Literanista
September 5, 2006
Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs by Carolina Gonzalez, Seth Kugel
From Yahoo News:
NEW YORK – Where can you visit Cuba, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and many other Latin American countries, all in one day, by subway? New York City, of course!
“Nueva York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs” (St. Martin’s Press, $14.95) by Carolina Gonzalez and Seth Kugel, tells you where to eat, where to shop, where to hear music and where to dance.
You’ll learn about museums like El Museo del Barrio; street art in Latino neighborhoods; and city parks — like one in Red Hook, Brooklyn, lined with Latin food vendors on weekends — where you will feel like you are watching a soccer game in Central America.
The book describes walking tours of Hispanic areas like Hunts Point-Longwood in the Bronx, where you’ll find the Rincon Musical music store at 968 Southern Blvd., and pastelillos at Mama Isabel’s food truck at the corner of Prospect and 156th Street.
For a tour of El Barrio, start at the 103rd Street No. 6 subway station on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where you can see a mural of Celia Cruz by a local artist. On the playground for nearby P.S. 72, an elementary school, there’s a colorful sculpture by two Hispanic artists that is also a sundial. The Graffiti Hall of Fame is at 106th Street and Park Avenue. Try the tacos at Taco Mix, 236 E. 116th St., or at La Taquicardia, 237 E. 116th St.
Other neighborhoods worth visiting for food, art, atmosphere and more include the Lower East Side (Loisaida), Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and Jackson Heights and Corona in Queens.
And if you’re looking for Spanish food after a Broadway show, try the Chimichurri Grill, which serves Argentine food near the Theater District, 606 Ninth Ave. at 43rd Street.
As for clubs, you’d better be a night owl. Most don’t unlock their doors until 10 p.m.; many people don’t arrive until after 1 a.m. In addition to the grande dame of Latin clubs, the Copacabana — 560 W. 34th St. — there are salsa parties at La Maganette, 825 Third Ave., and themed nights devoted to reggaeton, merengue, Spanish rock and other genres, at Umbrella, 440 W. 202nd St., in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
