Mapping Latino Caribbean North New Jersey

Entries on This Tour

La Tia Delia’s is a landmark restaurant of “Little Lima” on Market Street in Paterson, New Jersey. It has been a staple of the Peruvian community since initial migrations in the 1960’s. Throughout the decades the restaurant has been a gathering place for Peruvian immigrants to find community and solidarity in New Jersey. Known for its authenticity, the traditional Peruvian cuisine keeps the restaurant busy and always full. A hub for culture, La Tia Delia’s maintain the Peruvian lifestyle through the decorum, music, and lively atmosphere.

2. Ají Limón

The migration of Peruvians to New Jersey has changed the culture throughout the state to their businesses, to their religion and not to mention the Peruvian parades that take place in Paterson on July 28th. Although Peruvians are dispersed all over New Jersey they are mainly concentrated in Paterson and Clifton, New Jersey. Ají Limón, which is a Peruvian Restaurant located in Clifton, New Jersey, have been created not only to provide revenue for these businesses but also to give a little taste of what Peru is like.

3. City Fresh Market: Mi Bandera

Mi Bandera is a supermarket/restaurant located in Union City, New Jersey. This location was established in 1992 and is located on Bergenline Avenue. The current President of Mi Bandera Corp. is Abel Hernandez. Furthermore, the demographic of Union City, it is predominantly Latino. Mi Bandera supermarket is filled with products and people thus reflecting New Jersey's pluralistic society.

4. Celia Cruz Park

The Celia Cruz Park is a Park that was built in honor of the Cuban-American Salsa singer Celia Cruz and it is located in Union City, New Jersey. The Celia Cruz park was built and gained significance after Celia Cruz’s death on July 16, 2003 after which the Celia Cruz Park was built as a tribute to her (June 4, 2004). On June 4, 2004, New Jersey held its Cuban Day Parade in which they in which they dedicated the park to Celia Cruz, and her widower Pedro Knight was also present there along with many Cuban-Americans. This is significant because Celia Cruz Park shows the large community of Cubans in New Jersey and allows us to gain insight into their culture. This parks is associated with Celia Cruz who an extremely famous and revered Cuban -American singer. The significance of the Celia Cruz park is that it shows how Celia Cruz has become an icon of Hispanic and Latino heritage through her Salsa music. Celia Cruz has become an icon of Hispanic and Latino culture and has allowed us to gain some insight into Hispanic and Latino culture, especially through her music. The Celia Cruz Park is also significant because the tribute to Celia Cruz gives us an insight into the Cuban American lives and heritage.

5. José Martí Field in Union City, NJ

José Martí field is a sports and recreation park connected to the Jose Marti STEM Acadamy, a school located in Union City, NJ. The field is named after the famed Cuban poet José Martí. Martí is considered to be not only a poet but also a national hero in Cuban literature. The field provides a place for children and adults in Union City to play soccer and engage in other physical activities.

6. Tropical Sun Supermarket (Imported Caribbean and International Goods)

Tropical Sun is a West Indian supermarket located in East Orange, NJ on Main street. This supermarket is a place where people can go to get their West Indian products. The products are not only imported from the Caribbean but you can also find products from Spanish speaking countries. Tropical Sun is run by a Jamaican family who had a mission of bringing people together with the food of their homeland. This supermarket allows Jamaicans to feel at home, especially when they are inside looking at all the products they want to buy. Caribbean people are known for using home remedies and this supermarket provides it. The supermarket has a great Caribbean atmosphere for you and your family to experience on a lovely Sunday morning after church. Also, there is amazing fresh seafood every day to choose from.

