If there’s anyone who knows Sunset Park inside out, it’s Harry Mena.
“Latin food is bought here, wherever, wherever, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico,” Mena explained.
Mena was born in New York and grew up on 50th Street and Third Avenue with her mother Ramona and grandmother María, both from Hatillo, Puerto Rico. And for 61 years, Harry has walked, lived and worked from his neighborhood.
“There are fewer Puerto Ricans now, but they were, like my family, one of the first to arrive here, who spoke Spanish. And then after the Puerto Ricans came the people from the Dominican Republic and about 45 years ago, the Mexicans came, the first,” added Mena.
-Here to Sunset Park?
“Yes my neighbors.”
Mena says that Sunset Park has changed a lot in recent years, especially its population.
“The sad thing is that other groups from different communities where they have more money, the rent is very high there and they come here where they pay the rent. But the poor have to leave and that makes me sad because not only the poor people who want to raise their family like I grew up here, but also the elderly are going to have to leave.”
Despite the changes, Harry remains positive and fascinated by the fact that Sunset Park is home to people from all over the world. That is why for 10 years he has been recording thousands of faces and life stories through his camera, his faithful companion, the one he never leaves home.
On every corner, at every door in his neighborhood, he finds someone to talk to and something to tell.
And in addition to documenting neighborhood residents, Harry hosts community events like Senior Stories Under Grandma’s Tree at Sunset Park on September 7th.
Mena dreams of many events that serve to unite the diverse community, such as a multicultural catwalk that takes place among the trees that already make a great street of honor from the park.
And what will Harry do with his thousands of photos and stories? His goal is to perpetuate them in various photographic books in honor of the neighborhood and its residents.
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