An anonymous tipster has sent us images of two 1 trains that were graffiti bombed in the past month up in The Bronx.
Although nothing like decades past when entire trains were covered in Graff and roamed through through the belly of the beast of our subway through the city, this still shows that graffiti artists are very daring in trying to capture their claim to fame—even if ever so brief as these trains are generally pulled out of service immediately to be cleaned.
This week, pictures surfaced of a mass graffiti bombing that took place during the winter at the train yard in Baychester in The Bronx via Writers Barcelona’s Facebook page.
Writers Barcelona bombed a 5 train up in Baychester in The Bronx sometime last winter. They recently posted the images to their page on Facebook
So this happened overnight…a 1 Train was graffiti bombed all in the name of Trump and not against but what seems to be FOR the disgusting, misogynistic, racist candidate. Writers Barcelona bombed a 5 train up in Baychester in The Bronx sometime last winter. They recently posted the images to their page on Facebook
Writers Barcelona bombed a 5 train up in Baychester in The Bronx sometime last winter. They recently posted the images to their page on Facebook
This recent rash of graffiti train bombs aren’t confined to The Bronx.
Also within the past few weeks a 7 train ran with graffiti all the way to the last stop. How it remained in service or how it was tagged without the MTA noticing is all but a mystery except to the graff artist.
The big question at the end of the day is this: Would you rather see elaborate graffiti art on the trains or crappy advertisements shoved down our throats?
We’re not condoning defacing property, just posing a question.
Oftentimes we’ve heard from folks who’d rather see some beautiful graffiti vs those ads.
Image courtesy of Angel Lopez a local resident and activist.
Developers Somerset Partners and the Chetrit Group who are planning as many as six 25 story residential market rate towers (of which 3 have already been filed with the Department of Buildings for construction) has put up a new billboard proclaiming the area of Port Morris as the ‘Piano District’.
The billboard is prominently aimed at Manhattan and drivers who are heading home to the posh suburbs of Westchester County and Connecticut as they head on home, easily viewing the sign.
Screenshot of the group's website pianodistrict.com
The billboard promises, luxury waterfront living, world-class dining, fashion, art, and architecture in a neighborhood where the majority are living well below the poverty line and are fighting for their very lives as they suffer health disparities disproportionately more than others across the city.
Welcome to the tale of Two Bronxs thanks in part to greedy developers and a borough president who has been pushing the rebranding of our borough as if his life and career depends on it (the later which is the reality).
As our communities battle the highest rates of asthma in the country, HIV, heart disease, diabetes, poor access to green space, lack of quality education, poor environment, unemployment, insufficient youth programs, here we have these developers essentially laughing in our faces and pushing luxury living that will be surrounded by poverty and people living in cramped and poor conditions in public housing.
It’s an insult to those who stayed and rebuilt this neighborhood and our borough only to have developers come and bring in residents because it’s “ok now”.
We deserve so much better than what is being planned for the waterfront and sure developers can do whatever they want but they need to take a long hard look at Melrose and organizations like Nos Quedamos who halted such endeavors of creating luxury living and displacing residents.
Developers such as WHEDco who actually take the time and years to work with the existing community to design and develop properties that the community truly wants and needs.
Thanks to all the sellouts in our borough particularly the king of them all or rather the jester—Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr for leading the rebranding parade.
How dare these developers not only push something into the community that us generally not wanted but how dare they try and change our names.
This is not the way to be good neighbors and it’s a hell of a lousy start.
Development isn’t bad but when a community is left out completely, it becomes something that separates our space into an us and them situation rather than creating a unified community.
I’m all for mixed income neighborhoods as long as displacement doesn’t occur and as long as developers and new residents respect the existing culture and people who live there.
Clearly these folks are not thinking along those lines.
Clearly this was a strategic move after they purchased, along with Somerset, almost $60 million in properties adjacent to each other just recently so clearly the selling off of this building has infused the company with capital to develop the waterfront.
The party is already being dubbed as a super exclusive, star-studded event and is using artists and art to basically pimp out the neighborhood.
The Observer writes about the event and says:
“Real estate mogul Keith Rubenstein, art dealer Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and young art star Lucien Smith are teaming up to throw a party called The Macabre Suite, and in an unlikely venue—the Bronx. The assemblage of art loving celebrities in the gentrification-phobic borough is set for a waterfront former piano factory owned by Mr. Rubenstein’s Somerset Partners (in partnership with the Chetrit Group).
