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IITC, or Inspiration In the Cut, is an art collaborative made up of several female artists from the Bronx.  Demi Vera, Sunny Vazquez, Krystal Pinto and Aniysa Alexander come together every couple of months to bring the world original and eclectic art shows. After a creative year, IITC showcased their 7th and final show for […]

IITC, or Inspiration In the Cut, is an art collaborative made up of several women artists from the Bronx.  Demi Vera, Sunny Vazquez, Krystal Pinto and Aniysa Alexander come together every couple of months to produce original and eclectic art shows. After a creative year, IITC artists showcased their seventh and final show for 2014 on Dec. 4 … Continue reading IITC has 7th and Final Show of the Year in Brooklyn Gallery →

Remery Camacho, a 20-year-old film student at St. Johns’ University has always had dreams of being a filmmaker. A native of the Bronx, Camacho comes from humble beginnings but has accomplished a lot through hard work and determination.
“I love storytelling; I’ve always loved being told stories and telling them as well,” Camacho says. “Film is just a crazy form of storytelling. All these aspects are working together and they all serve different devices through the storytelling.”
As a film student, Camacho does acknowledge to an extent that one does not need to go to school in order to become a successful filmmaker. “You can learn whatever you want to learn about online or writing; if you want to learn how to write, just keep writing,” he says.
But Camacho also agrees that going to school for film does have its benefits. “Film school is very helpful and necessary if you want to rent equipment and shoot your own stuff.” Studying film has also allowed Camacho to learn more about the camera, lighting and cinematography.
Camacho realized how passionate he was about film through his father. Starting at the age of 10, him and his father would watch films every Saturday night. “He introduced me to movies that I didn’t even know existed, Genres that I would never even bother to enjoy,” he says. “I just thought there was comedy, horror and action. But my dad introduced me to dramas and dark comedies, real stuff about the human condition and very accurate stuff about people and how they act.”
Camacho got to perfect his cinematic skills a bit more when he joined the Ghetto Film School at the age of 17. A non-profit organization in the Bronx, the Ghetto Film School helps young, aspiring filmmakers get a head start in their careers. Camacho was originally put off by the school’s name but later learned that the school actually had immense connections to the film industry. David O. Russell, Spike Jonze and Jason Reitman have all given lectures there.
At the Ghetto Film School is where Camacho directed his first short film, Former Self. “It was a great experience but also very overwhelming to be a 17-year-old and have a camera put in your hands and then being told ‘This is what we expect of you.’”
Camacho made Former Self a family affair by casting his parents and his two best friends in the story about a family man whose criminal past comes back to haunt him. Former Self was inspired by Camacho’s love of crime films directed by the likes of Sidney Lumet and Quentin Tarantino.
Former Self was selected as one of ten films from Camacho’s class to screen at the Walter Reed Theatre at Lincoln Center. The top three short films won a one thousand dollar prize from Google. Camacho’s film was one of them. “I got to get up on stage and give a speech and thank my friends and family. It was such an Oscar moment,” he laughs. “It’s one of my favorite memories ever.”
For the future, Camacho hopes to get an internship as a production assistant on a professional shoot in order to learn in depth the ins and outs of a film set. After college, Camacho plans to write and direct more short films and perhaps have them submitted to film festivals. “I want to make something so good so I can prove myself to others and say ‘Hey, I can make a film, I’m ready. I’ll pitch my idea right now and you’re going to produce it,’ that’s basically where I want to be after college.”

As a young girl, someone once told me “Great Dancers are great because of their passion.” I couldn’t agree more.

Even though I may not have met the famous dance professionals of Dance with Me Soho, I left with a greater outcome. Swaying on the dance floor gave my life meaning and passion.

As a young girl, someone once told me “Great Dancers are great because of their passion.” I couldn’t agree more.

Even though I may not have met the famous dance professionals of Dance with Me Soho, I left with a greater outcome. Swaying on the dance floor gave my life meaning and passion.

