Led Black
October 20 – October 25
The Holidays now have a new Holiday Spectacular. Hip-Hop legend Kurtis Blow will be making his way Uptown to take part in The Hip-Hop Nutcracker at the United Palace on Sunday, December 7th at 6pm. The Hip-Hop Nutcracker takes Tchaikovsky’s classic score and adds combustible Hip-Hop choreography with Hip-Hop inspired riffs from DJ Boo and violinist Filip Pogády infused into the magnificent mélange. Tickets will not last, so get yours pronto.
If we don’t support our art, who will? Making a film isn’t easy. It takes gumption, dedication, skill, patience, and oh yeah, money. The young people behind Mari en Maraña are trying to make a short film that takes the classic story of Romeo and Juliet and transposes it to present-day Washington Heights with Dominican and Haitian protagonists no less. This is an endeavor you should support. You have only a few days left to support their Indiegogo campaign, so please spread that Uptown Love.
Being that we are in World Series mode, our Time Travel Tuesdays post took us back to June 1st, 2008 for a wonderful article on neighborhood kid turned pro, Pedro Alvarez of the Pittsburg Pirates. Pedro commendably turned down a big time contract to finish college and get his education. This past weekend the George Washington Bridge turned 83. The GWB is the world’s only 14-lane suspension bridge and an estimated 300,000 vehicles traverse it’s spans on a daily basis. Not bad for an octogenarian.
As I am sure you have heard by now, Dr. Craig Spencer, a member of our community has been diagnosed with Ebola. Councilmember Mark Levine penned a must-read piece about Ebola that attempts to puts thing in perspective and tamper down hysteria. Dr. Spencer is currently being treated in the isolation ward at Bellevue. The entire community wishes him a speedy recovery.
On Saturday, October 18th, I had the honor of moderating the Quisqueya Heights panel at Word Up Books. The event was a lively discussion about Dominican identity in the 21st Century and included entrepreneur Juan Camilo, playwright Jose Batista-Ayala, Educator Rosanny Cuello Ventura and Kaity Modesto. Miss Modesto was instrumental in making the panel a reality. Mel à la Mode wrote a great recap of the symposium.
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.
