School with Papi Diva is an open-source blog where Papi Diva shares his open notes on life, resources, drawings, and almost everything on the World Wide Web. This blog is an area for decompression through discussion & design. The School of Papi Diva honors critique, commentary, creativity, and most importantly, the connection of language and principles to create democracy through design.

Current Studies/Homework:

How do we keep New York, New York? is an on-going personal study of mine – watching the transformation of New York, and the documentation of it’s time, culture, and identity through various mediums.

I am not really a movie person which made me decide to use film/videos as starting place to explore mediums that question New York through mulitple themes.

Recent  Watches

1. Do the Right Thing (1989), Spike Lee
   
2. No Free Walls (2016), Complex Networks
3. Sex and the City (1998), HBO
4. Air Force 1: An Urban Legend (2010)

Recent  Reads

1. What happened to my New York, Nasir Colwell

+ The Study of Iconography

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Papi Diva Visits Pratt:

A Motivational Lecture on Shifting Perspectives

Papi Diva’s lecture at Pratt Institute encouraged Scott Santoro’s Professional Practice Communication Design class to shift their perspective on wealth in designing media: social, financial, spiritual, emotional, and physical.

The 1-hour lecture provided personal anecdotes from Papi Diva’s experience in the fashion-cultural media scene in Brooklyn, with the advice for students to give passion to their purpose.

Recess/Field Trip:

“I don’t care if you’re losing – still fight back”

Got It On Me, Pop Smoke




* Scanned journal page from plane ride to Chicago, a visitar my hermanito y su famila (to visit my brother and his family)

I had 2 hours to kill on an early morning 5AM flight to Chicago. I was making way to visit my brother, Vaquero, who I met at Pratt Institute years ago. I was channeling in some deep-competetive Boxing energy, aligning with one of my favorite lyircs by Pop Smoke – reminding me to keep going, no matter what.

Mi Papito Bendicido, Bad Bunny

(My blessed baby, Bad Bunny)
Charocoal on 18” x 24” 




LA MUNDANZA, Bad Bunny

“Aqui mataron gente por sacar la bandera
Por eso es que ahora yo la llevo donde quiera, cabrón, que fue?”

“Here they killed people for taking out their flags,
That’s why I take mine everywhere I go”