1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:04,040 Speaker 1: It's May twenty twenty second, and the world is raving 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:12,119 Speaker 1: about the release of Bad Bunny's new album Umberanosinthi. During 3 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: his promotion in New York City, the king of reggaeton 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: or pop music in general, basically chose to celebrate the 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: lunch in a quite unexpected place. He's in the modest 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Puerto Rican bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, decorated with led Christmas lights, 7 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: flowery tablecloths, and walls full of family photos, baseball posters, 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: and framed newspaper clips. It could be your grandma's living room. 9 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: Bad Bunny is next to this tiny old woman with 10 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: freezy white blonde hair who's always smiling. All of her 11 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: fingers are taken over by these giant, colorful rings. She 12 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: exposes them in front of her chest for the photos, 13 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 1: like a peacock opening its tale, and Bad Bunny imitates her. 14 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: People shout Larina the Queen, but Bunny describes her as 15 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: the real Flow. Her name is Marie Antonia Kai, but 16 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 1: everyone in New York City knows her as Tonita. She's 17 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: the owner of the Caribbean Social Club, a gathering for 18 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,959 Speaker 1: Puerto Ricans and other Latino communities since the nineteen seventies, 19 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: and it's also the last Latino social club standing in Brooklyn. 20 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: Bad Bunny is behind the bar next to Tonita, drinking 21 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: Amdaia beer, the Puerto Rican label and serving cocktails in 22 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: plastic cups. Having a Puerto Rican star like Bad Bunny 23 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: spending the night at Tonita's was a big deal for 24 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: its por equan owner and her community. And he's not 25 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: the only one. Jennifer Lopez, Madonna or Maluma I've shown 26 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: up at the club as well. But a year after 27 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: Bad Bunny's visit, Tonita herself was in court fighting to 28 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: keep running the club the way she's always done it. 29 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 2: From Pudromidia and TRX. It's let you know, Usa, I'm 30 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 2: Maria Rosa today otra nocee at Donitas, now the last 31 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 2: Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn, and a Bad Bunny 32 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 2: favorite is actually fighting erasure. The Brooklyn based Caribbean Social 33 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 2: club is lovingly known simply as Donitas, named after its owner. 34 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 2: After it turned fifty years old last June, it still 35 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 2: is a local hotspot for a loyal community, including Puerto 36 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 2: Rican celebrities like Bad Bunny himself. Bad Bunny visited the 37 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 2: club in janu a this year while in town to 38 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 2: promote his new album Deviti dar Maasvotos. After making his 39 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 2: surprise appearance at the club. At another appearance to make, 40 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: this time on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and 41 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: Bad Bunny, brought Donita with him. Today with Donita's back 42 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 2: in the Linlight, We're going to bring you this story 43 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:41,040 Speaker 2: which we first aired last year. The Brooklyn neighborhood known 44 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 2: as Williamsburg has long been known as a center for 45 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 2: the Hasidic Jewish community. Recently, it's all about young artists 46 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 2: and creative professionals, mostly white and upper class, who have 47 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 2: taken over the neighborhood. For many decades, though, the south 48 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,920 Speaker 2: side of Williamsburg was also known as Los Sudis because 49 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 2: the majority of its southern streets from South first to 50 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 2: South eleven were populated by people from Puerto Rico and 51 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,600 Speaker 2: later from the Dominican Republic. The remains of this vibrant 52 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 2: Latino community are fading though. In South Williamsburg. Over the 53 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 2: last two decades, gentrification has taken over the Salsap block parties, 54 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 2: the baseball games, and the domino competitions, But there's still 55 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 2: one place on Grand Street that is fighting to keep 56 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 2: the legacy of Los Sudis alive the Caribbean Social Club, 57 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 2: which is also known as Donitas. Over the last two years, 58 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 2: noise complaints and inspections have been on the rise, challenging 59 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 2: the future of this Puerto Rican haven as the neighborhood 60 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 2: keeps on changing and becoming less and less affordable. The 61 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 2: median sales price of a home in Williamsburg is one 62 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 2: point two million dollars, and to rent a two bedroom 63 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 2: apartment which set you back about six thousand dollars a 64 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 2: month on average. Latino USA senior producer Marta Martinez, who 65 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 2: you heard from at the top of the show, recently 66 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: spent some time at the Caribbean Social Club as its 67 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 2: owner Tonita, went through yet another round of obstacles to 68 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 2: keep running her club the way she's done it for 69 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 2: nearly fifty years. 