For yet another year, dire predictions — mostly from Puerto Rican friends — went unfulfilled in Bushwick as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade aftermath went off without much more than some whistling and occasional house-shaking bass. Marc Anthony won the music-from-car-stereos contest hands down, thanks mostly to his Hector Lavoe covers in recent movie El Cantante. Exuberant flag-waving ruled the day — in fact, we were surprised at how many people found holding a flag on a street corner or out a car window for hours on end to be entertaining in the least. I’d like to remind my Puerto Rican neighbors that while I agree that their island of origin is a wonderful place, brash patriotism is obnoxious — “preciosa será sin bandera….”
The decision to schedule Bushwick Open Studios on the same weekend was either brilliant or negligent, but I’m not sure if we’ll ever figure out which it was.
Ingo Hart June 9th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Seemed like a regular summer day here on Hart.
j June 9th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Just occasional house-shaking bass? I had to deal with that shit non-stop all day long. If I had to name the worst consequences of my decision to move to Bushwick, the very negative perception of the PR community that the neighborhood has fomented for me would be near the top of my list. Yesterday just encapsulated it all for me.
mopar June 9th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I loved walking by all the festive BBQs with every fire hydrant gushing on my way to Open Studios. It rocked! And was a lot cooler on the blocks with the water.
pixie June 9th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
BOS was on the same weekend as last year but the Puerto Rican parade was a week early.
Karla June 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
As a Puerto Rican who grew up in, and still reside, in Bushwick- the parades of recent years are rather tame. If you don’t think it could be louder, well, thank your lucky stars you have no idea what I’m talking about. LOL Trust me, it used to be like a neighborhood wide block party (traffic stopped for hours on end, streets filled with people, music and food). So yeah, rather tame nowadays LOL
But for the original post- re: brash patriotism being obnoxious- were you aware that the Puerto Rican flag was banned for years in Puerto Rico by the US gov’t? Which is why, yes, we wave that flag with such pride. And will continue to do so…
Jeremy Sapienza June 9th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Yes, I knew that, but it hasn’t been banned since the 50s — and also, I don’t see the nationalist PR flag being waved, the one with the light blue field (which I believe was banned even after the dark blue field — mimicking the US blue — was approved). I do see a few Lares flags around town, however.
For the record, I also hate US-flag waving.
Karla June 10th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Very true Jeremy- and most people, sadly, think the Lares flag is the original flag. Then again, the statehood party followers tend to wave the darker blue version- while those who believe in independence tend to wave the light blue ones.
But I am happy to hear you know so much- seriously! Not many people know Puerto Rico’s history- even sadder is that Puerto Ricans are among those people. But that’s a whole other can of worms. LOL
So I take it you won’t be waving the American flag on the 4th of July? LOL
Kidd June 10th, 2008 at 9:55 am
j Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Just occasional house-shaking bass? I had to deal with that shit non-stop all day long. If I had to name the worst consequences of my decision to move to Bushwick, the very negative perception of the PR community that the neighborhood has fomented for me would be near the top of my list. Yesterday just encapsulated it all for me.
————————————————-
take your ass back to the sterile suburbs of the puerto rican free midwest if you can’t handle it. You moved into a majority hispanic neighborhood and now you wanna hate on it. get a fuckin clue.
Jeremy Sapienza June 10th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Karla, I guess I know a little about a lot, but being partnered with a Puerto Rican for like…6 years and change now, I’ve absorbed a bit. :-D
And that’s right, I never wave or display a US flag. I like plenty of stuff in America and its culture just fine, I guess, I just don’t associate those good things with the government or its symbols and I think it’s ignorant when people do.
Jeremy Sapienza June 10th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Kidd, are we really gonna start the midwest/suburban accusations here? Let’s be honest — there are things that go on in Bushwick than cannot acceptably be explained away with the “flava” card. I mean, yeah I find it strange that “j” didn’t do his research before moving to Bushwick, but that doesn’t mean it’s cool to use car bass so loud it vibrates the glasses in people’s cabinets.
Rich June 10th, 2008 at 11:04 am
car bass so loud that there is no music associated with it – only noise. And oh yes: no more “wilding” on Puerto Rico parade day? Oh for the good ‘ol days. However, as pointed out by Madonna, NYC as a whole has gotten tame.
j June 10th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
oh, but i did do my research, and i certainly knew that i was moving to a predominately latino neighborhood, and i had friends here so i was already familiar with the area. and i chose to move here after all–it’s not like i couldn’t have picked, say, greenpoint or astoria.
