New York's: Latin music landsmarks

Latin Beat Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Frank M. Figueroa

Casa Seigel, one of the non-Hispanic variety stores in El Barrio, remained in business until the 1950s. Its owner, Sidney Seigel, founded Seeco Records. For many years, the label featured some of the most popular Latin artists. In the early 1940s, Victoria Hernández sold her record shop to Puerto Rican Luis Cuevas. He kept the name "Almacenes Hernández." Soon after, Cuevas founded Verne Records, a label that became a favorite in the Latin community. In the following years, other record shops such as the famous Casa Latina, owned by Vicente Barreiro opened in El Barrio.

Musical instruments and records were sold in a variety of stores. At 116th Street and Lennox Avenue, there was a combination bakery and musical instrument shop. The owner was a Cuban man known to everyone as Simón. In addition to delicious pastries, he sold bongó and conga drums as well as skins for drumheads. In those days, he would sell you a set of bongós for $8.00 and a conga drum for $15.00. The drums were heat-tunable with the drumheads tacked on.

El Barrio also had several musician hangouts such as "El Billar de los Músicos" (The Musician's Pool Hall) at 113th Street and Madison Avenue. The place also served as a hiring hall for unemployed musicians. There was a blackboard on which musicians could post their names if they were available for engagements. The owner, a Spaniard known as "El Gallego," also listed notices on the walls concerning available gigs. Another popular gathering point for Latin musicians was "Piquito Marcano's Photo Shop," located on the corner of 111th Street and 5th Avenue. The owner was Pedro "Piquito" Marcano, the singer who founded the famous Cuarteto Marcano. There was also a shoe repair shop that attracted musicians seeking to share news and to hear about job opportunities. "La Zapatera Collazo" was named after the proprietor. He was a very

generous man, always willing to lend musicians a helping hand. Collazo offered them cash loans and even a place to sleep overnight. Singer Bobby Capó was one of those who slept in the back room of the shop when he had no place to stay.

The Latino community also found entertainment in the movie and show theaters that sprang up in El Barrio. During the silent film era, local musicians provided background music for the movies. Such was the case with the most famous Spanish theater in the area, "El Teatro Hispano," also known as "El Teatro Campoamor." Later on, some of the biggest names in Latin show business graced the stage of El Teatro Hispano. Other barrio theaters were the Photoplay Theater (Teatro San Jose), El Teatro Municipal (El Mealto), the Azteca theater and El Teatro Triboro.

LANDMARKS BEYOND THE BARRIO

Starting in the early 1940s, the Latin community from El Barrio began to move to other areas of New York. A large number of them settled in the areas of the East Bronx that began at East 138th Street and reached north as far as 177th Street. In 1943, Victoria Hernández opened a record shop on Prospect Avenue, one block east of Westchester Avenue. Composer Tite Amadeo and his son Mike established their music store known as Casa Amadeo. Years later, Al Santiago opened his Casa Alegre at 852 Westchester Avenue and La Casa Latina del Bronx began operations at 217 Brook Avenue, near 135th Street.