70 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 1: Here's Martha with the story. I am on Grand Street 71 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: on my way to Tonitas, and the first thing I'm 72 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: seeing is quite an upscale hairdresser on the corner. It's 73 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: a bright, chilly October afternoon in Williamsburg, and a walk 74 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: on one of its main avenues is pretty telling about 75 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: what kind of people live in this Brooklyn neighborhood today. 76 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: Next there is a men's suit store. It's called the 77 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: Black Tux and definitely looks quite expensive. But I'm not 78 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,239 Speaker 1: here to get a fancy haircut or buy an expensive suit. 79 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: I can't even remember the last time I wore any 80 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: form of clothing. I'm here to visit the last Puerto 81 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: Rican social club, still standing in the south side of Williamsburg. 82 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: At the height of the social clubs era in the 83 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,720 Speaker 1: late nineteen eighties, there were more than a thousand underground 84 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: clubs in New York City. And then right here, it's Tonitas. 85 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: Doesn't say Tonita's outside because it has Caribbean sport bar 86 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: and grill, and you'd probably not get in if you 87 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,080 Speaker 1: didn't know what it is. It's a three story building 88 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: with a dark brown facade, and the bar's name is 89 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: on these gold and black stickers, the ones you can 90 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,480 Speaker 1: buy at the hardware store, with the letters loosely aligned 91 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: like crooked teeth. The window actually looks closed, so it's 92 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: kind of hard to see unless you know why you're here. 93 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: Inside is the Caribbean Social Club. When you enter, it 94 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: feels familiar. There's hardly any empty space on the walls, 95 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: full of portraits of Tonita, awards, family photos, baseball memorabilia, 96 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: and of course, Puerto Rican flags. A worn down pool 97 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: table dominates the center of the space and in the 98 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: back for people play dominoes on a table especially designed 99 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: for the game, with holes to position your pieces so 100 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: that the other players can't see them. 101 00:07:55,000 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 3: Milaki, Yeah, doesn't I think? Or looking ground three. 102 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: This is Marie Antonia Kai, better known as Tonita, the 103 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: club owner. She's sitting on a high stool near the entrance, 104 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: wearing a turquoise blouse. She has a dusty bland mob 105 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: of curly hair carefully blown up. Next to her. There's 106 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: a giant Puerto Rican flag covering the shop window and 107 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: two big pots still warm. I told the Oh yes, casina. 108 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 3: Ay blanc a. 109 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,640 Speaker 1: This is what Tonita has been doing since the pandemic. 110 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: She cooks every day in her apartment upstairs where she lives, 111 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: and at three PM, when she opens the club, she 112 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: brings the pots down and offers food to anyone who's hungry. 113 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: The menu today consists of chicken stew with white rice 114 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:49,199 Speaker 1: and beans. 115 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 3: Yes, not exactly as implument As. 116 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,439 Speaker 1: Says. Everyone is welcome to eat for free, and they 117 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: don't have to buy a drink if they don't want to. 118 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 3: Well, because it's you. We gotta vein wo like Cosinomi. 119 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: She's spending the same amount of money she used to 120 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: order delivery, and now with those same twenty or twenty 121 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: five dollars. Everyone eats on weekdays, she closes around eleven pm, 122 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: but the real fun happens on the weekends. On Fridays 123 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: and Saturdays, the night goes on for much longer, until 124 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 1: three am or even later. People drink, chat, dance, claypool 125 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: and dominoes. I asked Anita whether she gets tired because 126 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: Tnita is eighty four years old. 127 00:09:55,520 --> 00:10:04,559 Speaker 3: You know, mean being condemned to the same thing. 128 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: It's reel easy. She says she doesn't get tired during 129 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: those late nights. She just loves seeing so many young 130 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,719 Speaker 1: people gathering in her club and being happy. That's when 131 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: she dresses up to conceal her age. Tonita says, Impress. 132 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 3: Maulavio visib. 133 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: She puts on her iconic rings, these shiny, fake gold 134 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 1: and crystal rings, many of them shaped like animals that 135 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: are often as big as Tonita's whole finger. One of 136 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: them is a black and gold tiger. Another one is 137 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,679 Speaker 1: a turtle with a pink and diamond shell. Her extravagant 138 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:52,559 Speaker 1: looks may attract people's attention, but Tonita is actually quite private. 