BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — At 15 years old, Angely Pavón found her home in El Batey.
“I started going to Bomba originally,” Pavón said.
Brianna Aldridge/WKBW
Until 2017, El Batey was just a 250-square-foot dream space, and soon after, Bomba’s lessons evolved into a Puerto Rican cultural center for young people.
“I took out the bedroom and kitchen of a small apartment I had and put in hardwood floors for a dance studio,” Jose Flores said.
Seven years later, the center has expanded to 10,000 square feet of space to allow young students like Pavone to thrive.
“I started dancing, drumming and singing. After a year, I started to pursue my passion for jiu-jitsu,” Pavón said.
El Batey has managed to combine music and martial arts to provide a center where students have a variety of options while learning about history and culture.
“Listen to them read the stories, hear the stories of our heroes like Pedro Albizu Campos and Lolita Lebron,” Flores said.
The overall goal is to build relationships within the community, which Pavón gives back to by working as a junior jiu-jitsu coach.
Additionally, she recently joined El Batey's board of directors.
“This helped me advocate for the youth in our community, get involved in our community, meet new people and raise funds for El Batey,” Pabón said.
Next up, Pavone plans to attend Canisius College in the fall while working at the center, something she finds uniquely joyful.
“You see the light they bring. They love to have fun, but you also see the focus and dedication to learning new skills,” Pavone said.
Longtime coach Jose Flores said seeing students like Pavón decide to get more involved is a step in the right direction.
“It's great to have her in a leadership role. She's the future of tomorrow,” Flores said.