The show, which is being billed as an “epic party,” will reflect on the “universality of death.” There will be interdisciplinary artworks and performances on view, and tons of celebrities, artists and society folk in attendance, we’re sure.
In fact, some major names will be lending their name to the affair, including all-star NY Knicks baller Carmelo Anthony, Hilton heir Nicky Hilton Rothschild, actor and awesome nose-owner Adrien Brody, 50 Shades of Grey actress Dakota Jackson and designer Cynthia Rowley.”
This invite-only event is basically mocking Bronx residents especially those in the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose, and the Concourse which are already experiencing signs of gentrification with developers snatching up properties at speculative prices.
This is an area that residents have loved for decades and took pride in helping it make a comeback but to hold such exclusive events in the most sensitive of areas facing gentrification is in poor taste.
For 3 months, the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse was filled with thousands of visitors of which most were from the immediate community including children who kept coming back for all the programing held almost every single day the exhibition was open.
Roughly half the artists were from The Bronx and the vast majority of events and programs were curated and led by Bronxites.
In stark contrast, The Macabre Suite is clearly not being led by Bronxites and further shows that these developers do not care about The Bronx.
I was let’s face it, they’re even pushing for a rebranding of the area as ‘The Piano District‘ which would celebrate Port Morris’s history in America as the center of piano manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Why is there such a need to rebrand our neighborhoods when Port Morris, Mott Haven, Melrose, and the collective areas that make up the South Bronx each represent a unique piece that makes the whole of Bronx history that more special?
Yes, The Bronx is gentrification phobic for a reason. We have seen the destruction of working class neighborhoods across our city and we will fight before we let that happen to our rich neighborhoods, history, and sweep away the residents who stayed behind and revitalized our beautiful Bronx.
Sold again, the fat of the Whitestone Cinemas property remains a mystery. Image via Real Estate Weekly
Whitestone Cinemas, where countless Bronx residents both former and current have tons of fond memories at the old drive-in and movie multiplex, has sold again, this time to mega developer Extell—for $41 million.
Extell is the developer for the towering One57 high-rise that has changed the skyline of midtown and also sold the most expensive apartment in New York City history at a whopping $100.5 million at the uber luxury building.
One can only imagine what they have planned for this area of The Bronx considering their track record of luxury development.
The Whitestone property sold back in 2012 to the Lightstone Group for $30 million which had plans to convert the mega site (which measures almost a million square feet) into what would have been the city’s first outlet mall.
But those plans never came to fruition and perhaps much to many local residents delight due to the traffic nightmares many locals predicted would happen since the area is poorly accessible by other than buses and vehicles.
The new owner has not released plans as to what they will do with the property but we’ll wait and see what they will unleash along this corner of the East Bronx at the edge of Throggs Neck.
The property sits at the crossroads of major expressways like the Cross Bronx, The Hutchinson River Parkway, Bruckner Boulevard, and the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges.
This may just be a new era in development in the East Bronx but what will that mean and entail? Will they address the critical shortage of housing for low and middle income residents or will they just skip over the neediest class and hate straight for luxury residential along the Hutchinson River?
Maybe they’ll stick with commercial and retail?
At this point, until they speak up, it’s all speculation but we’d like to hear from you what you think the site should be.
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02.
A French Huguenot family, the Lorillards, settled in the area which is now known as Allerton as well as parts of the New York Botanical Garden back in the late 1700s. The family became extremely successful in the tobacco industry and their company would eventually give rise to Lorillard Inc, which makes Newport, Kent, and other cigarettes.
By 1840 they had built what is now known as The Snuff Mill at NYBG, which according to the New York Times, “…tobacco was ground into smokeless, powdery form called snuff, which could be flavored and inhaled.”
The Snuff Mill along The Bronx River at The New York Botanical Garden was built by the tobacco family The Lorillards.
Fast forward to 1917 with The Bronx as an official county for only 3 years but a part of NYC for 22 years, the descendants of the original Lorillards decided to sell of parts of their estate and carved them up into lots which would give way to the many homes and buildings which eventually gave way to the Allerton neighborhood of our borough just East of Bronx Park and up to as far as parts of Williamsbridge to the edge of Gun Hill Road.
