities has destabilized the public health sector from the top down, affecting everything from disability to behavioral health care. For instance, in December 2025, Philadelphia’s Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of Elders (CARIE) announced it would close after 50 years, citing funding issues. 

Centers like NSSCC are important because they serve as cultural hubs, centralizing access to key resources such as exercise and health education.

Grupo Alegría is not only the inspiration for a mural across from the neighborhood park. It has also proven to be a way to connect with younger generations, like 27-year-old Kristian Casañas, a Norris Square resident who led the team of painters. 

As the youngest member of the group, Casañas says he feels lucky to have been part of the project. His mom Betsy Casañas designed the mural with González. 

“Being close to that type of work exposes you to how you can impact people's lives in different ways, just by simple interactions, a little bit of more empathy, compassion, patience,” Casañas added.

“Imagine your grandma is doing what she's most passionate about, just living her life to the fullest. We're just trying to cement that… pride, joy and a lot of shoulder shimmying,” Casañas said, calling this particular piece “a live tribute.”

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That is how elders such as Sonia Segui see it, too.

“We are role models for young people,” Segui said, as she recalled the reaction of her friend Yolanda's grandson. “That boy—the day we danced—[remember] how he was crying when he saw his grandmother dancing!,” she said, turning to look at the others around her.

Vicky Díaz-Camacho is a Mexi-Rican journalist that has been recognized for her coverage of homelessness, education and public health policy.
Journalist Laura M. Quintero, Editor-in-chief of 9 Millones, contributed with editing.