Talk Bronx New York

Author Abraham Rodriguez delves into Barrio noir in “South by South Bronx”

A mysterious blond appears naked in the bed of an aimless man who has frequent blackouts. She’s got a pair of Manolo Blahniks, a secret and a gun.

This scenario would fit right in with the hardboiled detective novels from the 1950s, the ones starring cynical gumshoes like Mike Hammer or Philip Marlowe.

Instead, it’s the opening to Abraham Rodríguez’s new novel, “South by South Bronx” (Akashic Books, $15.95), which intersects concerns about terrorism, changes in the drug trade and gentrification with Hitchcockian double-crosses and a mountain of cash.

The novel, Rodríguez’s third, takes the Bronx-born writer’s longtime concerns about Puerto Rican identity and street-level realism and meshes them with the structure of a classic pulp fiction narrative.

“It wasn’t a conscious thing, ‘I’m going to do a mystery book,’” says Rodríguez, whose first novel, the gritty and lyrical “Spidertown,” was published in 1994.

“I always wanted to do something with a Puerto Rican cop, and I’m obsessed with the concept of dragging Puerto Ricans into Americana,” he adds over the phone from Northern California, where he began his book tour last week.

Tonight at 7, Rodríguez will be reading at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca, 97 Warren St. — the first of five book presentations in New York (see below).

“South by South Bronx” is divided into two narratives, set off by the use of different typefaces.

Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

A Sidewalk Pope in The Bronx

Pope Benedict XVI will be in the Bronx on Sunday morning when he celebrates Mass at Yankee Stadium. But a short distance away, he has been making appearances all week on the sidewalk in front of the Mount Carmel Catholic Book Shop, at 627 East 187th Street.

It is actually his cardboard likeness, placed in front of the store by Neil Fusco, a co-owner of the shop. Judged by the reactions of passers-by, it pleases many people with no tickets to any pope-related events this weekend. They speak to the pope’s likeness or genuflect or stop and pay their respects, on this block next to the many Italian restaurants and bakeries on Arthur Avenue.

“For a lot of people, it’s as close as they’re going to come to meeting the pope,” Mr. Fusco said.

“Everyone wants a piece of the pope while he’s here,” he added.

Aside from communing with the life-size cutout, one can also connect with the pope by stepping inside the shop and picking up a memento of the pope’s visit.

Mr. Fusco is selling “Property of Pope Benedict” T-shirts and “I Love Pope Benedict” bumper stickers, as well as coffee mugs and aromatic “Pope-Pourri” pillows bearing the pope’s likeness. The stuff has been going like hotcakes, he said. It is a perfect example of how the pope offers spiritual guidance but also lets his followers with their livelihoods.

“He’s really providing for us,” Mr. Fusco said.

SOURCE: NYTimes.com Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Papal Visit 2008: Bronx Store Cashes In On Papal Visit

A life-size cutout of Pope Benedict XVI is causing quite a stir on East 187th Street, just days ahead of the real pope’s visit to the city.

The owners of the Mount Carmel Catholic books and gifts store started putting the cut-out outside their store about a month ago, to generate excitement about the pope’s visit and draw customers to purchase pope memorabilia.

“We knew we couldn’t get the pope himself, so we got the second best thing, and it’s been a big hit,” said store owner Richard Janniello.

Neighborhood residents, many of whom will not get to see the pope himself, said they really enjoy the cutout.

“No difference, at least we see him,” said one local resident.

“I think it’s a good idea and it is an honor that he comes to our neighborhood,” said another.

“That’s him right here, can’t be nobody else, and I’m right next to him,” said a third.

The bookstore is selling a wide variety of pope merchandise, including baseball caps, coffee mugs, even something called pope-pourri.

The store’s owners say the items are flying off the shelves, because people want a piece of the Holy Father’s visit.

“Everyone wants to get involved in it, wants to be part of it, and wants to be part of the family, so to speak,” said co-owner Neil Fusco.

Father Terry Messer of the Franciscan Friars for the Renewal says it all comes down to spreading the word about the pope’s arrival.

“Everybody wears t-shirts that say I’ve been everywhere, but if they want to wear a t-shirt that says Pope Benedict XVI then that’s great, you know,” said Messer.

He said the more fanfare surrounding the historic visit this week the better.

SOURCE: NY1 Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

 

 

The Bronx Library Center is a popular branch of the expanding New York Public Library system.

 An area designated for children at the Bronx Library Center.

NY Public Library Announces $1 Billion Expansion 

Last week, when the New York Public Library announced a $1 billion expansion, including a transformation of its flagship building on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street using a $100 million donation by the Wall Street financier Stephen A. Schwarzman, it signaled both a great opportunity and a great temptation.

It is a great opportunity because with such resources, what might not be possible? The library’s “main branch” (as I still refer to it), with its famed reading room, has become ever more alluring in recent years, but there is so much to be done to expand its majestic promise outward.

Not too long ago I stumbled away from a small branch library in high-minded despair; it seemed to specialize in stained paperback best sellers while shelves of classic fiction were stocked with scarcely more than “Oliver Twist.” Barnes & Noble, I thought, offered better browsing possibilities, and maybe that was why its stores seemed to be supplanting libraries as gathering places where books were read and conversations begun.

It seemed as if neighborhood libraries, like those that are part of the New York Public Library as well as the Brooklyn and Queens library systems, were doomed to become less compelling than a retail chain.

Read more..

(No Ratings Yet)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post

Born In The Bronx

Joe Conzo: Co-Author Of The Book Born In The Bronx

Born In The Bronx .. Hip Hop’s Baby Picture Album  

Joe Conzo accredited to being Hip Hop’s 1st photographer took a minute to talk it up with Talk Bronx about his new book Born In The Bronx and the book signing.

Through Born in the Bronx, Joe Conzo presents a unique cross-section of an explosive and experimental time in music history. Born in the Bronx is a striking anthology of Hip Hop’s baby steps. Not only does it capture the emergence of a burgeoning culture but also the fashion and character of the surrounding community through rare photographs of MC’s and DJs to records, flyers, and other ephemera.

Read more..

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
 Loading ...
 Email This Post