NYC names streets for painter, army unit and fallen soldier

New York, July 3 (IANS/EFE) New York City is honouring Puerto Rican painter Rafael Tufiño, legendary guitarist Yomo Toro and the army's 65th Infantry Regiment, among others, by naming streets in Manhattan and the Bronx after them.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed the orders authorizing changes to the names of 50 streets, including one named for Sgt. Jose Enrique Ulloa, a Dominican who died in Iraq in 2008.

Tufiño (1922-2008), known as "the painter of the people", was a member of the "Generacion de los Cincuentas" (The Generation of the Fifties), a group of Puerto Rican artists.

Toro (1933-2012), considered the Jimi Hendrix of salsa, was a member of the legendary band Las Estrellas de la Fania, which he founded in 1968 along with Larry Harlow, Nicky Marrero, Roberto Roena, Willy Colon, Rey Barreto, Bobby Valentin and Alfredo De La Fe.

Some 60,000 Puerto Rican volunteers served under the US flag in the 1950-53 Korean War, with 6,000 of them serving in the 65th Infantry Regiment, becoming the first soldiers to take on the enemy and the last to return home.

Sgt. Ulloa (1985-2008) died Aug 8, 2008, near Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle.

Ulloa, born in the town of Jima Abajo, La Vega province, Dominican Republic, moved with his family to New York when he was 2.

--IANS/EFE

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