NEW YORK. – Applause, shouts, firecrackers, whistles and cacerolalas flood Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island to celebrate the victory of President-elect, Joe Biden, after Pennsylvania gave the victory to the Democrats by 34,414 votes, thus giving the former vice president 273 electoral votes.
“The old man won. He is the one who is going to help the poor because he is a good man, “says Puerto Rican Julio Montes from a Brooklyn bus stop.
His friend Cristóbal Colón, “the one who stayed because the other one died”, comments that, although they are happy with the result of these elections, which have been made to wait four days, they are not going to go out to celebrate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the contrary, New Yorkers Sue Filapski and Mikel Pasternak tell that they are going to buy a bottle of champagne and drink it in the New York neighborhood of the East Village and drink it while waving an American flag. Both have decided to wear a T-shirt with the face of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice who died before the election and that Donald Trump replaced by conservative Amy Coney Barrett weeks before the presidential elections.
“She got a bit of revenge with Biden’s win, it was kind of sad, but now we can be happy and feel the joy of democracy, “says Filapski, to which Pasternak adds,” That’s what RGB fought for. She always fought so that we all have rights and we feel that today human rights are important again. “
On one of the streets of the East Village, a neighbor from the Big Apple plays the national anthem on his saxophone from his rusted fire escape. Patriotism is also seen in the bars that bring out the national flag on their terraces and in the red, blue and white worn by passers-by.
“Today is the first day in four years that we can proudly wear the colors of the United States.”, says the Cuban American Amy Plasencia.
“What caught my attention (of these elections) is how tight it was, although I am happy that Biden won, it is overwhelming to think that almost half the country voted the other way,” she emphasizes. More than 74 million people voted in these elections for the Democratic candidate and more than 70 million for the Republican, thus being the elections with the most participation in the history of the country.
The Mexican-American Gesse Jimenez today does not wave the flag of his country, but one of Biden and Kamala Harris. “Running with this fucking (sic) flag was super empowering,” says the 20-year-old, who says the reason he toured Tompkins Square Park was to “spread happiness,” as most New Yorkers are in the city. same Democratic “wave”.
Despite the fact that Trump was born in Queens, and spent much of his life in Manhattan, the tycoon never managed to win the vote of this great city: in both places the democratic party got more than 80% both in 2016 and this year.
One of the Republican’s homes is the Trump Tower, a skyscraper on Fifth Avenue that is now fenced and fenced off with police officers. However, this has not stopped the curious and voters of both sides from passing through this iconic building.
The Mexican tourist Fernando López is one of the examples. He tells that he approached this “iconic” building to see the fall of this “political figure” who has lost the “most important position in the world.
On this Saturday of electoral results, Times Square, a square that since the pandemic hit the big city in March is usually deserted, is once again full. Even the mythical Naked Cowboy, the ‘naked cowboy’, famous for playing guitar in his underwear, today poses with a Donald Trump lookalike who has painted his face orange and walks around with a sign that reads: “We Won!” (We have won!).
Mexican-American sisters Leasly and Itzel, meanwhile, walk through the crowded plaza with some cartons that read: “Biden President 2020.” Although neither of them has been able to vote because they are not yet of legal age, both are happy that Trump did not win the election.
“The way he talks about people of color and immigrants is disgusting,” says Leasly, who is 14.
Another point where thousands of people are gathered to celebrate the Democratic victory is Washington Square Park, a place that has historically been a site for meetings, political rallies and protests.
At this point in Manhattan, you can see flags and signs that read: “You’re Fired” (‘You’re fired’, a phrase Trump used when he was a television star on his show ‘The Apprentice’). Here the fountain in the middle of the park plays a leading role, where more than one gets into it, and alcohol.
“I’m drinking a bottle of champagne because Joe Biden won and Donald Trump has been thrown out with the votes,” Lacey Eihardt notes cheerfully.
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