Pedro Pietri - Later Years

Later Years

Pedro Pietri was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2003. He went to Mexico to receive an alternative treatment for a year. On March 3, 2004, Pedro died en route from Mexico to New York. Funeral services were held in East Harlem at the historic First Spanish Methodist Church, which was taken over in 1969 by the Youngs Lords and renamed at the time as "The First People's Church" to provide free breakfast and other programs to the poor and working people of El Barrio. This is where, fittingly, Pedro first read in public his classic poem, "Puerto Rican Obituary", in support of the Lords' takeover of the church.

Pedro is survived by his children Diana, Evava and Speedo.