El Barrio

I am interning this summer in East Harlem, and am so excited that there are tons of things to do in that area, all the time. Especially right now, since it is Barrio Week (which is actually two weeks long). You can find all the info here on their website. There are restaurant deals, live music, and other cool things happening all over the area.

I’m hoping to learn a lot about East Harlem this summer… I like to be around culture and life and art and music and people. It keeps me alive. I have been inspired by the quotes I’ve found by James De La Vega (whose mural painted on the wall of where I intern, with the help of community members, is shown above), a street artist and thinker.

I want people to take pride in Spanish Harlem. These are people that everyone in the community could relate to… people who mean something special to us.

This weekend there are two major street festivals, the 116th Street Festival on Saturday and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday.

Also, a cool photographer’s site that I’ve found who takes pictures around New York City, including events in Harlem, is the Nuyorican.