UC Recap – June 27th – July 2nd

June 27th – July 2nd

It’s official folks; Adriano Espaillat has won the Democratic primary after Keith Wright conceded recently. That brings us a step closer to having the first Dominican-American member of Congress. The somewhat contentious battle came to an end at the world renowned Sylvia’s Restaurant when the candidates met alongside outgoing representative Charles Rangel as well as other elected officials. Espaillat will go against Republican Tony Evans in November but is considered the likely winner as the district is heavily Democratic. Espaillat’s ascent is a testament to the hard work, determination and can do ethos of immigrants regardless of what xenophobes like Donald Trump and his ilk might say.

Mark your calendars people. The Dominican Day Parade is going down on Sunday, August 14th. The grand marshal for this year’s parade is none other than singer-songwriter extraordinaire Juan Luis Guerra. Inspired by the heroism of The Mirabal Sisters, who were instrumental in bringing an end to the Trujillo regime, the theme for this year’s parade revolves around honoring and highlighting the many contributions of Dominican women across the Dominican Diaspora. The goal is to honor and empower Dominican women, and raise awareness for future generations of strong, innovative women. The DDP will be announcing in the following weeks their roster of approximately 20 Dominican women being recognized at this year’s parade, along with other celebrities joining the festivities. The parade will also be highlighting the DDP’s mission to provide scholarships to the Dominican youth, with 17 students already awarded scholarships and more to come.

Jared Mccallister of the NY Daily News reported on the Harlem/Havana Music & Cultural Festival that will take place from August 12th to the 21st. The event is a cultural extravaganza of music, dance, food, film and visual arts.

Alistair Gardiner of The Real Deal gave us a cool story on one of NYC’s most talked about new buildings, Columbia University Medical College’s Graduate and Education Building.

Listen up folks, the 2nd Annual Harlem Whiskey Festival is going down on July 12th and 13th. You need to be in attendance. Get your tickets ASAP. Hands down the best Dominican restaurant Uptown is El Lina on 207th. If you have not been there you need to go pronto. The Fix comes to us from the multi-talented April Oneill, The Word.

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.