Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"Manos a La Obra: The Story of Operation Bootstrap" (1983) is a documentary produced by CENTRO on Puerto Rico's "Operation Bootstrap," an economic development plan undertaken in the 1950s which was to attract U.S. capital and serve as a model for the Americas. Using newsreels, archival photographs, and excerpts from government propaganda films, examines the background and many problematic issues posed by the plan.
Founded in 1973 by a coalition of students, faculty, and activists, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) is the largest university-based research institute, library, and archive dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. We provide support to students, scholars, artists, and members of the community at large across and beyond New York. We produce original research, films, books, and educational tools and are the home of The Centro Journal—the premiere academic journal of Puerto Rican Studies. Our aim is to create actionable and accessible scholarship to strengthen, broaden, and reimagine the field of Puerto Rican studies.
Learn more at centropr.hunter.cuny.edu
Explore our digital collections at centroca.hunter.cuny.edu
Follow us on social media!
Instagram: instagram.com/centropr
Facebook: facebook.com/centropr
Twitter: x.com/centropr
Threads: threads.net/@centropr
TikTok: tiktok.com/@centropr
Support our work by donating at community.hunter.cuny.edu/supportcentro
Film Credits:
A production of El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños/City University of New York
Jaime Barrios, Executive Producer
Pedro A. Rivera, Producer & Director
Susan Zeig, Producer & Director
Ilka Tanya Payan, Narrator
Pedro A. Rivera, Writer
Susan Zeig, Editor
Jean Carlomusto, Assistant Editor
Lucille Rhodes, Consulting Editor
Frank Host, Additional Editing
Alicia Weber, Cinematographer
Susan Zeig, Cinematographer
Pedro Bonilla, Assistant Cameramen
Joe Ritter, Assistant Cameramen
Wilfredo Echavarría, Assistant Cameramen
Jaime Barrios, Sound Recordist
Pamela Yates, Sound Recordist
Pedro A. Rivera, Sound Recordist
Lucille Rhodes, Sound Editor
José Yglesias, Additional Interviewer
Rick Dior at Trans Audio Studios, Sound Mixing
Ar-vee Sound, Studio Sound Recording
Garvest Works, Studio Sound Recording
Tapestry Studio, Studio Sound Recording
Julio Velasquez, Drawings
Lorenzo Homar, Drawing
James Gaffen, Animation Consultant
Film Planning Assoc., Animation
The Title Works, Titles
J. G. Films, Negative Matching
Du Art Film Lab, Inc., Color
Cinopticals, Optical Effects
"Manos a La Obra: The Story of Operation Bootstrap" (1983) is a documentary produced by CENTRO on Puerto Rico's "Operation Bootstrap," an economic development plan undertaken in the 1950s which was to attract U.S. capital and serve as a model for the Americas. Using newsreels, archival photographs, and excerpts from government propaganda films, examines the background and many problematic issues posed by the plan.
Founded in 1973 by a coalition of students, faculty, and activists, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College (CENTRO) is the largest university-based research institute, library, and archive dedicated to the Puerto Rican experience in the United States. We provide support to students, scholars, artists, and members of the community at large across and beyond New York. We produce original research, films, books, and educational tools and are the home of The Centro Journal—the premiere academic journal of Puerto Rican Studies. Our aim is to create actionable and accessible scholarship to strengthen, broaden, and reimagine the field of Puerto Rican studies.
Learn more at centropr.hunter.cuny.edu
Explore our digital collections at centroca.hunter.cuny.edu
Follow us on social media!
Instagram: instagram.com/centropr
Facebook: facebook.com/centropr
Twitter: x.com/centropr
Threads: threads.net/@centropr
TikTok: tiktok.com/@centropr
Support our work by donating at community.hunter.cuny.edu/supportcentro
Film Credits:
A production of El Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños/City University of New York
Jaime Barrios, Executive Producer
Pedro A. Rivera, Producer & Director
Susan Zeig, Producer & Director
Ilka Tanya Payan, Narrator
Pedro A. Rivera, Writer
Susan Zeig, Editor
Jean Carlomusto, Assistant Editor
Lucille Rhodes, Consulting Editor
Frank Host, Additional Editing
Alicia Weber, Cinematographer
Susan Zeig, Cinematographer
Pedro Bonilla, Assistant Cameramen
Joe Ritter, Assistant Cameramen
Wilfredo Echavarría, Assistant Cameramen
Jaime Barrios, Sound Recordist
Pamela Yates, Sound Recordist
Pedro A. Rivera, Sound Recordist
Lucille Rhodes, Sound Editor
José Yglesias, Additional Interviewer
Rick Dior at Trans Audio Studios, Sound Mixing
Ar-vee Sound, Studio Sound Recording
Garvest Works, Studio Sound Recording
Tapestry Studio, Studio Sound Recording
Julio Velasquez, Drawings
Lorenzo Homar, Drawing
James Gaffen, Animation Consultant
Film Planning Assoc., Animation
The Title Works, Titles
J. G. Films, Negative Matching
Du Art Film Lab, Inc., Color
Cinopticals, Optical Effects