139 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: She doesn't speak much. She rarely shares anything about her 140 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: personal life, and she only has nice things to say 141 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: about anyone and everyone, Like when I ask her about 142 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:14,839 Speaker 1: the intriguing rings, what's behind them? And all she says 143 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: is that she just put them on one day, and 144 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: because everyone liked them, she kept wearing them. It feels 145 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: that whatever Tonita wants to say, she says it through 146 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,360 Speaker 1: her club, through its walls, and the way she's always 147 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: there to serve her patrons. Tnita's sister is sitting by 148 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: the domino table, and she doesn't want to speak to 149 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: me either. 150 00:11:46,200 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 4: I'll tell you, but someone else does. Kaki No, I 151 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 4: mean Kariaky. 152 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,959 Speaker 1: Octavio is one of Tonita's regular customers. He's also from 153 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: Puerto Rico and he's seventy eight years old. Octavio says 154 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: he comes every day as soon as Tonita opens and 155 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: after eating, he plays some rounds of dominoes with his friends. 156 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: He's been around since it opened in the nineteen seventies. 157 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 4: Well Campello. 158 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:27,719 Speaker 1: Octavia wears a T shirt that says Caribbean Social Sports, 159 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 1: besides dancing sports have always been vital to the club, 160 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: especially in those early years. Octavia says they even wont 161 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:42,120 Speaker 1: Domino championships in the neighborhood. Yeah teko one familiar familia 162 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: at heart. Octavia keeps coming to the club for the 163 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 1: same reason. So many Puerto Ricans keep coming because they 164 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: feel their family here. And Tonita says it's not only 165 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: Bordiquas Latine is from all over the continent and the 166 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: city come here. 167 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 3: A Domino and Bia and they come at the room 168 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 3: of Landonro, the Madando Moviniento, it says Interval, the Italian city. Okay, 169 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 3: in the Criminando Borida. 170 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: People come because they feel welcome, they feel happy here 171 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:27,200 Speaker 1: and see from discriminations in Brazilros criminal Ari. Tnita adds 172 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,439 Speaker 1: that it's always been like that at the Caribbean Social Club, 173 00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:34,680 Speaker 1: there's no discrimination. It wasn't so in the neighborhood or 174 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: New York City in general. Really in the nineteen fifties 175 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,319 Speaker 1: after World War Two, when hundreds of thousands of Puerto 176 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,680 Speaker 1: Ricans arrived in New York City, fleeing poverty, hunger, and 177 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: lack of jobs on the island. 178 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 5: It was the first airborne mass migration in American history. 179 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 5: A dozen daily flights ferried Puerto Ricans from San Juan 180 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 5: to Idle Wild and LaGuardia airports. 181 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: Nearly one million Puerto Ricans arrived in New York City 182 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 1: in those years. When they landed, Puerto Ricans faced discriminations 183 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: for their race, class, language, and lack of formal education. 184 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: Donita was only sixteen years old when she arrived in 185 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty six. 186 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 3: Yovena sola Yovina with a uk a mamatravaja, I know 187 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 3: the AGAs. 188 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: She came on her own to work as a babysitter 189 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: in the Bronx. Then in the nineteen sixties she moved 190 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: to the South side of Williams work Big industries like 191 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: the Navy Yards and the Domino Sugar Factory were hungry 192 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: for cheap labor, and Puerto Ricans became one of its 193 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: major workforces. Like many other Puerto Rican women at the time, 194 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: Tonita worked as a simstress at a skirt factory. The 195 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: area became known as Los URIs Spanish for the southerns 196 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: referring to the people coming from the south, but also 197 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: the stretch from South First to South eleventh Streets in Williamsburg. 198 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: Because the people living in these humble buildings and unkept 199 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: streets were mostly Puerto Ricans, similar to El Barrio in 200 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: Harlem or the South Bronx, Losudas became an enclave for 201 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: poor Latino communities who were treated as second class citizens 202 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:21,720 Speaker 1: and pushed away from other neighborhoods. Tonita rented an apartment 203 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: on Grand Street from a Jewish woman. They became close, 204 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: and Tonita cooked for her landlord's daughter. When the owner 205 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: grew older, in nineteen seventy four, she sold the building 206 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 1: to Tonita for five thousand dollars. That would be more 207 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: than thirty thousand dollars today. Tonita loved the neighborhood and 208 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: she had no plans to go back to Puerto Rico, 209 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: so she made the effort to purchase a building. What 210 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: she loved about the street was that the children were 211 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 1: always playing with balls. 212 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 3: Cohe and he didn't content to Consuli. 