If you’ve spent any time digging into the history of New York theater or the preservation of Nuyorican culture, you’ve probably stumbled across the term West Side Story PLAC. It sounds like some dry, bureaucratic acronym. Honestly? It kind of is. But what it represents is the intersection of a massive Hollywood legacy and the actual, breathing community that lived in the San Juan Hill neighborhood before Lincoln Center cleared it all out.
The Puerto Rican Arts Center (PLAC) isn't just a footnote. It is a vital piece of the puzzle for anyone trying to understand how the 1961 film and the subsequent 2021 Steven Spielberg reimagining dealt with—or ignored—the reality of the people they were portraying. For decades, the narrative of West Side Story was controlled by people who didn’t live in those tenements. Then came the push for the West Side Story PLAC initiative, a movement to reclaim the artistic narrative of the West Side.
Why the Puerto Rican Arts Center Actually Matters
Most people think of West Side Story as a masterpiece of dance and music. It is. But it’s also a story about urban displacement. When Robert Wise was filming the original movie on 68th Street, the buildings were literally being demolished around the actors. It was "slum clearance."
The PLAC was envisioned as a way to ensure that the Puerto Rican community, which had been the face of the "Sharks" for sixty years, had a permanent stake in the cultural output of that area. It wasn't just about a movie. It was about space.
Think about it.
You have the most famous musical in history centered on your identity, yet for years, the actors playing those roles weren't even Puerto Rican. Natalie Wood? Not Puerto Rican. Most of the original "Sharks" in the 1961 film? They were wearing brown makeup. Literally. They used a single shade of dark foundation for every Shark, regardless of their actual skin tone.
The West Side Story PLAC discussions often circle back to this specific historical wound. The center was meant to be a corrective. It was designed to foster actual Boricua talent so that the next time a story about the Upper West Side was told, the people telling it would be the ones who actually knew what it felt like to see their neighborhood turned into a parking lot for the Metropolitan Opera.
The Spielberg Shift and the PLAC Influence
When Steven Spielberg decided to remake the film in 2021, he knew he couldn't just do a "best of" cover version. He hired Tony Kushner. He brought in Rita Moreno—not just for the nostalgia, but as an executive producer.
This is where the spirit of the West Side Story PLAC really started to manifest in the mainstream. Spielberg famously refused to include English subtitles for the Spanish dialogue. He said it was out of respect for the language. He didn't want to "over-title" the culture.
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Some people hated it. They felt lost.
But honestly? That was the point. If you’re a guest in that home, you listen. You don't demand a translation for every "mira." This philosophy of cultural autonomy is exactly what the Puerto Rican Arts Center advocates have been shouting about for decades.
The Controversy of San Juan Hill
We need to talk about San Juan Hill. That was the neighborhood. Before the "West Side Story" we know today existed, there was a thriving, largely Black and Afro-Latino community there.
- 7,000 families were evicted.
- 800 businesses were shuttered.
- The neighborhood was essentially deleted.
When we talk about the West Side Story PLAC, we are talking about the ghost of San Juan Hill. The PLAC serves as a reminder that the "turf" the Jets and Sharks were fighting over wasn't just a stage set. It was real property that the city took away under the guise of "urban renewal."
Experts like Julia Foulkes, who wrote A Place for Us: West Side Story and New York, have pointed out that the musical actually helped sell the idea of the neighborhood as a dangerous slum that needed to be cleared. It’s a bit of a dark irony. The art that celebrated the people also helped justify the destruction of their homes.
Does the PLAC Still Exist?
This is where it gets a bit murky. There isn't one single "West Side Story PLAC" building with a giant neon sign. Instead, the "PLAC" concept has evolved into several different community organizations and archival projects.
Specifically, groups like the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) at Hunter College have taken up the mantle. They do the heavy lifting. They preserve the letters, the photos, and the oral histories of the people who were there when Jerome Robbins was scouting locations.
If you go looking for the West Side Story PLAC, you’re really looking for the legacy of Maria Christina Oliveras, or the work of Jean-Louis Rodrigue, or the activists who protested the original film’s stereotypes. It's a decentralized movement for representation.
