José A. Alvarado Jr.

Photographer
 
Location: New York City, New York
Nationality: Puerto Rican American
Biography: José A. Alvarado Jr. is a Puerto Rican photographer dedicated to documenting class inequality, civic engagement, and contemporary issues in Puerto Rico and New York City. He works primarily in long-form storytelling, using visual imagery... MORE
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Caged Bird
josé a. alvarado jr.
Jun 8, 2020
Location: New York City
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

— Maya Angelou, 1983
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1,095

Also by José A. Alvarado Jr. —

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for The New Yorker: The Haunted Juror

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for Bloomberg Originals:

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for Bloomberg: Guyana Is Trying to Keep Its Oil Blessing From Becoming a Curse

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for The New York Times: Audit Finds Fatal Lapses in Mental Health Program Meant to Curb Violence

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for The Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Bank Is Growing the Old-Fashioned Way: Branches

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for The New York Times: The Young Black Conservative Who Grew Up With, and Rejects, D.E.I.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for The New York Times: How Rikers Island Became New York’s Largest Mental Institution

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Rikers Island
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for The New York Times: This Venezuelan Family Won Asylum. Days Later, They Lost It.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for Southern Foodways Alliance: Offsides Fowl

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for Anglers Journal: End of an Era

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Hancock, New York
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for Bloomberg: ‘Market’s Wrong, I’m Not’: Mike Mayo Loves Playing a Provocateur

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for Brooklyn Vegan: Glassjaw celebrated 30 years with career-spanning Brooklyn shows

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
Media

for The New York Times: Kendra’s Law Was Meant to Prevent Violence. It Failed Hundreds of Times.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for The New York Times: A New Push to Improve Mental Health Care for Homeless New Yorkers

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for Bloomberg: The Other Side of Greenwich: Hunger Among the Hedge Funds

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Greenwich, Connecticut
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for CULTURED Magazine: At 25, Artist Oscar yi Hou Has Already Had a Solo Museum Show—And Written a Memoir

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Brooklyn, New York City
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TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2023

José A. Alvarado Jr.
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for The New York Times: Behind 94 Acts of Shocking Violence, Years of Glaring Mistakes

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York City
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for The New Yorker: What Will It Take to Win Brooklyn’s First Majority-Asian District?

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for The New York Times: New York Is Rebounding for the Rich. Nearly Everyone Else Is Struggling.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
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for The New Yorker: A Journey from Homelessness to a Room of One’s Own

José A. Alvarado Jr. / New York, New York
Media

for The New York Times: His Job Helping Drug Users Is Illegal. He Says He Does It to Save Lives.

José A. Alvarado Jr. / East Harlem
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for NPR: As NYC limits access to migrants and asylum seekers, many are left homeless

José A. Alvarado Jr. / Brooklyn, New York City
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for The New York Times: Vital Places of Refuge in the Bronx, Community Gardens Gain Recognition

José A. Alvarado Jr. / The Bronx, City of New York
Caged Bird by José A. Alvarado Jr.
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