213 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: She would throw them small balls out the window and 214 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: they would pick them up. Baseball is actually one of 215 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: Tanita's deepest passions. In Los Ures there was a baseball team, 216 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: and she wanted to create a space where they could 217 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,440 Speaker 1: hang out, similar to Puerto Rico's chincoros or simple bars, 218 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: where families and friends gathered to eat typical food, drink 219 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: and dance. That's when she decided to open the Caribbean. 220 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:44,479 Speaker 3: Social Club Studio. On the film Ino Ea Boy. 221 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: Club, Puerto Rican social clubs became more popular as more 222 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: bodiquas arrived in the city. They were mostly informal, sometimes 223 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 1: even held in someone's living room, and they often didn't 224 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: have licenses to sell alcohol or officially run as a bar. 225 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: The Nita was also one of the few women who 226 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,679 Speaker 1: owned social clubs in the city. She says she's always 227 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 1: been the only one giving orders here, the Sempracola manager, 228 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 1: the local numand As industrialization moved away from the cities 229 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: in the nineteen eighties, more Puerto Ricans lost their low 230 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: paying jobs, and crime rose with the lack of economic opportunity. 231 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: By nineteen ninety, nearly half of all Puerto Ricans in 232 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,880 Speaker 1: the US were living in poverty. It's hard to find 233 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: information about the history of laws suits, in particular about 234 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: their achievements and their culture, but also their struggles. There's 235 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 1: probably more information hanging on intimate places like Tonita's walls 236 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 1: and the stories told by their longtime clients than on 237 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 1: the internet or in libraries. 238 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:01,399 Speaker 3: Players camera at one ten, you can't go on, you 239 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 3: don't get home. 240 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: And me up. The richest source I could find on 241 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: what it was like to live in South Williamsburg in 242 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties is a documentary called Lo Sudis, directed 243 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,119 Speaker 1: by Diego Cheverria, a Chilean filmmaker who grew up in 244 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: Puerto Rico. 245 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,400 Speaker 6: As you noticed the neighborhood of struggle that we've been 246 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:22,360 Speaker 6: struggling through. 247 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: Kids very want strouggle. The film says that in the 248 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,880 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties there were some twenty thousand Puerto Ricans living 249 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: in Losudis. The film paints a bittersweet picture of those times. 250 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,400 Speaker 1: There was gang violence and joblessness. 251 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,640 Speaker 7: You can't trust nobody yet I always look loved to wait, 252 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 7: how are you going to make that money? 253 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:42,239 Speaker 8: You know? 254 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: Single mothers surviving on welfare or trying to keep their 255 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: children away from drugs. 256 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,639 Speaker 8: Sometimes allow my light, my guests, my telephone, my rent 257 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 8: so that I could have something to give to my kids. 258 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: It's not easy living on welfare. It's kind of humiliating, 259 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: but also block parties and break dance competitions. For many, 260 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:08,399 Speaker 1: social clubs like Tonitas became a safe haven from the 261 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: increasingly violent streets and a city that kept pushing them 262 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:18,880 Speaker 1: down and into the poorest, most abandoned corners. Tonitas they 263 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: could celebrate their roots, their music, their language. They could 264 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: just be proud of themselves, and in many ways, it 265 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: still feels this way today. There's one thing Tunita misses 266 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: from those early days, though, the kids playing on Grand. 267 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 3: Street, the familiar very young gener. 268 00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 2: Coming up on Latino USA. After surviving the violence and 269 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 2: economic depression of the nineteen eighties, Donitas now faces new 270 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 2: challenges to keep its stores open, gentrification and aging. Stay 271 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 2: with us, Yes, hey, we're back. Before the break, we 272 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 2: learned about how Marie Antoonia Gai, better known as Donita, 273 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 2: opened the Caribbean Social Club in South Williamsburg and what 274 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 2: it was like to be in this predominantly Puerto Rican 275 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 2: community in the nineteen seventies and eighties. Since then, the 276 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 2: club faced many challenges, from the rise of gang violence 277 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 2: to economic uncertainty, with many Briquas wanting to leave the area. 278 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 2: As the two thousands approached Tonita's and Los Suits faced 279 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,840 Speaker 2: a different kind of challenge, how to stay in a 280 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 2: now highly desired neighborhood. Latino USA Senior producer Marta Martinez 281 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 2: takes the story from here. 282 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, Yeah, We're. 283 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: At the Caribbean