As a young girl, someone once told me “Great Dancers are great because of their passion.” I couldn’t have agree more.

Video: Dancing with the stars pro dancer, Val Chmerkovskiy and celebrity partner, Janel Parrish debut their spectacular Salsa performance Trio with Keo Motsepe.

November 26, 2014 was a surprising day for millions of New Yorkers, myself included. It was no other than the famous Dancing with the Stars pair, Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy eating a delicious cheesy pizza slice at Joe’s Pizza located on 150 East 14th Street in New York.

On Dancing with The Stars Season 19: Week 9, Parrish looked like a fierce jungle queen Salsa dancing to “Morning Drums” by Gregor Salto. While backup dancers, Chmerkovskiy and Motsepe made the dance floor look insanely wild. Parrish’s incredible flexibility, splits, Salsa turns, and spins wowed America. The judges were impressed by their chemistry and passion giving them an almost perfect 39 out of 40 score. It is inevitable that the chemistry and passion they share makes them a great pair and my favorite of them all.

When Parrish shared the first photo on Instagram, “JanelParrish: “It’s snowing. We got NYC pizza. It was perfect” I was beyond speechless and could not believe it. It took me a few seconds to get back into my senses when I suddenly thought, “Joe’s Pizza? That’s right by Baruch College!” I quickly jumped out of my seat scaring other students next to me. I did something I had never done in my life. I ran after my favorite dancing stars.

My face had flakes of snow and rain, my bangs were in the way of my eyes, it was cold and windy. I had to keep in mind that I had to overcome the obstacles to reach to my destination. I could see “Joe’s Pizza” sign getting closer and closer. The smile of my face stretched from ear to ear. I glanced up at the big bold red and white signage. I had arrived.

Thankfully, my iPhone had 50% percent of battery left. I excitedly prepared my camera with a chrome filter, fixed my hair, and was ready to walk in.  As soon as I push those front doors open, there it was. Empty paper plates on the side table. No Janel. No Val. It was just the pizza guy in his white apron preparing pizza pies. The big smile on my face slowly dropped into a frown. My right eye began to tear. My body began to feel warm again. I walked outside to look around the block. I paced back and forth. Still no Janel or Val. Quite honestly, I felt a bit of a heartbreak.

As I left Joe’s Pizza, I overheard the conversation of two girls, Pamela and Michelle talking about Parrish and Chemerkovskiy. I turned around and asked them, “Were you also here for Janel and Val?”

“Yes! We just missed them.” – They replied.

I was glad to know that I wasn’t the only one feeling such disappointment.

“So did I.” – I said to them.

“By any chance do you know if they’ll be around the city again?” – I asked.

Pamela and Michelle shook their heads. However, they began to let me know about a dancing studio located in Soho that Chmerkovskiy owns along with his older brother Maksim. If this is true, I had to find out for myself.

As destiny didn’t unite my favorite dancing stars and I right in the birthplace of Salsa, I can at least say that I had the greatest pleasure in standing at the very location where they once stood. If the opportunity ever allowed us to meet someday, I would be the happiest girl in the world. Until then, I can only wait and hope.

To Be Continued…

Intended Use Of Social Media:

My topic is underground boxing and even though a lot of things like locations are disclosed tp certain people by word of mouth, I think it’s still possible to promote the blog through social media. A way I would promote the blog would be through a twitter account. On that account I would either post a snippet of a video or a photo with a brief description which links to the blog for either the video or slideshows. The point of linking would be to get traffic to the site and have it possibly be retweeted to garner more readership.

Who Will I Reach?

