September 17 – September 22
4 years ago on September 19th 2008 my life was turned upside down. On that fateful day, my wife and mother of our 3 young girls, Eileen Z. Fuentes, was diagnosed with breast cancer. To make matters worse, it was an aggressive form of breast cancer that was ominously named triple-negative, which meant it did not respond to any known hormone treatment. We had entered the dark and despair-ridden world that Junot Diaz aptly named “cancer planet.” Check out the site to read my ode to my wife and wellness warrior.
A few weeks ago we reported on magician Zack Mirza’s foray into the Heights. Zack just released his latest video, which features some of the scenes shot in Washington Heights. Yours truly is one of the folks in the crowd being mesmerized my Zack’s showmanship. Remember the name Zack Mirza – his ascent is inevitable. We also posted Eileen’s profile of Carolina Contreras who is the founder of missrizos.com, a natural hair blog based out of the Dominican Republic. Carolina is the mastermind behind the wildly popular I Love Mi Pajón t-shirts.
This week saw the second blog post from Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez on the importance of diversity in the ranks of leadership in higher education. He can now add blogger to the list of the many hats he already wears. Mr. Rodriguez deserves a tip of the hat for his embrace of change, technology and social media.
For the Thursday Throwback post we chose this awesome photo essay by Eddy Vallante on the Trident Swim Foundation’s Swimmer Scholar Program at the George Washington Educational Campus in Washington Heights. The Trident Swim Foundation (TSF) pairs athletic and academic concentrations to form a foundation for student success, before and after graduation from high school. The Tweet of the Week features an awesome illustration of neighborhood gastronomic institution Margot’s from L. Nichols for the Village Voice.
Okay the summer can end now. Thursday, September 20th was the rain date for the A Toast Fort Tryon Park function that usually takes place earlier in the season. Check out my recap of one of the best events of the summer with truly incredible pictures courtesy of Paul Lomax.
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.