Social Club and Tonita is supervising some 284 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: floral renovations in the back where the long bar is. 285 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: This is where she sits on the weekend nights, serving 286 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:46,479 Speaker 1: beers and mixed drinks. He Tonita says, she just helps 287 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: like everyone else. Everyone helping at the club is doing 288 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: it voluntarily. She doesn't have anyone on staff. She just 289 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: keeps running things the way she used to when she 290 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 1: first opened, like a living room, welcoming anyone who wants 291 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: to come in. In the nineteen nineties and early two thousands, 292 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: young artists and musicians, mostly white and upper middle class, 293 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:13,239 Speaker 1: started moving to South Williamsburg. The area was cheap and 294 00:22:13,359 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: close to Manhattan, so the challenges for Los Suits completely 295 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: transformed with the change of the century, starting with the 296 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: erasure of its Spanish name. 297 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:32,280 Speaker 3: The Rialdo Sura Boge Henzil Cleese, the Cambia Bara Williams 298 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 3: Very Bar mahem Fassi Alcidio Innosi. 299 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: Real estate agents started relabeling the area as Williamsburg, not Louis. 300 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:48,680 Speaker 1: There's a way to make more money. 301 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 3: Buenaburg Micha Cavandola. 302 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: In Tonita says change has been mostly positive. A lot 303 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: of houses that were abandoned have been renovated, and the 304 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: neighborhood looks nicer now. Rents skyrocketed fast, turning Williamsburg into 305 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,640 Speaker 1: the most gentrified area in New York City. The average 306 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: rent grew by almost eighty percent between nineteen ninety and 307 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: twenty fourteen. 308 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 3: La Majoria, La Mi Mahine and Los Uri ran On 309 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 3: Pocolo can combil it Is at Chilnoi and Majorias in 310 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:43,720 Speaker 3: Puerto Rican. 311 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:48,680 Speaker 1: Tnita says, the neighborhood has changed, but around South eight 312 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: and South ninth Streets, most of our neighbors are still 313 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: Puerto Rican. It's hard to really assess how much gentrification 314 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: has affected Puerto Ricans living in losures to put that 315 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 1: displacement into figures. According to the latest census data, about 316 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: twenty five percent of the neighbors in Williamsburg identify as Hispanic. 317 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: That's over twenty three thousand people and nearly half of 318 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: them were Puerto Ricans. The erasure is happening symbolically and physically. 319 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,920 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty three, neighbors of Losuds found that the 320 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: gram Avenue street signs had suddenly lost its other name, 321 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: Avenue of Puerto Rico. 322 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 9: What about a fifteen block stretch of Graham Avenue in 323 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,640 Speaker 9: East Williamsburg. A sign was about the recognition of one's heritage, 324 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 9: one's roots. But about three months ago, the city began 325 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 9: removing the Avenue of Puerto Rico signs, sparking confusion and anger. 326 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: Real estate developers had been pushing for this erasure for 327 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: more than a decade in the up and coming neighborhood. 328 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 4: We're not going anywhere. 329 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,600 Speaker 3: When I promise my mom and all the pioneers that, 330 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 3: over my dead body, will that sign be removed. 331 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,399 Speaker 1: And as long as I live. The city put the 332 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:14,000 Speaker 1: signs back the day after neighbors complained, saying it had 333 00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: been a mistake. Donita says she's been offered millions to 334 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,040 Speaker 1: sell her building on Grand Street. The building next door 335 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: has an estimated value of two point five million dollars 336 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 1: on so low you know when you know, yeah, drunky lucking, 337 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: Tnita says, She's not interested in selling. She doesn't need to. 338 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,720 Speaker 1: She makes enough from collecting rent from her tenants and 339 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 1: the earnings at the club. She just wants to keep 340 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: doing what makes her happy, being here at the club, 341 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: serving her community. Because it's not only about. 342 00:25:51,160 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 3: Her, sofian Okki the open selling you from me. 343 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,360 Speaker 1: She worries about what would happen to her tenants, because 344 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: if she were to sell, they would turn down the 345 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: club and build a big condo apartment building, and it 346 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: wouldn't be her Puerto Rican tenants who would be able 347 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: to afford living in those new apartments. So she keeps 348 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: offering free food to anyone who comes in, and keeps 349 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:27,960 Speaker 1: selling beers at three dollars. That hasn't made her particularly 350 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: popular among the new bars that have opened more recently 351 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: on Grand Street, where a glass of wine can cost 352 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 1: seventeen dollars. Richer neighbors mean other types of challenges, more 353 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:46,120 Speaker 1: noise complaints, more inspections, and sometimes those can get more serious. 