The term “Loisaida” was first recorded by Bimbo Rivas in an unpublished 1974 bilingual poem. “En mi mente, mi amada,/ yo te llamo Loisaida/ Increible/ una mezcla, la perfecta,” he writes. (English: In my mind, beloved,/ I call you Loisaida./ Incredible/ a mix, the perfect one.) Rivas continues the poem by demonstrating a quixotic love…
Archives for June 2021
On Narrative, Business Ownership, and Βelonging
“I’m getting tested; times are tough on this bodega/ Two months ago somebody bought Ortega’s/ Our neighbors started packin’ up and pickin’ up and ever since the rents went up/ It’s gotten mad expensive, but we live with just enough,” raps Anthony Ramos as Usnavi in in the opening scene of In the Heights, a Tony-winning Broadway…