i’ve lived in a number of other “diverse” and “vibrant” neighborhood across the city, and i always found that the negative stereotypes associated with them and their residents to be largely unfounded. but day after day, having to witness my predominately puerto rican neighbors’ (although they are certainly not the only ones at fault) seemingly total disregard for their own quality of life and that of their neighbors has brought me to the point where i just want to scream “what the fuck is wrong with you people?” the constant screaming on the block in the middle of the night, the deep, deep base shaking your building at any given hour, the garbage and filth just left everywhere, in your hallway and on the street, the constant cat calling and sometimes physical harassment of women simply walking down the street–i haven’t seen this in other “flava”-ful neighborhoods, and the parade was just a highly concentrated day full of this shit. i’m sure if i lived on the les i’d harbor similar ill-will toward my white hipster neighbors pissing all over the place and screaming outside of bars, but i’m not, i’m in bushwick, and i’m sick of it.
and kidd, you know, you don’t have to be midwestern (read: white) to make the kind of statement i did. but thanks for making the assumption!
bushwickgirl June 10th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
J do what we do every year. Just head out of town for the weekend and come back on sunday around 10pm when things are back to quiet.
Plazma June 10th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Kidd you’ve been here too long to realize that people who claim to be Puerto Ricans in Bushwick have completely embarrassed themselves as a people and as pseudo Puerto Ricans. If you live in Bushwick you there is no way you can dismiss J’s comments. He has a legitimate gripe. If you don’t understand his narrative then you are not from Bushwick or you are part of the problem.
J, you are right in your assessment. But you should know what you see in Bushwick is not Puerto Rican culture. Rather, it is a perverse culture that has very little to do with the Island’s culture and identity. I would also suspect most people waving the flag and carrying it as such are not even island born Puerto Ricans. It’s just an excuse for debauchery.
If you have a chance to visit Puerto Rico you will find a very distinct culture. An island culture that on many levels despises how so called stateside “Puerto Ricans” have soiled their culture and flag here.
Tony June 10th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Ahhh…The first and last time I attended the PR parade was in 1979. It is on days like the PR day parade that I thank the gods I moved the fuck out of Bushwick! Do you know I am the only Puerto Rican in the whole city where I live in Japan? On the rare occasion I do meet a fellow Boricua transient, they are almost always from either the Island or some other part of the States, highly educated, professionals (usually engineers with Toyota) and they haven’t a clue about what goes on in NYC during the parade. Yet through their manners, and the way they live their lives, I consider them true ambassadors of Puerto Rican pride and not the flag waving, bud swiggin’ mutts that fill my memories of Bushwick. Jeremy, maybe there is something quaint about these ethnic celebrations of pride, but to me I detest anyone that feels the need to wave symbols in my face to show how great their culture is. Really, how can anyone take pride in their ethnic origin? It is the one thing they had no choice in. It was an accident of birth. Pride should be reserved for accomplishments, not accidents or chance. Fuck the PR parade, and to all of the numbnuts that are about to pounce on me for my views, “me cago en tu madre”. Thank you.
drr June 10th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Wow, Tony…you were doing great until that next-to-last sentence. Is that really what you meant to say?
Jeremy Sapienza June 10th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Anyone who would criticize him for the views he expressed here is unreasonable and reactionary, so unless you think a lot of kids will be reading, I think it’s appropriate.
drr June 11th, 2008 at 12:38 am
Actually, I agree with his views, I just don’t see why “I shit on your mother” needs to be said to anyone who does happen to disagree with him. And why is it unreasonable to disagree with him? I agree with him, but another reasonable person might not. And what exactly do you mean by “reactionary”? I admit I don’t know what the word means.
Tony June 11th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Hi drr, sorry if I upset you with the “shit on your mother” comment. We don’t know eachother so you are not familiar with my lame attempts at humor. That comment was meant for fellow Boricuas reading my post who “get it”. Much like when an African American says “motherfucker” to another brother and says it’s a “black thing”. “Me cago en tu madre” was a common phrase used in my neighborhood when I was young. It was often whipped out during heated fights or debates. To hear it said at my age is funny and a bit nostalgic, but hardly offensive. I mean, come on, we’re all New Yorkers here, we’re made of tougher stock. So next time I say something offensive in Spanish, just toss it back at me for good measure. Try it, it’s fun.
drr June 11th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I’m not so much upset as I am puzzled. But I’m less puzzled now–thanks for explaining.
Jeremy Sapienza June 11th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Reactionary in this case is someone who thinks anything Puerto Ricans do is fine — not just fine, AMAZING — because it’s Puerto Ricans doing it. That’s the kind of unreasonable person who would criticize Tony for saying what he did.
Besides, as he pointed out, you can translate literally but you can’t always translate for gravity.
drr June 11th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
So, reactionary kind of means what you want it to mean…or is there some history behind the word that I don’t get?
I’m curious now. To be “reactionary”…is it bad?
ARMY June 13th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Yikes…Puerto Rican day Parade; I stop attending the parade yrs ago! The down fall of the parade was when in turned into a hip-hop parade with half naked non-Puerto Ricans & so-called wannabe rappers from the low-income housing projects. I, being PR myself; just can’t believe how gullible PR’s are; to have their own so-called parade hijacked right under their noses by the hip-hop thugs from the projects!!!