RESUMEN
The main idea of this document is the realization of how much the elderly can contribute to the process of self-advocacy and independence through the operacionalization of the concept of empowerment. The best examples of empowerment strategies that have proved to be effective in Puerto Rico are in two service centers: La Provincia Centro awarded the 1990 Administration on Agent Community Achievement Award and La Villa Campestre Center. These two examples have served as a blue print for a private -public partnership assistance to the CIDRA Eldely Program. Three adittional programs are described: PROSA (Health Promotion for the Elderly, in Spanish), AMA (Senior Companion Program, in Spanish), and CAMPIRA (Camina y respira), which are models that can be replicated in poor Hispanic communities through the US and Latin América