STRUGGLING FOR SPACE, CREATING LATINA/O URBAN CULTURES

BY STUDENT

I grew in Park Slope, Brooklyn, often considered one of the wealthiest whitest neighborhoods. For me, that was not my reality, yes I lived in a good neighborhood but I have always grown up in a working-class family. Park Slope lacks in creating a space for Latino urban culture but Sunset Park, which is right next door made up for it. At least it used to. How does Sunset Park’s Latino space years ago compare to it now? How has it changed/evolved? I believe that although Sunset Park has undergone changes and will continue to gentrify, it will always be a space for Latinos. 

Sunset Park’s history is very interesting; immigrants built it in the 1800s (Agrawal, 2018). It was first home to European immigrants and then later Puerto Ricans, other Latinos joined soon after as well as Chinese immigrants (Agrawal, 2018). With that said this meant Sunset Park was known to have businesses that catered to Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans, as they took up most of the neighborhood’s population. There were many ethnic restaurants and money transferring locales; as a result of Latinos wanting to keep their families maintained (Agrawal, 2018). I go to Sunset Park often because I feel like it brings me a piece of Mexico. Not just because the population is heavily Mexican but the atmosphere is different. Everyone says hi, most of the businesses are family-owned, and everyone speaks Spanish. Today it is being gentrified and seeking a new crowd. I have started to see minimalist coffee shops, juice shops, and organic markets that are too overpriced for much of its current residence. Latinos are being displaced from a place that is as close to home as they can get. When walking the streets of Sunset Park you see many street vendors as well, trying so hard to bring a taste of back home to their current home. According to Tonkiss, in ”The Politics of Space: Social Movements in Public Space” having space is important for politics and power (2005). Having Sunset Park be predominantly Latinx gives them power. It allows the Latinx population to be more expressive in their culture. This can be seen in the murals located all around Sunset Park. The most well-known mural would be “Soldaderas”, which pays tribute to both Mexico and Puerto Rico (Mural is located above). In the mural we see both Frida Kahlo and Julia de Burgos holding hands and armed with both flags in the background. It is a symbol of unity and strength. There are other murals, mostly of famous Latinx figures. These murals are important, they remind us, that we are important, that there is a place for us to express our culture (Perez, 2012). This reminds me of the article on Chicano Park which is known for some of the most famous Latinx murals. In the article, there is a focus on woman empowerment and expressing the idea of gender balance through art, which can be seen in the “Soldaderas” piece because instead of choosing two powerful Latinx men, the artist chooses women (Perez, 2012). Along with murals throughout the year Sunset Park hosts many fairs/festivals, there is one in May in honor of Cinco de Mayo (photo from 2018 celebration).

But things have changed; in the past recent years, Sunset like many other immigrant neighborhoods is being remodeled. It is trying to cater to the upper-middle class, and rid itself of the image it currently holds. A key marker of this remodel/reshaping would be Industry City. Industry city is home to many small white-owned businesses that are rather pricey. Even with this addition, Sunset Park is what it is because of its Latino population. People are attracted to it because of their culture. It may continue to change but it will always be a space for Latinos. Maybe not in an ideal way but that is okay.

 Agrawal, Nina. “Brooklyn's Sunset Park, Built and Rebuilt by Immigrants, Sees Change Once Again.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2018. https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sunset-park-gentrification-2018-story.html.

DeJesus, Jaime. “Sunset Park Celebrates Mexican Independence, Culture during Rainy Parade.” The Brooklyn Home Reporter, September 12, 2018. https://brooklynreporter.com/2018/09/sunset-park-celebrates-mexican-independence-culture-during-rainy-parade/.

“Mural- Soldaderas: Historic Districts Council's Six to Celebrate.” Historic Districts Councils Six to Celebrate. Accessed September 15, 2019. http://6tocelebrate.org/site/mural-soldaderas/.

Tonkiss, Fran. Space, the City and Social Theory: Social Relations and Urban Forms. Cambridge: Polity, 2005.

Perez, Gail. “Women Hold Up Half of Chicano Park.” San Diego's Original Latino Community Newspaper, July 27, 2012. http://laprensa-sandiego.org/featured/women-hold-up-half-of-chicano-park/.

URBAN MIGRATIONS AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY BARRIOS

BY STUDENT

How does Mexican migration in the early 20th century play a massive role in the United States’ ongoing manipulation of ethnic people? In this blogpost, I will illustrate the way America continues to use and abuse their immigrants whilst depending on them for the well-being of the country. In the early 20th century, Los Angeles, California had a high population of Mexicans living there. This is in part because of the United States conquest of Mexican land. Another reason for this is the Bracero Program in the years of 1942-1964. The Bracero Program was created in order to bring Mexicans to America to work in the agriculture business. This gave America an opportunity at mass production at a cheap cost and an opportunity for Mexicans to come to the United States and potentially stay. This showcases America’s manipulation because they treated their migrated workers as guest workers. This means that immigrants working in the states does not guarantee them citizenship, which was a goal for a lot of people. They were also paid significantly less than American born workers. American businesses had full intention of doing so because they are aware that a lot of immigrants would not protest it. Another example of the dismissal of Mexicans in the U.S is the tighter restrictions and border patrol in 1924. Americans aimed to push out immigrants and label them as suspicious. History seems to repeat itself. Now in 2019, we are seeing parallels between the way immigrants are being viewed and treated especially due to the presidency of Donald Trump.

This can be compared to the increase of the Puerto Rican population in New York City. There were so many people coming to the city that it was referred to as the “Puerto Rican Problem”. Many Americans began to claim that Puerto Ricans were bringing illnesses and that they do not know how to civilly live in the city. These accusations are all ironic because of the fact that American companies truly relied on their laborers for the fruition of the nation. If these people are so bad then why are they continuously hired? How could businesses thrive if so many of the people working there brought illnesses with them? In class, we watched a clip from the West Side Story demonstrating the desire some Puerto Ricans have to move to New York City. It was clear that a lot people saw America as a place where they can thrive and live a lot better than their homeland while there were some that knew what came with the territory- racism, excessive labor and more. Amerian businesses took advantage of their eager and treated them unfairly. “Young Lords Party: 13 Point Program and Platform” expresses the Puerto Rican fight for a socialist society. They began to voice their wants (and rights) to liberation, free food, education, and employment. It is important to note that their desire was not just for themselves but for every minority living in America.

America continued to perpetuate its ungrateful and racist attitudes through its living conditions. This can be seen through the subconscious creation of barrios. A barrio can generally be described as a low income neighborhood. In some places of the world, they are often referred to as “the ghetto” or “the projects”. As it pertains to Puerto Ricans in New York City, suburbanization became very popular after 1945 and the quest for The American Dream commenced. However, the typical white picket fence and perfect family was only attainable for veterans and the wealthy. All the while needing immigrants to enhance the country, America did its very best to make it as difficult as possible to succeed. While immigrants were living in barrios, Los Angeles realized they needed latin culture to spunk up the towns. They took bits and pieces of Latinx culture while pushing away the people it belongs to. The government also used eminent domain to reclaim spaces and ostracize immigrants for economic benefit. This can be seen today in areas like Little Italy, ChinaTown and more. Cities monopolize on cultures to attract tourists as well as be perceived as an inclusive space while there is an imminent threat of immigrants outnumbering American born citizens.