7. Alexander F. Jankowski Community Center: Latinxs in Perth Amboy, NJ

The Alexander F. Jankowski Community Center is located off of one of Perth Amboy’s busiest streets on 1 Olive Street. This community center houses the offices for several of Perth Amboy’s city government departments and it is also where many community events occur. Throughout the year, members of different ethnicities in Perth Amboy use the center to host cultural events. The City of Perth Amboy also hosts many cultural events for its residents and elderly population to celebrate diversity and residents’ cultural backgrounds and traditions. Keeping cultural traditions and celebrating where residents come from and their different stories is one of the goals of the town’s mayor; this goal has been embraced and carried out by her staff, which can be seen in the projects they undertake and the way they treat all visitors.

8. "Don Quixote with a Flower" Statue

Officially named “Don Quixote with a Flower,” it is one of the many art pieces installed on the New Brunswick branch of Rutgers University. Installed in 2012, it sits at about 6 feet tall and is all-natural copper except for a painted metal flower in his hand. In 1976 Silis created a gypsum Don Quixote, later replicated in bronze (shown here), and in 1989 a smaller copy of the statue became the emblem of the Tarkovsky Prize. After some research, I found that none of the sculptures on all four campuses of Rutgers New Brunswick feature a Hispanic or Latin artist or muse. I think this connects to how Latino/Caribbean/Hispanic history and culture is often overlooked or seen as unvaluable, even in a place as diverse as a college campus. Don Quixote is a character from literary classic "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. Published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. After the bible, it is the most translated book in the world and is considered the “1st modern novel”. It is important to highlight why this is the only monument/art piece installed on campus that can represent "Hispanicism", and while it is a start, it is so non-representative of the population of not only Rutgers University, but New Brunswick and vicinity.

9. Lincoln Elementary School

Lincoln Elementary School is an elementary school located on Bartlett Street in New Brunswick New Jersey, sandwiched between two of the liveliest streets at Rutgers, Easton avenue and College Avenue. Established in 1910, Lincoln Elementary serves as the foundation for the Latino community in New Brunswick. Some classes even consist of entirely Latino students and are taught in Spanish.The faculty that works there is open-minded, devoted and caring, and the school encourages engagement with the community of New Brunswick, from the Police to Rutgers itself. The school also wears its largely Latino identity with pride, celebrating the Hispanic Heritage that the majority of its students have. The school is severely underfunded, resulting in some teachers paying for their own materials without promise of reimbursement, and the surrounding neighborhood is impoverished and unemployment rates here are well above average.

10. La Catrina

La Catrina, located at 144 Easton Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey, embodies a successful blend of the two cultures. Eating Mexican food, listening to the reggaeton and salsa playing in the background, and conversing with the owner gives you a feel of Mexican culture. Likewise, the internal decorations depict the cultural significance of the Day of the Dead. At the same time, the restaurant competes against others in an ever intense market in search of accomplishing its American Dream while catering to a U.S. market. Nevertheless, La Catrina demonstrates that although its location constitutes a diasporic identity, its culture represents a transnational one.

11. Esquina Latina Restaurant & Lounge

Esquina Latina is a restaurant and lounge located on Liberty Street in a popular area of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The restaurant is located 10-15 minutes away from the College Avenue campus of Rutgers University. The site was opened in August of 2015 and is predominately Cuban but incorporates a mix of many other Latin cultures. This restaurant is meant to represent Latinos and Hispanics in the New Brunswick area, a location with an already large Hispanic community. The location is off of the popular roadway/ highway NJ 18 Service Road and is publicly accessible from 11:30am until 11:00pm.

12. Bravo Supermarket

Bravo Supermarket is a food market found in New Brunswick New Jersey, a chain store that has been in business since the 1960s. Where each Bravo supermarket is independently owned and locally run, it makes every store an unique indicator for the culture of its immediate area. Despite the chain aspect of Bravo you can be sure to find what you need there; along with the influence of the growing Latino community in New Brunswick New Jersey.

