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- Mural in Inwood, which is representative of the community.
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- People often still work with fabrics.
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- This store bears the initials for and flag of the Dominican Republic.
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- Bilingual learning centers are very important in the community as spanish is still often the first and often the primary language.
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- There are many hair salons in the area as many Dominican women work as hair stylist in the area. Note that the sign on the window is written first in spanish.
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- Typical dominican food, in this case specializing in fried pork rinds.
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- “Bodega” or “colmado” with a wide variety of Dominican calling cards.
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- This is the way people typically greet each other and say goodbye.
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- Many of the Dominican men in the neighborhood work with automobiles.
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- Low priced clothing store.
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- Vending area.
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- “Hanging out.”
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- Street vendors versus supermarkets.
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- American Dominican vendors.
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- Marketing to the Dominican community.
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- The food somehow always steals the spotlight.
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- There aren’t many but this is one of a few “botanicas” left in Inwood.
Essay:
For this project I attempted to depict the community of Inwood as largely Dominican. The Dominican immigrants have brought with them their culture and integrated it into American culture. There is thus a cultural overlap. There is something very brightly colored and optimistic in tone about the Dominican Republic as is with many Caribbean countries, a kind of joyful friendliness that is evident in the murals and the colors of the storefronts. There is a strong patriotic sentiment towards both the Dominican Republic and the United States but the language and customs of the Dominican Republic always come first. The signs are almost always in Spanish first, many stores are named after the country or bear the Dominican flag, and yet many times the American flag is still present. Sadly I was unable to follow a specific family but I attempted to present a variety of persons and scenarios in order to depict the Dominican community.
The new images you added are very dynamic, vibrant and full of movement. You’re giving us a good sense of the pulse of and texture of the neighborhood. Obviously street life is very important and it shows in your pics.
Now I’d like to meet some families, groups of schoolkids coming home from school or doing sports together on weekends, children playing together, etc. Let’s also get inside the bodegas and what about the “botanicas”? Dominican storefront churches, where’s that?
Finally will we get inside someone’s home?