The Action Lab is excited to be co-sponsoring the expansion of the Bronx Documentary Center’s 7th Annual Latin American Foto Festival to three new boroughs as part of our Liberation Summer programming! This is the festival's first expansion beyond the South Bronx. Join us at iconic cultural anchors in historically Latin American neighborhoods: Jackson Heights (Queens), Loisaida (Manhattan), and Los Sures (Brooklyn).
🎉 JULY 21: LOS SURES RECEPTION 🎉
📽 SCREENINGS:
🕔 3PM I “Los Sures” + “Toñita's”
🎵 LIVE MUSIC:
🕓 5PM I La Plena del Puente
📍LOCATION: Toñita's aka Caribbean Social Club (44 Grand St, Brooklyn)
Marking 50 years as a beloved community anchor, the Caribbean Social Club stands as the last of its kind in Williamsburg’s Southside, a neighborhood almost entirely transformed. Founded by Maria Antonia Cay, affectionately known as Toñita, the club not only serves as a window to the past but also bridges larger themes of migration and displacement experienced by Latin American communities within and beyond New York City.
From young Puerto Ricans leaving the island to new waves of Latin Americans seeking the same opportunities previous generations sought, to the local community that originally established Los Sures steadily being displaced by gentrification, Toñita’s remains a cultural stronghold.
It's not just a social club; it’s a free home-cooked meal, a game of dominoes or pool, a collectively sung salsa or reggaeton anthem, a local museum, a sanctuary, a home away from home. Truly, the last of its kind.
📽 Films:
"Los Sures" (1984): Diego Echeverria's film portrays the Southside community's struggles with poverty, drugs, gang violence, crime, racial tension, and inadequate resources.
“Toñita's” (2014): Is a documentary portrait of the last Puerto Rican social club in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, featuring its regulars and the beloved community matriarch Maria Toñita. Produced by Union Docs
🗓️ LAFF On View: July 11-28, 2024
More details here!
