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OUR HISTORY

For more than 90 years, the Cortés Family has been committed to the social and cultural well-being of the Caribbean, as well as the interest and appreciation for art that has transcended its generations, through the Cortés Hermanos Company. In 2007, they celebrated their 70th anniversary by holding an exhibition titled "Cortés Art Collection" at Museo de Arte de Caguas with artworks from their private collection of contemporary Caribbean Art. This celebration encouraged them to create a permanent initiative using works from their art collection as educational tools for social transformation.

Fundación Cortés is an initiative that, through the arts and humanities, seeks to promote the strengthening of the values of our people. Fundación Cortés has started a philanthropic legacy through an active commitment to education that uses the visual arts as an aid to raise awareness about our values, raise awareness about our identity as a people and instill feelings of trust that promote positive and strengthening changes in the spirit of the Puerto Rican and Caribbean community.

Currently, the two exhibit halls of Fundación Cortés: the Sala Enfoque: Pedro Cortés Forteza and the Sala Colectiva: Ignacio Cortés Del Valle contain pieces of contemporary Caribbean and Latin American art, and are accessible to the public free of charge on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Calle San Francisco # 210 in Old San Juan. To date we have presented fourteen exhibits with works from the Chocolate Cortés Art Collection and five exhibits by Guest Artists, and we have documented over 85,000 registered visits.

Our theory of social transformation consists of the integration of Caribbean art, dialogue, reflection and creative expression through experiential and motivational experiences and individual and teamwork workshops, which at the same time promote the management of emotions and self-care, the development of critical thinking and other skills such as public speaking, increased self-esteem, and emphasis on social values ​​as priorities for community well-being.

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We are proud that Fundación Cortés has already become a meeting point to disseminate and promote the appreciation and study of the arts and humanities, as well as having achieved successful results to date, including having impacted nearly 14,000 children, youth and older adults by medium of educational programming, and have over 85,000 registered visits to the fourteen exhibitions presented to date.

ACHIEVEMENTS

10

EXHIBITS

Curated with works from the Chocolate Cortés Collection

5

EXHIBITS

From Guest Artists

85,000

REGISTERED VISITS

36 Tours | Educational talks

37 Afternoons | Nights of Art and Music

16,000

CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULTS

From schools, universities, institutions and associations, mainly low-income or disadvantaged, have participated in the Educa Cortés Program

240

SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR SUMMER PROGRAMS 

Low-income students, mostly from public schools in the community of Old San Juan and Metro Area

WORK TEAM

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Adelisa González-Lugo MBA

Executive Director and Lead Educator

BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Ignacio Cortés Gelpí

President and Treasurer

 

Elaine Shehab Licha

Secretary

 

Adlín Ríos Rigau, PhD

Director

 

Alberto Bacó Bagué, Esq.

director

 

Eva Diaz Acevedo

Director

 

Javier Cortés González

director

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José Morey, MD

director

Photo from left to right: Adlín Ríos Rigau, Javier Cortés González, Eva Díaz Acevedo, Alberto Bacó Bagué, Elaine Shehab Licha, Ignacio Cortés Gelpí and Efrén Pagán Beauchamp.

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INVESTORS

We thank and celebrate all the individuals, corporations, foundations and institutions that with their contributions have accompanied us to make our mission of educating and inspiring with our passion for the arts of the Caribbean a reality.

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VISIONARIES: $ 400,000 +

• Chocolarte, Inc.

• Ignacio Cortés Gelpí & Elaine Shehab Licha

• Cortés Hermanos, LLC

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PIONEERS: $ 50,000 - $ 100,000 +

• Red Nose for Puerto Rico Fund | Comic Relief USA

• MOVA Foundation

• Justin Sullivan

• Auramet

• Tides Foundation | Barbados and the Greater Caribbean Fund

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BENEFACTORS: $ 20,000 - $ 49,999

• Vega Palau & Co.

• FirstBank

• Center for Disaster Philanthropy - Atlantic Recovery Fund

• Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund

• The Boston Foundation

• The Rotary Club of San Juan - Robert & Edit Murray Gift for Puerto Rico

• Community Foundation of Puerto Rico

• Special Joint Commission on Legislative Funds for Community Impact

• Institute of Puerto Rican Culture

• National Endowment for the Arts

• Ángel Ramos Foundation

• Kellogg Foundation

• Sajo // McCann

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PROTECTORS: $ 5,000 - $ 19,999

• Antonio Martorell

• Anonymous

• Darjo Foundation

• Reinhold Group of Puerto Rico

• Héctor González

• MaryAnn Zacharia Foundation

• Goya from Puerto Rico

• Fulcro Insurance

• Mylogiq

• South American Restaurant Corp.

• Hispanic Information & Telecommunications Network

• Pfizer

• Jorge López

• Aidita González

• Vilá-Biaggi Foundation

• Nabil & Lucy El-Hage

• Néstor Otero & Annex Burgos

• Bank of America Matching Program

• Sajo & Chiqui Foundation

ALLIES: $ 1,000 - $ 4,999

• Eduardo Arroyo

• Ranger American

• Friends of Carlos Cortés & Gabriela Stoudemire

• David Ruiz

• BBS Legal, LLC

• Fortiflex, Inc.

• Walmart

• Fundación Segarra Boerman e Hijos, Inc.

• Marisa Álvarez

• Morell, Bauzá, Cartagena & Dapena

• Sorority Eta Gamma Delta

• Titín Foundation

• Dora Cortés

• Lourdes Ortiz

• Ramonita Irizarry

• Carlos Gutierrez García

• José C. Figueroa Trust

• Azim Jamal

• Caparra Companies

• Atilano Cordero Badillo

• Juan Herrans

• Cortés Industrial Organization

• Microjuris

• London Consulting Group Caribe & Florida (TCVJ)

• Sprint

• Partnership for Modern Puerto Rico

• Waves Ahead

• Dr. Luis Cummings, Jr.

• José Enrique Fernández Bjerg

• M. Landrón Clinical Laboratory

• Miranda Foundation

• Tomás Rosario Lizardi & Anita González

• BIO Counselors at Law, LLC

• Patricia de la Torre

• Braulio Castillo, Jr.

• Néstor Otero and Annex Burgos

• Josué Merced

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We acknowledge the hundreds of additional donors who have contributed toward our goals.

ALLIANCES

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  • Felisa Rincón de Gautier House Museum

  • National Foundation for Popular Culture

  • The House of Buttresses

  • San Juan Art Students League

  • Museum of the Americas

  • Museum Library The House of the Book

  • Fixed Regiment of Puerto Rico

  • AARP Puerto Rico

  • ASPIRA Inc. of Puerto Rico

  • Clinton Foundation | Clinton Global Initiative

  • Hope for Old Age

  • International Medical Corps

  • Contemporary Art Museum

  • SAGE Puerto Rico

  • Susan G. Komen Puerto Rico Affiliate

  • The Jazz Foundation of America

  • Carlos Albizu University

  • Departmen of Art and Culture of the San Juan del Municipality

  • Center for Design Thinking and Innovation in Education

  • La Finca Escuela of La Perla

  • Community Impact Association La Perla INC.

  • Episcopal Church Divine Savior
    of Old San Juan

  • Museum and Center for Humanistic Studies Dr. Josefina Camacho de la Nuez

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