It was no coincidence that the 2 subway line along White Plains Road had already begun operation in March of 1917—just 3 months prior to the auction of these lots—making this area that was once rural in nature, prime real estate at bargain prices.
The original name of the neighborhood, Bronxdale or Laconia (depending where in the area you were) never really stuck and for as long as many could remember, it was simply referred to as Allerton.
It wasn’t until 2014 that eventually the area OFFICIALLY became known as Allerton when efforts by local residents to push for this official recognition from the city came to fruition.
The street and neighborhood got its name from Daniel Allerton, a 19th century settler of the area.
What are your memories past or present of the neighborhood?
Check out the slideshow below of the auction papers, notices and lots!
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
Advertisement of the Lorillard Estate Auction/Image Courtesy: Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public Library. “Trustees’ Sale with the consent of the Supreme Court of New York. Estate of Lorillard Spencer for the Benefit of the Heirs and the New York Public Library. 1445 Lots at Absolute Auction on White Plains Rd., Boston Rd, Pelham Parkway, Williamsbridge Rd, Allerton Ave, Burke Ave, and Adjacent Avenues & streets, Bronx Borough New York City” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1917-06-02. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/ff631220-69cb-0131-3cab-58d385a7bbd0
NationSwell, a digital media company which promotes intrepid individuals towards the betterment of our country, has selected our very own urban farmer Karen Young-Washington as a candidate for the 2015 NationSwell Allstar $10,000 award to further her projects—and she needs your help by VOTING for her which you can do daily!
Karen is the real deal, folks. When she speaks, people listen. She not only thirsts for knowledge but readily imparts the wisdom which she has accumulated over the years to inspire the next and future generations.
It’s people like Karen Young-Washington that we must and NEED to celebrate for these are the real success stories coming out from our borough. It’s not all about celebrities who leave but it’s about those who plant roots to make and build a difference.
Chris Peak at NationSwell writes of Karen:
“The first plant that changed my life was a tomato,” says Karen Washington, a black urban farmer in the Bronx. “It was the one fruit that I used to hate.” But after watching one that she’d grown shift in hue from green to yellow to red and taking a bite of it, she was instantly hooked. “When I tasted that tomato, when it was red and it was ripe, and I picked it off the vine, [it]…changed my world because I never tasted anything so good, so sweet. I wanted to grow everything.”
For a quarter century, all manner of trees and flowers, fruits and vegetables, have thrived across abandoned lots in the Bronx because of Washington. Deemed “the queen of urban farming,” she’s an African-American woman who’s dedicated her life to greening New York City’s poorest borough. Since 1985, Washington has assisted dozens of neighborhoods build their own community gardens, taught workshops on farming and promoted racial diversity in agriculture.” —Read more about this wonderful Bronxite and vote for her at ‘See the Seeds of Change Grown by One Bronx Woman‘
Back on a cold Saturday evening in January of 2013, thousands of people returned home to the South Bronx at the Bronx Documentary Center for Seis del Sur‘s first exhibition, ‘Dispatches From Home by Six Nuyorican Photographers which took us through an emotional photographic and multimedia journey into our darkest past—yet vibrant and full of life.
This Friday, October 23rd at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the collective returns with their third exhibition which not only brings back the original from 2013 but combines it with more contemporary work focusing on barrios throughout ‘Latino America’.
Seis del Sur is comprised of six Nuyorican photographers from the South Bronx—Joe Conzo Jr, Ricky Flores, Ángel Franco, David Gonzalez, Edwin Pagán, and Francisco Molina Reyes II—all who ended up together as a collective almost as if by destiny.
They spent years documenting the South Bronx often taking images of the same scenes but it wasn’t until decades and a new century later that they eventually all met each other and eventually decided that it seemed fate had pushed them together to put on an exhibition of their work.
For six weeks during the winter of 2013, the Bronx Documentary Center was packed, standing room only, for all the events and screenings which surrounded the exhibition.
Emotions ran the gamut from tears of joy to that of sorrow for days and people gone.
It was a reunion of the Class of the South Bronx as well for so many people were reunited after years not seeing each other including the photographers with some of their subjects.