354 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: On June first, twenty twenty three, Tonita is at the 355 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:01,159 Speaker 1: New York Criminal Court summons in Lower Manhattan. She's facing 356 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:04,719 Speaker 1: five minute demeanor charges after a seat inspector found at 357 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: the club had violated its alcohol license, like allowing people 358 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,200 Speaker 1: to leave the bar with alcoholic drinks, and that she 359 00:27:12,359 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: wasn't keeping any finance records. So there are not finds 360 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,520 Speaker 1: that would put Tonita's existence at risk. They would probably 361 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: amount to about five thousand dollars total, but Tunita's community 362 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: understood it as a threat, a symbolic attack on Tonita's 363 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,440 Speaker 1: club and her desire to keep doing things the way 364 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,880 Speaker 1: she always has, serving cheap beer, having dance parties, and yes, 365 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: being loud. Former Latino USA producer Patricia Subardan, who started 366 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: reporting this story before me, attended the hearing in June. 367 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 1: Tonita told her it was the first time she was 368 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: standing in front of a judge. Wow. Tonita is wearing 369 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: a black blazer and a white shirt, far from her 370 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: usual bright colors. Her makeup is also this great a 371 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: green eye shadow and soft pink lipstick, and she's not 372 00:28:04,119 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: wearing any of her iconic rings. What's really interesting is 373 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,280 Speaker 1: that there's quite a big group who came to support her, 374 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,960 Speaker 1: about twenty people, and they're mostly young Latinos and Latinas 375 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:17,680 Speaker 1: like Jolly Brown Sepita. 376 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 9: I'm here because it's very important that we show up, 377 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 9: especially for our elders. 378 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: Jolly created an Instagram page Nova Yorkinos, where she documents 379 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 1: the stories of Latinos and Latinas in New York City. 380 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: We show up for the people who are the glue 381 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,360 Speaker 1: of our community. Donita has been doing this since the eighties, 382 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: formally informally since the seventies. It's a place where we're 383 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: allowed to come together, we're allowed to gather, we're allowed 384 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: to be and gentrification strips that away from us, the 385 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: ability to be. For David Galatza, a labor organizer, it's 386 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,239 Speaker 1: not only the club that they're trying to save by 387 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 1: being in front of the court today, it's something bigger everybody. 388 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 6: For he has a story about somebody that has been 389 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 6: displaced either from their home or their business, and that's 390 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 6: exactly the story that's happening from someone to lawsuitas and 391 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,120 Speaker 6: that's kind of make that message very clear that we're 392 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,360 Speaker 6: being displaced, we're under assault the same way that Tonita's 393 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 6: is under assault. So that hit a nerve. 394 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: Garrilla Canal is a Colombian American. She discovered the club 395 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: seven years ago and she's been going ever since. 396 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 8: The group that I used to go out with all 397 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,719 Speaker 8: the time we were all Latinas, we'd always go dancing, 398 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 8: and we'd always end our nights or our weeks at Tonita's. 399 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 8: And one by one that group has kind of left. 400 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 8: I'm like one of the only ones left here in 401 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:40,880 Speaker 8: New York. So one of them got deported back to Colombia, 402 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 8: one of them moved to Puerto Rico. 403 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: I don't know. 404 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 8: I think I owe it to that friend group as 405 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 8: well to show up for a place that meant so 406 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 8: much to us, so. 407 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 3: Seriously. 408 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: About two hours later, Tonita gets out of the court building. 409 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: The hearing lasted less than five minutes and the trial 410 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: will take place later in June. Her smile is even 411 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,959 Speaker 1: broader than usual. She's beaming with all the support around her. 412 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: If I'd be. 413 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 3: Sari, well we we. 414 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 1: Donita thanks everyone for showing up at the court on 415 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: a weekday. She says they'll remain strong. People are cheering, 416 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 1: saying the club should be treated with respect. Yeah. Back 417 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:59,480 Speaker 1: at the Caribbean Social Club, next to the Domino Stable, 418 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 1: where the veterans spend the afternoons, I meet Juan Diego'spina. 