Mrs. Albita Rivera is an educator, arts administrator, and performer dedicated to life learning and sharing the history, music and culture of Puerto Rico. She was born in Comerío, Puerto Rico and moved to Maryand in 1995. She holds an undergraduate degree in Theater Arts Education from University of Puerto Rico and a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University. Mrs. Rivera has worked as a Teacher and Educational Mentor in Anne Arundel Public Schools, Howard County Public Schools, Frederick County Public Schools, and Howard Community College.
She also works with Cultura Plenera, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Puerto Rican culture in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. For the past 12 years Cultura Plenera has been actively engaged in creative social activism through the sharing of living traditions from Puerto Rico aimed at community building. While Cultura Plenera is the organization that would create and manage cultural events, she also performs with Los Hijo ‘e Plena, the musical ensemble that promotes and educates about Puerto Rican music through informal and main stage performances.
She also worked with Madre Tierra, a collective of female practitioners of Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena in the DMV area that united in an effort to demonstrate the power of feminine energy throughout the Puerto Rican diaspora. Madre Tierra’s goal was to continue learning, promoting, and spreading traditional Puerto Rican music while also promoting the empowerment of women. Her involvement with these organizations has defined her as a leader in the Puerto Rican cultural community in the diaspora and Puerto Rico.
In 2021, she became the first President of the Montgomery County Regional Folklife Center Advisory Committee. She was also part of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland and conceptualized a pilot project at the Montgomery County Regional Folklife Center / Sandy Spring Museum.
In early 2023, Mrs. Rivera was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to the Maryland State Arts Council