This Friday will be no exception as Seis del Sur will bridge the past with the present and takes us on yet another unforgettable journey through time.
NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center is located at 53 Washington Square South and is easily accessible by, you got it, the 6 train to Astor Place and other lines as well.
The exhibition has already been extended through March 2016—before even opening!
Ok so who in The Bronx is NOT a Star Wars fan and remembers back in 1977 when one of the best stories ever told in cinematic history was released?
I’m a huge Star Wars buff and know that there are countless others out there, especially here in The Bronx from the original generation of lovers to new generation of fans alike.
Well the 3rd and most emotional of all the trailers thusfar is out and even a quick peek of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia!
Back in July, the Kennedy Center announced that Rita Moreno, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved with her family to The Bronx when she was 6, will be one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors which is given to those in the performing arts that have greatly contributed to American culture.
Moreno is no stranger to awards having been the 3rd artist to receive the coveted EGOT: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards and the first Latino to do so back in 1977, the same year Helen Hayes became the 2nd artist and first female in achieving the same.
Although Rita Moreno’s official birth certificates say she was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, she was actually from the small, mountain village of Juncos where my mother and her family hail from.
“My journey begins on December 11, 1931, in Juncos, Puerto Rico. Humacao “claims” me now because I became famous…but sorry, Humacao, I am not from you—I was only born in a hospital there. From Humacao, swaddled, I was carried by my mother—my pretty dark-haired mother, Rosa Maria, who was then only seventeen—back to her village, back to Juncos.
Juncos blooms like a flower in my memory; Juncos is color, scent. And Juncos is music: my mother and other women singing, laughing. No one was ever alone in Juncos.
Why did we ever leave Juncos?
“Because we had nothing there,” my mother said.
Of course, to a five-year old, we had everything in Juncos. What would the unknown America offer that I did not already have?”
At the age of five in 1936, Moreno and her mother arrived in New York City and landed in The Bronx; Mohegan Avenue in between Crotona Park and The Bronx Zoo to be exact, according to her memoir.
In many ways, Moreno and her family were pioneers of sorts, for you see, she arrived during the first wave of migration from Puerto Rico to the mainland and ended up in a small but growing “barrio” or neighborhood, of Puerto Ricans in our borough—long before the massive post WWII migration which brought hundreds of thousands from the island to our great city.
When one reads the many interviews and accounts of Rita Moreno’s life, it all seems like a fairytale. In an article in AARP, they wrote about Moreno’s life by saying:
“In the Bronx, Moreno learned to defend herself from street gangs and to speak English like a native. At 6, she began to take lessons from a famous Spanish dancer, Rita Hayworth’s uncle, Paco Cansino. At 9 she debuted with Cansino at a club in New York. Once she experienced the applause and stage lights, she knew she had found her destiny. At 13 she was acting on Broadway, and at 16 she moved with her mother and brother (a child from her mother’s remarriage) to Hollywood to work in the movie industry studio system. MGM chief Louis B. Mayer dubbed her a “Spanish Elizabeth Taylor.“
Moreno also is an alumni of Casita Maria, an organization born in El Barrio aka East Harlem which eventually moved to our borough in 1961 and has played an important role in many Bronxites lives both world renowned and otherwise.
Related: Seis Del Sur’s latest exhibition opens Friday, October 23rd, click for details!
By 1947 she was already living in Hollywood which would lead her onto a trajectory that landed her in the role as Anita in West Side Story which was played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. This was the role which lead to her Oscar but it wasn’t all roses from there.
Rita Moreno as Anita in her Oscar winning role in West Side Story
Moreno recalls declining many roles because they were too stereotypical and demeaning to latinos and women alike.
Her personal life was rollercoaster just like her personal career with an 8 year relationship with Marlon Brando and even a very brief affair with Elvis himself.
In 1998 she came back home to The Bronx, although it wasn’t the first time back in our borough, as she was being inducted into The Bronx Walk of Fame by then borough President Fernando Ferrer.
We’re very proud to count Rita Moreno as one of the many Bronxites who have made us so proud and are looking forward to December 6th of this year when she receives The Kennedy Center Honors. Despite all of the awards she has received, it is about time she is truly recognized for all that she has contributed to American culture which spans most of her 83 years alive.
It’s a little-known fact that our beautiful borough of The Bronx was, in fact, the first borough of New York City.