419 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 9: I guess I cost. 420 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,040 Speaker 1: A twenty seven year old Latino who recently started calling 421 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: the club home. Despite not being from Puerto Rico. He 422 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 1: was born in Colombia and has been living in New 423 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,360 Speaker 1: York City for some eight years. Fundigo was having lunch 424 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: with a friend. He comes all the way from Queens 425 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 1: at least once a week to chat with Tonita. In 426 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,480 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, a Columbian friend brought him here for the 427 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: first time. 428 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 7: So the first time I walked in here, it was 429 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 7: like a shock to me because I had been here 430 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,080 Speaker 7: for like a year, like two years. Maybe it was 431 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 7: very different to walk into a place like this in 432 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,240 Speaker 7: the middle of New York. You will never think that 433 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:45,840 Speaker 7: place like this exists. 434 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 1: It was certainly a special place for Juan Diego. The 435 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: club became so central in his life in a way 436 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,400 Speaker 1: he never expected. He met his girlfriend here five years ago. 437 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: He started collaborating with Tonita and organizing events at the club. 438 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: When he's here, he feels transported in time back to Colombia, 439 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 1: to what living in a Latin American country is like, 440 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 1: because here in New York he feels that sometimes he 441 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:17,480 Speaker 1: almost forgets about his Latin culture. Tunita's is becoming a 442 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,320 Speaker 1: quote unquote cool place in a gentrifying neighborhood, and that 443 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 1: also means more young white people coming to Tonita's. It 444 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: is more noticeable on the weekend nights when the bar 445 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: gets crowded and more famous artists wanting to be seen, 446 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:36,920 Speaker 1: like Madonna and the Colombian singer Maluma, who did a 447 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: photo shoot at the club for Rolling Stone magazine in 448 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,239 Speaker 1: twenty twenty one for Mopus This Baby, we came here 449 00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: to do business. For young latinis like Juan Diego, Tonita 450 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,480 Speaker 1: is a place that feels like home and they want 451 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 1: to protect it. Do you feel like you're part of 452 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:00,760 Speaker 1: like a resistance movement somehow? Somehow? 453 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:02,360 Speaker 7: It is, Yeah, if you want to see it that way, 454 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,440 Speaker 7: it is, But for most people. 455 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: It's just, you know, love. It seems that over time, 456 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:13,640 Speaker 1: Tunita's opened its embrace from welcoming Puerto Ricans and Dominicans 457 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: to all the newly arrived from Latin America at a 458 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: time when their connection to the roots is very different 459 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: than it used to be. 460 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 7: I'm not Puerto Rican, but I feel Latino like everyone else. 461 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 7: So like I feel like this place has taken all 462 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 7: of the all of the different countries, and like it's 463 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 7: just like be together, have a drink with somebody else, 464 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 7: their mid their country, you know, their culture, and so yeah, 465 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,720 Speaker 7: latin like Latinidad something for sure. 466 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:45,479 Speaker 1: The conversation with Juan Diego made me think about how 467 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: Tunitas hasn't lost its role as a safety haven for Latinas. 468 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: It has adapted to a new generation that is proud 469 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: of its Latinidad in a more public way and the 470 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 1: values what came before them. By the way, in the back, Octavio, 471 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: the seventy eight year old man who comes every day, 472 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: is playing dominoes as usual. While we're chatting, he brings 473 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,040 Speaker 1: up something that worries. 474 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 4: Him and yeah, man, okay, you are okay you yeah, yeah, yeah. 475 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,760 Speaker 1: Donita is getting old. She's older than me, he says, 476 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:40,800 Speaker 1: and he wonders what's gonna happen with the club. Donita 477 00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,799 Speaker 1: isn't married and she doesn't have any children. More than 478 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:49,080 Speaker 1: the findes and the noise complaints, maybe the biggest existential 479 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:53,160 Speaker 1: threat for the Caribbean Social Club isn't actually the new neighbors. 480 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,720 Speaker 1: On June twenty second, three weeks after the first hearing, 481 00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:15,239 Speaker 1: this time in downtown Brooklyn, Tonita went back to the 482 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 1: court to face trial for the finds related to her 483 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:22,600 Speaker 1: alcohol license violations. She wears a black blazer again, this 484 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,320 Speaker 1: time with a yellow shirt underneath. Her eye makeup is 485 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:32,400 Speaker 1: two coois and her lips magenta. This time, I'm surprised 486 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,200 Speaker 1: that there are no crowds outside supporting Tonita. It's just 487 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:40,920 Speaker 1: two of Tonita's friends, and then for media coverage there's Andresquerrero, 488 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:46,040 Speaker 1: who's a columbun photographer, and myself. It takes hours for 489 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:49,560 Speaker 1: Tonita to face the judge because her lawyer is late 490 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: past two pm. Tonita finally takes a stand. She's been 491 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:02,279 Speaker 1: granted an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which basically means 492 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: that if for the next six months she receives no 493 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 1: complaints or fines, her case will be fully dismissed. Tinto content, 494 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:25,319 Speaker 1: Tunita says she's proud of the resolution because it wasn't 495 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,000 Speaker 1: necessary to bother the social club the way they did, 496 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:40,960 Speaker 1: and she adds that if it happens again in the future, 497 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,480 Speaker 1: which she hopes it won't, she continued to fight with 498 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,759 Speaker 1: the support of her community. Overall, Tunita says it's been 499 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:49,640 Speaker 1: a good experience. 