ALTERNATE SIDES ART PROJECT // AMADEO
When I was a kid, my father took me to Casa Amadeo in The Bronx — a legendary Puerto Rican record shop that still stands as a cultural monument. He was a music aficionado, and my uncle Frank was a singer, so this wasn’t just a store — it was a gathering place. They’d hang out, talk music, and reconnect to something larger than themselves. I didn’t fully understand it then, but I felt the weight of it.
My parents were born in NYC and Newark, but raised in Puerto Rico. They came back to the mainland in their early 20s — and that’s when I was born in New York. But unlike them, I grew up in Long Island, away from Puerto Rican neighborhoods and the daily rhythm of Nuyorican culture.
Like many in the diaspora, I’ve always felt a deep nostalgia for Puerto Rico — the island, the sounds, the stories. But because la isla often felt so far away, I found nourishment in the Nuyorican neighborhoods of New York City. A walk through El Barrio, a flag in a bodega window, a visit to Casa Amadeo — these were sacred rituals that kept me close to my roots. They became spiritual placeholders until I could one day stand on the island myself.
So for me, going back into the city wasn’t just a casual visit. It was a pilgrimage. A chance to be with my people. To taste, hear, and feel my culture. To step into the spaces that once held my parents and grandparents. NYC was — and still is — a cultural middle ground, a bridge between my upbringing and my ancestral home.
When I walk into Casa Amadeo now, I’m not just buying records. I’m reconnecting with the sounds and spaces that shaped my people. I’m honoring the path they took — from the island, through the concrete jungles of New York, and into my life.
For me, this isn’t just nostalgia. It’s preservation. It’s healing. It’s a homecoming.