In 1874, the lands west of the Bronx River were annexed to New York County aka NYC.
Before this moment, these lands were part of Westchester County and included the towns of Morrisania, Kingsbridge, and West Farms. Within these towns were the villages of Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose, Fordham, and many others.
Then in 1895, a full three years before Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island were annexed to create New York City as we know it today, the lands to the east of the Bronx River were annexed.
The town of Westchester had voted against being annexed but was dragged along to create The Bronx as an know it today, along with parts of the towns of Eastchester and Pelham.
But still The Bronx, which was known as the annexed district, was tied to Manhattan and was part of New York County until it became the 62nd county of New York State and the 5th and official county of New York City in 1914 in Melrose at the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse.
Many firsts came from our Bronx as well as many great historical figures from all walks of life and professions but this one comes with major bragging rights: The Bronx—NYC’s FIRST borough.
Last year when we first got wind that The New York Botanical Garden was planning a Frida Kahlo exhibition we knew it was going to be big—but never imagined how big.
When we wrote about the show coming, a full year before it was scheduled to open, tens of thousands of people flooded our servers and shared our posts in excitement that this was happening and that it was happening in The Bronx.
Folks were leaving comments from around the country and the world that they were coming in to see this show and could not wait.
What we didn’t expect was that Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life, was going to shatter attendance records at The New York Botanical Garden—and not by just a few thousand but by a landslide of over 125,000 visitors before the end of its 6 month long journey on November 1st.
In 2012, the Monet exhibition drew about 373,000 visitors, which at the time was a record. Over 500,000 are expected by November 1st for Frida.
From the moment it opened back in May and we had the pleasure of hopping along on the media preview, we immediately saw how huge this was going to be simply because The New York Botanical Garden really went all out to create not just an exhibition but a truly immersive experience that was packed with programming from beginning to the end.
Oh and let’s not forget about Frida Al Fresco Evenings where adults could enjoy the exhibition while listening to the music and enjoy a cocktail or two. Some of the evenings were even dedicated to the LGBT community bringing everyone to the garden from all walks of life.
One of the many highlights, at least one of my personal favorites and one I participated as a judge, was the Frida Look-Alike Contests where dozens entered to strut their inner Fridas and Diego Riveras on the red carpet.
Attendees to the garden really got into the spirit of things because even if they weren’t entering the contest, you would see them roaming about wearing flowers in their hair and emulating the famed, Mexican artist in some special way.
If you haven’t had the chance to catch the show, make sure you do so for there are only 17 days left as of tomorrow for this once in a lifetime experience and all in our own backyard.
Traditional beverages, both non-alcoholic and non-alcoholic are available at the newly built Cantina just for the exhibition.
The Cantina just inside the main Southern Boulevard Gate.
“Frida and Diego lived in this house from 1929-1954”
La Casa Azul Garden inside the conservatory.
La Casa Azul
Artists in Residency, The Villalobos Brothers will be performing at the garden several times during the course of the exhibition.
Recreation of Frida’s desk inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Artist Humberto Spindola looks on as two male models pose wearing replicas of his paper dresses based on Frida’s ‘Las Dos Fridas/The Two Fridas’. The use of the male models is an allusion to Kahlo’s bisexuality and she often dressed in drag as even posing in family portraits as a man.
Last night at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, The Bronx was in the house in full effect as Casita Maria celebrated its ‘Fiestas 2015’
The high profiled event, which serves as a fundraiser for the 80 year old organization, honored individuals such as John Bernbach, Veronique and Bob Pittman, and Baz Luhrmann, creator of the Netflix original series, ‘The Get Down’ based in The South Bronx of the 70s which premieres in 2016.
But the highlight of the evening seemed to be Casita Maria’s Executive Director, Sarah Calderon, rocking a dope graffiti gown by our very own Tats Cru.
Casita Maria has been an integral part of our borough especially in The South Bronx, enriching the lives of thousands of children throughout the decades.
Some of the more notable alumni from the organization are the late and great Tito Puente, David Gonzalez, Ricky Flores, Joe Conzo Jr, Benny Bonilla, Tats Cru’s own BG 183, Tina Ramirez who founded Ballet Hispanico and so many others.
Now let’s talk about REAL avant garde Bronx fashion!