500 00:36:50,280 --> 00:37:00,960 Speaker 3: Yes, the last we wanted to Napariencia win. 501 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,680 Speaker 1: My colleague Andres also asks her about the future of 502 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:16,399 Speaker 1: the clubmos cloning. As far as I'm alive, Tunita says, 503 00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: we will continue to be open. Last fall, a few 504 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,759 Speaker 1: months after the trial, I went to Tonita's on a 505 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:39,239 Speaker 1: Saturday night. The bar slash living room is packed, and 506 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: even if it's cold outside here, it feels like we're 507 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,800 Speaker 1: in summary Puerto Rico. There are lots of young people, 508 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:53,440 Speaker 1: some couples the salsa reggaetonta lining up their favorite songs 509 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,239 Speaker 1: in the jukebox. Most of them are Latinis, but as 510 00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:00,440 Speaker 1: it gets later, more young white people joined the floor, 511 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,680 Speaker 1: trying to copy the experienced answers. Others playful in a 512 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:08,000 Speaker 1: dangerous environment. Anyone could get hit by a stick at 513 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:12,560 Speaker 1: any time, but miraculously it doesn't happen or no one 514 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: complains about it. Others play dominos, the never ending entertainment 515 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,480 Speaker 1: at the club. There are also older people, like the 516 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:24,319 Speaker 1: man with yellow glasses everyone calls Elgato or the Cat. 517 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:27,879 Speaker 1: He says he's been coming to Tonitas for forty years. 518 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:37,400 Speaker 8: What I love it? 519 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:48,800 Speaker 1: Done that get by? Algato says his favorite thing about 520 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:51,960 Speaker 1: the club is the friendship. It doesn't matter what country 521 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:55,400 Speaker 1: you come from, or your skin color. If you behave, 522 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 1: he says, we will love you. Tita is in the 523 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 1: very back, sitting on a stool behind the bar as usual. 524 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:07,320 Speaker 1: This time her fingers are covered in her animal rings, 525 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:10,600 Speaker 1: and yet she manages to open beer bottles and count 526 00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:24,920 Speaker 1: dollar bills without any problem. She's clearly in her element. Jesus, 527 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,880 Speaker 1: the night is going great. Everyone is having fun and 528 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:31,719 Speaker 1: just filling at home. Fifty years after she bought this 529 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:35,640 Speaker 1: building on Grand Street, Tonita's is still opening its door 530 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:51,280 Speaker 1: every night. On my way out of the club, trying 531 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:54,399 Speaker 1: to squeeze between the couples dancing salsa and the pool 532 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,200 Speaker 1: players and their sticks, someone touches my shoulder. It's a 533 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 1: friend I didn't expect to meet here. She convinces me 534 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: to stay for a beer, and the night ends. Like 535 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:08,440 Speaker 1: all nights at Tonitas, we drink, we dance, we sweat, 536 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:17,080 Speaker 1: and have a lot of fun. As Donald mar would 537 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:20,399 Speaker 1: sing in a song that will infallibly play every night 538 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:25,080 Speaker 1: at the club, Donitas has survived yet another night. 539 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:48,720 Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Marta Martinez, with additional reporting 540 00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:52,839 Speaker 2: by Patricia Subran and Andres Guerrero. He was edited by 541 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:55,880 Speaker 2: Sarah White. Cooda check and it was mixed by Julia 542 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:59,759 Speaker 2: Caruso with engineering support from JJ Corubin. Fact checking for 543 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:03,799 Speaker 2: this episode by Roxanna Guire. The Latino USA team also 544 00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:10,680 Speaker 2: includes Fernanda Chavari, Jessica Ellis, Victoria Strada, Dominiquinistrosa, Renaldo Leanoz Junior, 545 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:16,040 Speaker 2: Stephanie Lebau, Andrea Lopez Crusado, Luis Luna Dashasan noval Ner 546 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:20,640 Speaker 2: Saudi and Nancy Trujillo, Penille Ramidez, Marlon Bishop, Maria Garcia 547 00:41:20,719 --> 00:41:23,759 Speaker 2: and myself are co executive producers and I'm your host 548 00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:26,680 Speaker 2: Marino Rosa. Join us again on our next episode. In 549 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:30,200 Speaker 2: the meantime, I'll see you on social media and remember. 550 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:30,640 Speaker 4: Not the YS 551 00:41:35,400 --> 00:41:39,680 Speaker 8: Latino USA is made possible in part by New York 552 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:44,360 Speaker 8: Women's Foundation, The New York Women's Foundation, funding women leaders 553 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:48,440 Speaker 8: that build solutions in their communities and celebrating thirty years 554 00:41:48,520 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 8: of radical generosity, Skyline Foundation, and Michelle Mercer and Bruce 555 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:54,600 Speaker 8: Golden