Since 1973, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater and visual arts. A multicultural and multi-arts institution, the Cafe champions the use of spoken word and music as means of social empowerment for minority and underprivileged artists. Our community of spectators, artists and students is a reflection of New York City's diverse population. The Cafe is considered the intellectual birthplace of the Nuyorican Movement, whose major figures include Miguel Piñero, Miguel Algarín, Pedro Pietri and Sandra Maria Esteves. Since 1989, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe's name has also been synonymous with Slam Poetry, a competitive literary and performing art form that engages many young artists and students of color. Slam Poetry was originally popularized at the Cafe, and ours is still the venue most strongly associated with that form in the United States and abroad. Allen Ginsberg called the Cafe “the most integrated place on the planet”, the Wall Street Journal says the Cafe is a “a thriving arts center with partnerships across the city” and John Leguizamo says the Cafe "put the street on stage… Made our lives real, our emotions real.”