13. Our Lady of Mount Carmel RC Church / Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a Roman Catholic church on Morris St. in New Brunswick, right off of George Street. It’s located directly behind the 7-Eleven and the Rockoff Hall apartments. This congregation became a reality in 1977, and it has “always been known as a National Hispanic Parish.” (www.olmtcarmelonline.com/english.html) The parishioners are currently some of the most important people to this site, who are mostly Hispanic, with the primary ethnicities being Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Ecuadorians. The significance of Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen is the fact that it is a center of Hispanic culture that comes together at once a week for mass, and once every now and then for very big moments such as baptisms and weddings. This church is publicly accessible, but it’s definitely not the easiest of places to find. Mass is celebrated there 7 days a week, and completely in Spanish. (Rabinowitz)This site promotes community through its ministries and is visible in the group effort that is made by parishioners weekly in order to set up for and celebrate a Sunday mass. This church is run entirely by Hispanics, and its masses are celebrated solely in Spanish.

14. Joyce Kilmer Park (Mercado Esperanza)

Joyce Kilmer Park has a different cultural scene from other parks in the New Brunswick area. The park is easily accessible and is used for many recreational activities which include tables for family picnics, basketball courts, a baseball court, a softball field, a water park as well as a children's playground equipped with a jungle gym and many slides making this place an ideal location to bring the family as you would evidently see the ambient community atmosphere. Many cultural activities also take place here as well.

15. Raíces Cultural Center

Raíces means Roots Raíces Cultural Center is a New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation that works to preserve Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Caribbean cultures as reflected in music, art, dance, history and the natural arts. Raíces Cultural Center’s principal goal is the investigation, compilation, documentation, preservation, and dissemination of traditional Caribbean culture through art, history, and ecology.

16. "Dreams of Our Children" Mural

Officially displayed in its final form in 2018, "Dreams of Our Children" is a mural on the building at the intersection of Jersey Avenue and French Street, across from both the Walgreen shopping center and the War Memorial Park in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The mural displays a mother standing with her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, along with a father watching over his son in a toy car. It celebrates the vibrancy and resilience of Latino immigrant families, particularly through the lens of Oaxacan Mexican culture. The two-story high mural is painted brightly with colors of yellow, red, and blue, with the intent to further beautify the area, by representing the numerous colors of the culture. The tenacity of the Latino population that migrated to the area in the 1990s, is honored through this visual representation.

17. Puerto Rican Action Board

The Puerto Rican Action Board is a community organization offering assistance to diverse central New Jersey residents. The organization began in 1971 as a group of volunteers offering English classes to those who would need it. The organization began by teaching English to the recently arrived Latino community and has now evolved to helping all diverse. This is an important site of growth in New Jersey for the Latino community and now other members of the New Brunswick community are finding assistance through this organization. This site is located in New Brunswick on Jersey Avenue, New Brunswick is a hub for the Latino community, which makes the site very accessible.

18. Latino Leadership Alliance Headquarters

The Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey is the premier political and societal organization for the advancement of Latino people within the state of New Jersey. Its headquarters is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey but seeks to elevate the societal position of Latinos across the state. This is done through political, educational, societal, medical, and communal means. This organization reaches out to the Latino population of New Jersey and combines their voices into one predominate, mission to champion causes that will benefit the population it represents. Through this political outreach, the LLANJ brings the Latino voices to the main stage and ensures they are not drowned out by opposition.

This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.

Mapping Latino Caribbean North New Jersey

Created by William Garcia-Medina on December 16th 2019, 7:25:42 pm.

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Description

In this tour, you will enjoy a tour of Latino and Caribbean history in North New Jersey. This heritage tour begins in Paterson and ends in New Brunswick. The true story of North New Jersey can only be understood by telling the story of Latino/Caribbean experiences. Finally, these designated places in the tour are nostalgic about the era before and after television, where everyone in the community continues to work together, talk to each other and afterwards, gather around these places to support and entertain themselves. Therefore, the results of their collective efforts despite discrimination and racism to succeed in their journey is worth exploring. We hope that you will enjoy the journey.

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Latinx History

Entries on This Tour

Mapping Latino Caribbean North New Jersey

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