NAHJ
June 22-28, 2003
New York, NY

Spanish Harlem
Anthony Ortiz

NATS-----Music of Aretha Franklin's Spanish Harlem

AO: In 1972, Aretha Franklin's version of the song "Spanish Harlem" was number two on the Billboard Charts.

Sound up of song.

It was this song that made Spanish Harlem known throughout the country. This working-class neighborhood runs nearly thirty blocks, just East of Harlem. On muggy summer days, people sit on their front stoops watching kids play in the streets flooded with water from open fire hydrants. In the early twentieth century, this was once a hot spot for Italian immigrants. In fact, it was one of New York City's little Italys. But by the 1950s, Puerto Ricans began to call this their barrio.

Sneak in street sounds

Sam Mazol is a community organizer whose family has lived here for years.

Sam Mazol - 2:25 - "A lot of great things happened in El Barrio as far as Puerto Rican culture is concerned. Salsa and literature took great deep roots here. A lot of our poets, our music comes from East Harlem."

But despite the achievements, long time residents say there was a constant conflict between the Puerto Ricans and the Italians.

Peter S. - 5:09:7 "Lo que mas vivia aqui era el Puertoriqueno y el Italiano."

Eighty-year-old Peter Santiago was born in Puerto Rico but has lived in Spanish Harlem since 1948. He remembers the gang fights between the Puerto Ricans and the Italians...reminiscent of the musical West Side Story.

Santiago - 7:12:8 - "El italiano vivia de tercera avenida hacia la primer avenida. El puertoriqueno era tercera avendia hacia el west side. Entonces, si el puertoriqueno se cogi por alla, habian pelea, habia mucha ganga. Si el italiano se cogi por aquí…lo mismo...el mismo pelea."

Santiago says the Italians lived from 1st Avenue to 3rd Avenue and the Puerto Ricans lived from 3rd Avenue on up. He says because there were so many gangs…..if either one of them crossed out of their area there was always a fight.

NATS-----Mix up street sounds.

Walking up the street in Spanish Harlem…the Puerto Rican flag is flown with pride. But in the last decade or so….a new symbol is also visible on store windows…and the sounds of Mexico echo through the streets.

NATS----bring up Mexican Music

On 116th street, Mexican businesses are making themselves known. The colors of the Mexican flag are on store fronts, and a taco isn't hard to find. These additions to the local economy are something Alberto Hernandez has noticed.

Alberto Hernandez - 3:02:9 - "Oh si si , se ha incrementado mucho la comminudad mexicana. Especialmente en esta area porque cuando yo llegue aquí 116, yo vivia en 116, se veia muy pocos mexicanos. Actualmente hay muchos negocios inclusivles. Anteriormente no se consgian...una tortilla, se consigien con …de tortillas y cualquier producto mexicano que uno quiera. Y ha mejorado demasiado." - 3:35

Alberto Hernandez has lived in Harlem for 6 years. He says since he's been here the Mexican community has grown. He says before you couldn't even find as much as a tortilla….but now you can find Mexican products everywhere. Sam Mazol says the recent increase of Mexican immigrants is very similar to the earlier influx of Puerto Ricans.

Sam - "The Mexican community brings its own energy…it's a young community and it's going to keep El Barrio "El Barrio" and they are going to keep the Spanish in Spanish Harlem. You have two groups that coexist and cohabitate but they're able to keep their own cultures alive."

Still, the changes seem to be causing some friction.

Marie: - 6:14 :5- "From what I'm seeing now, I have 20 people living on top of me, and fifteen underneath me and most of them are all illegal here. I don't agree with this. I think the landlord should stop this here. They should try to go and get their papers because I don't think it's fair." - 6:25:5

Marie is a waitress at the Delightful Café. She's lived in Spanish Harlem for 17 years. She notes that Spanish Harlem has become one of the most diverse communities in upper Manhattan.

Marie - 1:01:7 "You always loose something. You always loose. Maybe it's for the best, I really can't say but I agree upon other people coming into the neighborhood."

These days Spanish Harlem is also home to many Dominicans, Africans, and even young white college students artists and professionals. As the area becomes more gentrified...Spanish Harlem is now trendy. Ben is the manger of a furniture store in SoHo but keeps his apartment on 111th Street. He says he was drawn to the area by the Mexican food, the fresh juices, and all the money he could save.

Ben - 1:53:4 - "Firstly the rent was a little bit lower. And people that priced out of the East or West village and downtown couldn't afford it so they wanted a little bit more space for less money, and even though now it's being a little more competitive with the prices downtown, you could still find reasonable rent, so that was the big part of it and then I began to like it."

Fifty-three year old Jose Lopez says the gentrification is pushing out many Puerto Ricans.

Jose Lopez… - 4:42 - "We got to get out. We got to get out by law. Because we can't afford the rent."

So as the Puerto Ricans move out and the newcomers settle in….the name "Spanish Harlem" may become a thing of the past.

Jose - 4:06 "Today this is not Spanish Harlem. This is Mexican Harlem, African Harlem, Cuban Harlem, Dominican Harlem. This is not Puerto Rican Harlem. I came from here and it's a big difference" - 4:23

But Lopez says he's here to stay. And he wears the Puerto Rican flag on his t- shirt, his hat and on his wrists. It's a constant reminder of the way things used to be in Spanish Harlem.

Reporting for Radio Ondas...I'm Anthony Ortiz.