BX Fight Club (@BXFightClub)– They are one of the underground leagues and with the content of their events I would provide, this could lead to connections from within and more views if they promote my projects on their page

Friday Night Throwdown (@FNTXNYC) – This is another league and New York City and the reason for connecting with them would be for similar reasons as the BX fight Club

“Rockstar Charlie”(@CharlieHimmelstein) – He is a popular fighter from FNT who I spoke with and if there is content on him he could possibly direct some of his 11,000 followers to my blog

“Killer Mike”– He is a boxer from BX fight club who I spoke with as well. His followers and fans can be interested in my content if they like him

“Caveman” – He is another popular fighter from FNT who I interviewed and because people who go to these events consistently or become new fans may like him, they may also be interested on a personal piece on him or some highlights. He could retweet a post and it could peak his followers interest

“Manny Pacquiao”(@ICan_IWill) – Although he is still a relatively new fighter from BX Fight Club, he fought his first time at FNT Nov21st, same as killer mike and most likely increased his popularity with his one sided victory. He probably doesn’t have a large fan base but it would better to be one of the first to really cover him and build popularity through one another.

“Staxx”(@Staxx_Juherd) – He is my main source of information. He lets me know where the fights are and what times and when they are taking place. He is pretty popular at Friday Night Throwdown since almost beating Rockstar Charlie. He would have no issue retweeting and posting links on his personal sites to promote my coverage of each event.

Rick (@RickyJims10) – He is one of the more known fighters at BX fight club with over 1000 followers on instagram. A possible interview with him and maybe some content involving him can reach those followers

“Violator” – He is another fighter at BX figh club who many people know, a main event attraction last event, even had 50 cent betting on him to win his fight. My strategy for Rick would be the same strategy I would use here

New York Times – I believe they had some journalist at the last event because FNT is becoming a popular underground scene and they obviously get a lot of traffic to their site. If they like something of mine and put it out there it could only help the blog.

Grantland (@Grantland33)– This is website that doubles as a sports site and pop culture blog. I think it’s a perfect fit because it isn’t as serious as ESPN but it still provides good content. Boxing is a sport but leagues like FNT also have a certain type of pop culture fan base who like to party. I think if Grantland would either retweet, or post a link to my content on their sire, it may be appealing to the type of readers they attract.

Golden Gloves NYC – My main reasoning for including GG is because Rockstar Charlie has fought there before though briefly. People who seen him fight there would be interested to see what he has been up to since.

My Social Media Accounts:

On twitter, I would write a brief description of the borough the event took place, and the fighters names, and include maybe a 30 second clip of a couple of things that happened during the event. There would also be a link to a full video or a slideshow. I would try to post short information on fighters or brief podcasts a couple days a week to fill out layoffs between full videos or slideshows. I would use instagram to post short 15 second clips of event coverage. I would post those frequently because they are short so possible every other day at different times during the day and night to make sure it’s seen by my followers. I would also tag the leagues and fighters involved which can possibly lead them to directing people to my content

Tweets and Headlines:

First Post: Young Harlem Fighter Looking To Take Underground By Storm #Harlem #Boxing #Underground #NYC http://bit.ly/1Fi04io

Second Post: El Barrio Gym is Closing But Training Resumes #ElBarrioGym #ElBarrio #SpanishHarlem #Harlem #Boxing #NYC #Underground #Training #Workout http://bit.ly/1xJZwQ6

Third Post: Yonkers Rapper Jadakiss Lends His Popularity to Start Up Boxing League #Jadakiss #Host #Bronx #BXFightClub #Yonkers #Rap #Boxing #Underground #NYC http://bit.ly/1tppnGN

Animal New York provides a behind-the-scenes exclusive on “Project Robots” new art show in Bushwick, Brooklyn  [Animal New York] 12ozProphet reveals new winter hat designs by Lower East Side streetwear brand, ONLY NY [12ozProphet] Frank 151 introduces Stikstok, their newest art contributor from Stockholm who is notable for drawing classic mob movie scenes using only … Continue reading This Week’s NYC Art News →

Animal New York provides a behind-the-scenes exclusive on “Project Robots” new art show in Bushwick, Brooklyn  [Animal New York] 12ozProphet reveals new winter hat designs by Lower East Side streetwear brand, ONLY NY [12ozProphet] Frank 151 introduces Stikstok, their newest art contributor from Stockholm who is notable for drawing classic mob movie scenes using only […]