An Ecuadoran celebration of Christmas at St. Brigid’s Church. — Photos by Aaron Short
For me, Christmastime in Bushwick consists of two distinct traditions that occur at roughly the same time and neighborhood off Wyckoff Avenue.
From 5 in the morning, hundreds of volunteers stream into a busy kitchen at the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Center at 319 Stanhope to pick up 2,500 prepared meals for homebound seniors this Christmas. That is in addition to the approximately 450 seniors who receive their meals in person, complete with blessings from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other special guests, at the Center.
Feeding seniors on Christmas and Thanksgiving is an annual tradition that Assemblymember Vito Lopez and the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council have hosted for the past 38 years. Each year at the center features a hot meal and a special guest, usually a recognizable public official, who leads a short blessing.
This year, it was Mayor Bloomberg, who has been coming to Bushwick on Christmas for the past three years. On Thanksgiving, the guest was mayoral runner-up Bill Thompson, who is exploring a primary challenge against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (whom Lopez has not endorsed).
|
|||
Bloomberg arrived at the center at 11:30 AM, with a trail of photographers, after touring the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant earlier that morning to announce that the DEP’s federal probation period had ended. Lopez and Angela Battaglia, RBSCC’s Housing Director, greeted him in the hallway, while I scurried pass them toward the cafeteria.
I noticed Council member-elect Steve Levin talking with State Senator Martin Dilan, who has been busy holding town meeting regarding the 2010 Census and pushing to be "in the loop" on MTA negotiations (he is the Chair of the Transportation Committee, after all). Levin, who will be inaugurated at City Hall before the week is over, has been busy looking for a new office in Boerum Hill and celebrating his birthday at a ceremonial swearing-in. Both have been volunteering on Stanhope Street for several years and joined Lopez and Mayor Bloomberg at the front of the hall.
Lopez took the microphone first, saying "We couldn’t have done this without you," praising Mayor Bloomberg for his administration’s attention to senior needs. Lopez pointed toward Steve Levin to his right, noting that he was eager to get to work and that it would be nice to have two Levins in the Senate someday.
"Steve wants to know when he’s going to be a councilman," said Lopez.
"One more week," said Mayor Bloomberg.
Bloomberg spoke briefly, wishing seniors good health and hope that they will have a better year in 2010, before leading a short prayer. Afterwards, Senator Dilan wished the seniors "Feliz Navidad" and Steve said that even though he represents the next district over, his heart is in Bushwick.
"It means so much for us to have the mayor come out to Bushwick," said Levin. "I love you all very much."
After the speeches, it was time for the manicotti (in Brooklyn pronounced "manigot"). Several seniors remarked it was delicious. RBSCC’s Jeanne Laino always delivers the goods.
On my way out, I saw CB4 Parks Chair Austen Martinez, whose whole family volunteered for the Christmas holiday. Martinez’s extended family dressed like Santa’s elves and his nephew was Santa Claus. Martinez, the Bud Selig of Bushwick-based youth leagues, is looking forward to baseball season, though he will likely have to mediate the ongoing fight over field space between the Quebradillas and everybody else.
|
|||
At 1 PM, I snuck over to St. Brigid’s Church where morning mass had ended and the five-hour Christmas pageant began. A tradition over the past few years, Bushwick’s Ecuadorian community gathers at the auditorium at St. Brigid’s Church for likely the most colorful Christmas play in the city. Last year, the community mourned the death of Jose Sucuzhañay, 31, a victim of a hate crime last December, with funerals in Corona, Queens and in Bushwick, but Christmas is a celebration here.
After eating a meal of roast pork or chicken and rice and beans, it was time for the show.
Performers donned traditional Ecuadoran costumes, with women and girls wearing colorful flowing full-length skirts and white tops with scarves while the boys wear multicolored knit sweaters and sashes, and white pants with layers of tufted sheep’s wool. Some children wore masks, resembling wolves and other creatures, but everyone on stage danced regardless of their costume, while eager parents and relatives filmed with camcorders.
This is one of the few places to see traditional Ecuadoran dance, art, and culture in New York City, though the neighborhood will likely be hopping again if Ecuador does well in the 2010 World Cup. Until then, Feliz Navidad, Bushwick. See you next year.
