UC Recap – January 2nd – January 7th
Democracy will never be the same again. Democracy now comes with drums. Guiras y tamboras to be exact. On January 3rd, in the wee hours of the morning, 12 busloads of folks, as well an untold numbers of personal vehicles, left New York City to be a part of something truly special. Approximately 750 people were in attendance for the swearing in of Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican-American in Congress. In fact, the biggest auditorium in the Capitol could not hold the multitudes that came out to participate in the historic occasion. The people came out to celebrate one of their own taking an important step in the story of the Dominican Diaspora. It was a significant milestone not just for Dominicans but also for Latinos, immigrants and ultimately, all Americans. Adriano Espaillat also became the first formerly undocumented immigrant to win a seat in the U.S. House. At some point, someone pulled out a guira y tambura and a fiesta ensued. The rest is, as they say, history… This is really good news. Will Parker of The Real Deal reported that the De Blasio administration wants to bring “100% affordable” apartments to the site of the Inwood library, which will also include a newly renovated state-of-the-art library. Hyper cool and subversive Aserica Magazine came to Harlem recently for a slick photo shoot by Tiffany Mumford featuring Fashion Editor Tamara Raquel Jones and model Olantha. Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. Well, it turns out that Mr. Towns is also half Dominican. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated penned a super awesome piece on why Karl-Anthony Towns turned down USA Basketball for the Dominican Republic. En Foco, an arts organization serving photographers of color, is accepting submissions for its 2017 Photography Fellowship. The submission deadline is Monday, February 6th, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. The Best of the Dominican Film Festival in New York takes place from January 13th to the 17th. Get your tickets as soon as possible. Most of these films you won’t see anywhere else in this country but the festival. Plus, it is also about supporting the emerging Dominican film industry, which is really coming into its own and producing some outstanding films. 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.
January 2nd – January 7th
