The anniversary was celebrated in the lobby of the Ferré Rangel School of Communication.
By Brenda Figueroa Gómez
Journalism student
La Península magazine celebrated its first anniversary on March 12, 2026, establishing itself as a student project that strengthens writing skills and connects academic work with the Santurce community.
During its first year, the magazine has served as a learning laboratory where students from different disciplines collaborate to produce news reports, photographs, and visual content that document stories from the neighborhoods in Santurce.
The idea for the project began to be discussed years ago when the need arose to create a space where students could consistently practice journalistic writing, explained María de los Milagros Colón Cruz, journalism professor and academic leader in the Ferré Rangel School of Communications.
“We had already been talking about the need to refine writing skills, and a group of students decided it was time to build that practice space,” explained the professor, who plays a mentoring role during the editorial process. For Colón Cruz, one of the magazine’s main objectives is for students to develop confidence in their work and overcome their fear of publishing.
The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Gabriela Meléndez, reaffirmed the project’s editorial mission: “to capture the Santurce neighborhood through the eyes of students and offer a space where they can practice writing.”
In the context of the celebration, Meléndez also reflected on the impact of her editorial role on her development. “Being editor-in-chief has presented many opportunities for learning, growth, and maturity within the field of communications,” she stated.
Student of Audiovisual Production and Film
In line with the interdisciplinary nature of communications, the magazine brings together students from fields beyond journalism, such as design, photography, and business. Graphic design student and the project’s art director, Ashley Mateo Porta, highlighted photography as a fundamental element in the narrative of each story.
“Photography is vital because it allows the reader to have a visual representation of what they are reading and to better understand the story,” she noted, also indicating that the image selection process seeks to reinforce journalistic content and convey the visual essence of each report.
The project has also included collaborators such as Aeris Enid Sánchez Correa, a student from the School of Business. “Writing for the magazine gave me the opportunity to analyze data and communicate it clearly to people who may not be familiar with that information,” she expressed.For the student body, La Península represents more than a student publication—it is a space for experimentation, learning, and collaboration that will continue to evolve over the years, alongside the new generations of Sagrado students who join the project.