Humans of The Bronx
“ My family came here from Puerto Rico when i was young. I grew up here in the Bronx and my family never went back, not even to visit. I don’t remember anything from living in Puerto Rico. I got older and had my own kids here too. To support my family I use to be an elevator mechanic for very fancy buildings downtown. I made a living off of that until my body allowed me to, having to retire at some point. Years went on and my kids had their own kids and started their own lives. I was ready to travel, take time for myself and enjoy whatever I had left. I built a vacation home in Dominican Republic and still go there whenever i feel like i need a get away. Now, i live alone and i’m perfectly fine, i like it. My daughters can come visit whenever, they know where i live. I love living here, everybody knows me. I’ve been here for years. Ive watched the kids in my neighborhood grow to be nice people.”
“I’ve been a hairstylist since I lived in Dominican Republic. I was young and doing hair was the only way I knew how to support my family and in a way it still is. I’ve lived here in the Bronx for almost 25 years, and here in this area for about 22 years. My clients know me as Jackie, everyone knows me from working in the salon in the corner. The current owners actually bought the salon from the previous owners years ago with me still being an employee. some of my clients go way back to before I even had a daughter. All my old clients know her and keep an eye out for her when they see her around. I don’t really like living here but i’ve never looked into living anywhere else. I gave most of my life to my job, never really took time to look at anywhere else to live. Sometimes I do regret letting my job take over my entire life but, mostly everyone i’ve met was thanks to being a hairstylist in my community and for that i’m grateful.
“ For Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday my family would meet up. At our little family reunions with a little bit of liquor everyone would start to tell funny stories. I was too young to really understand what they were talking about but, I was still so intrigued. When i got older I noticed I wasn’t necessarily interested in anything they were saying. I was entertained with the effort they put into the delivery and the crowd- storyteller response my uncles would get when they would tell each other stories. I was young and very observant of everything around me. I remember being so impressed with the way my family would tell stories. I didn’t need to know what they we’re talking about, it was the way they said it. Now that i’m an actor I find comfort in knowing this is something I wanted to do before I even knew exactly what it was. Im still just as intrigued today. “
