By Led Black
September 9 – September 14
It never fails, once September rolls around I get a bad case of the end-of-summer blues. Then like clockwork, I get a reminder that while summer may be over, that good old Uptown magic remains. Case in point: The Heineken Ritmo Sonico Festival that was held on September 8th at La Marina. On a picture perfect Sunday, Heineken brought out some serious talent to our neck of the woods. The performances were excellent, the venue was perfect and the vibes were just right.
5 years ago, September 19th 2008 to be exact, my wife, Eileen Z. Fuentes, the mother of our 3 daughters, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. What followed was a virtual nightmare of chemo, surgery and heartbreak. That was then. Today, Eileen is a force to be reckoned with. She is a blogger, a writer, a healer and a wellness dynamo. The world is starting to take notice. The latest issue of Latina Magazine, which hit newsstands on September 10th, features a great profile of her written by the talented Amaris Castillo.
So I was coming from the Chase Bank on 181st Street recently en route to get a haircut, when I noticed a guy standing on top of a car in front of the Lucky Seven restaurant. Yes, you read that right; he was STANDING on top of the car. If this weren’t Washington Heights, a dude STANDING on top of a car would probably be a big deal but it was the Heights so I just kept it moving like it was an everyday thing. It wasn’t until I noticed that the cops were about to enter the equation, that I doubled back to get a front row seat to the fireworks. Check out the site to watch the Instagram video of the encounter.
The next installment of the Led Black Book Club goes down at Word Up Books on Thursday, September 26th from 7 to 9 pm. The featured book is the engrossing Forgiving Maximo Rothman by local author, A.J. Sidransky.
The Best of the Boogie Down column, by Jenni Ruiza, featured the video series, Project Bronx. Don’t forget to check out the latest release from Dark ATM as well as the joint project between Camille Safiya and Frankie P.
Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.
Led Black
Editor-in-Chief
The Uptown Collective
The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