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Common Misconceptions About the "West Side Story" Community
People get a lot wrong. Usually, because they’ve only seen the 1961 movie and haven't looked at the actual history.
First off, the Sharks weren't "invaders." By the 1950s, the Puerto Rican migration to New York was at its peak, but these were American citizens moving from one part of the country to another. The Jets, often portrayed as "white," were usually the children of immigrants themselves—Irish, Italian, Polish. They were all fighting for the bottom rung of the ladder.
Another big one: the idea that the community hated the musical.
It’s complicated.
Most Puerto Ricans in the 60s had a love-hate relationship with it. They loved seeing their flag on screen. They loved the music (who doesn't love Bernstein?). But they hated the lyrics to "America." The original stage version had lines that were incredibly insulting to the island. Stephen Sondheim eventually changed them for the movie because even he realized they were a bit much.
The West Side Story PLAC advocates have spent years contextualizing these lyrics. They want people to see the work as a product of its time—a white, Jewish, queer perspective on a Latino experience. It’s a masterpiece, sure, but it’s an outsider’s masterpiece.
How to Support Local Latino Arts Today
If you’re interested in the real-world impact of the West Side Story PLAC philosophy, you don't have to go back to 1957. You can look at what’s happening right now in New York and beyond.
- Visit El Museo del Barrio: Located in East Harlem, this is the premier institution for Latino art in the city. It carries the torch that the PLAC activists originally lit.
- Support Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater: This is the real deal. They produce theater that actually comes from the community.
- Read the Archives: Go to the Centro Library and Archives. They have digitized thousands of documents related to the migration and the displacement of San Juan Hill.
The "West Side Story" legacy is more than just finger-snapping in an alleyway. It’s a story of a city that was changing too fast for the people living in it.
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The Future of the Narrative
Is there still a place for West Side Story in 2026?
Some say no. They think the story is fundamentally flawed because it was built on the bones of a destroyed neighborhood. Others, including many Puerto Rican artists, think the story is a "classic" that can be reclaimed.
The West Side Story PLAC movement leans toward reclamation. By centering the Puerto Rican voice, the story changes. It’s no longer a tragedy about two kids who can’t be together; it’s a tragedy about a community being erased by the world around them.
When you watch the 2021 film, look at the background. Look at the "Demolition" signs. Look at the dust. That’s the PLAC influence. That’s the history of San Juan Hill forcing its way into the frame. It’s not just a backdrop anymore. It’s the main character.
What You Can Do Next
To truly understand the weight of this topic, you have to look beyond the movie screen. Here are a few concrete steps to take if you want to be more than just a casual fan:
- Watch the Documentary "Lincoln Center: The Official Story": Then, immediately go and read the unofficial story from community activists. Compare the two. The gap between them is where the truth lives.
- Explore the Music of the Era: Listen to Tito Puente or Machito. These were the sounds actually echoing through the streets of the West Side in the 50s. Bernstein was heavily influenced by them, but the originals have a grit that the Broadway score sometimes polishes away.
- Follow the Afro-Latinx Experience: Acknowledge that the "Sharks" were a diverse group. The West Side Story PLAC emphasizes that Puerto Rican identity isn't a monolith. It’s Black, it’s Taino, it’s Spanish.
The story of the West Side is still being written. Every time a new production of the show happens, or a new scholarship is given to a Nuyorican student at Juilliard, the PLAC's mission continues. It’s about making sure the people who inspired the art are the ones who benefit from it.
Honestly, the best way to honor the legacy of West Side Story PLAC is to stop looking at the West Side as a museum. It’s a living, breathing part of New York. The buildings might be different, and the gangs might be gone, but the struggle for a "place for us" hasn't ended.
If you want to support the ongoing preservation of this history, consider donating to the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro). They are the primary keepers of the San Juan Hill archives and continue to provide the historical context that prevents West Side Story from becoming just another piece of sanitized Hollywood history. You can also visit the Pregones/PRTT website to see their current season of original works, which provide a platform for the next generation of Puerto Rican playwrights and performers to tell their own stories on their own terms.