New York subway

All the people turned to see the scene, one would wave their hands in the air, stating, similar to a street dance challenge; the other also defended herself with slaps in the air, as if they were dancing, neither of them physically attacked each other, even if it wouldn’t be long before the menacing slaps turned into real blows.

Evolet Aceves
Twitter: @EvoletAceves

As I write this article, I’m on an approximately 18-hour train ride from Los Angeles to Albuquerque. It’s the first time I’ve spent so much time on a train. The last time I lost one, it was from Ljubljana to Prague. And the last one I took, before this one, if I remember correctly, was from Vienna to Warsaw.

After spending a night driving through California, I see snow-capped mountains, located on the Arizona-New Mexico border, desert mountains that wake up white at dawn. In a week I’ll be on the same road but in the opposite direction, towards Los Angeles.

The train, unlike the subway, moves from one city to another within the same country and also crosses countries within the same continent. The train transcends languages. The subway, on the other hand, connects areas and people over shorter distances. The mechanisms between one and the other are different, as well as the weight that each supports. The New York subway is part of New York culture, it is a place which, like that of Paris, is a vital organ of the city. Both subways are very similar in their design and both have been sets for many films.

New York appears to me as a sort of urban islands connected by thick metal bridges. The first time I embarked was to cross from Brooklyn to Manhattan, above the sea with the very tall buildings that distinguish Manhattan. The carriages were surrounded by the metal structure of the bridge which supports the subway and which gives that image of industrialization and modernity that the big city had been looking for since the second half of the 19th century. This city’s subway is the largest in the United States and one of the longest in the world, only after China, Russia and the United Kingdom. It was not until 1932 that the first subway line operated in New York.

The Metro gives the impression of being a bit old, looks like it hasn’t been replaced since the mid 20th century, silver outside, orange, yellow and brown inside, seats are not padded but stiff, like acetate, but not uncomfortable; It’s in perfect condition, it works quite well, who knows if they don’t rather want the design of those decades to prevail.

Once in Manhattan, I went to one of the busiest stations: Union SquareIt was there that I found one of the most portentous voices I’ve ever heard, an Afro woman, dressed all in pink, pink blouse, pink skirt, pink tennis shoes, giant gold earrings, four rings on each hand, with burly outlines and almost shaved hair, he began to sing —as I descended the stairs introducing myself to the subway— In the endby Etta James. I couldn’t help but record her, her voice was magical, very serious, she reached spectacular tones, with a hoarse voice that she added suddenly on purpose to season her melody. If New York had a voice, it would be the same.

Interestingly, the next day she appeared on the cover of The New York Timesjust as I recorded her the day before, dressed in pink, singing her heart out, reliving Etta James and her incomparable Blues.

On another occasion, in a third underground level of the subway, I witnessed a heated discussion between an Afro-trans woman, dressed in a Sweater attached to the body, white tennis shoes, a puffy jacket, very long and gigantic eyelashes, and some kind of purple cap or turban on the head; Flustered, she asked another afro cis woman of hers why she was staring at her like that, what was her problem. All the people turned to see the scene, one of her would wave her hands in the air, stating, similar to a street dance challenge; the other also defended herself with slaps in the air, as if they were dancing, neither of them physically attacked each other, even if it wouldn’t be long before the menacing slaps turned into real blows. Suddenly the police came, my subway came too and I didn’t see where the argument had gone, but it left me thinking about the trans resistance that abounds in New York, considering what Harlem was, between the 60s and ‘ 80, the cradle of to row, urban dance that reclaims femininity in the bodies of dissident genders, especially trans and queer people, and, more specifically, within the Black and Latino population. That trans woman, whether or not the reason for her anger was true, represented the entire trans and black community that has been ridiculed for so many years, she represented anger, anger, not anymore!

The New York subway is built with white tile walls, which is the predominant color, with green stripes and yellow stripes underneath; other stations are completely red-tiled. The tile is a component that provides brightness to subway stations. The subway can go just about anywhere, just like the Los Angeles subway, which is also efficient, but accommodates more people living on the streets.

Classism is greater in Mexico, even with regard to public transport, We rich people don’t use the subway, unless we want to experience it for a day; In other European countries, such as Poland, France, Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, the situation is very different, people of all ages and classes use it because of its practicality.

Traveling on the metro allows you to see the city from different perspectives, sometimes from underground, sometimes from the top of the cars, other times above the sea or the city, at the height of the roofs or the sky, in the end it’s a spatial interaction where different experiences coexist in shared destinations, where music enlivens encounters and looks come together to converse with the eyes.

Evolet Aceves
Twitter: @EvoletAceves
Instagram: @evolet.aceves