Little Spain

Little Spain (Spanish: Pequeña España) was a Spanish-American neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan during the 20th century.[1][2]

History

"Little Spain" was on 14th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.[3] A very different section of Chelsea existed on a stretch of 14th Street often referred to by residents as Calle Catorce ("Street Fourteen") or as "Little Spain".[4] The Church of Our Lady of Guadelupe (No. 299) was founded in 1902, when Spaniards started to settle in the area.[5] Although the Spanish business have given way to such nightclubs as Nell's and Oh Johnny on the block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, the Spanish food and gift emporium known as Casa Moneo has been at 210 West 14th since 1929. In 2010 the documentary Little Spain, directed and written by Artur Balder, was filmed in New York City. The documentary pulled together for first time an archive that reveals the untold history of the Spanish-American presence in Manhattan. They present the history of the streets of Little Spain in New York City throughout the 20th Century.[6] The archive contains more than 450 photographs and 150 documents that have never been publicly displayed.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Other important commerces and Spanish business of Little Spain were restaurants like La Bilbaína, Trocadero Valencia, Bar Coruña, Little Spain Bar, Café Madrid, Mesón Flamenco, or El Faro Restaurant. The Iberia was a famous Spanish dress shop.

The heart of the Spanish American community in that area were the two landmarks: the Spanish Benevolent Society and the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, founded at the turn of the 19th century, being the first parish in Manhattan with mass in Latin and Spanish. Just like with other immigrant neighborhoods of Manhattan, such as Little Italy, Little Spain celebrated a feast day; that of St. James. It was held in June, and was held until the mid-1990s. During this festival, the saint's image was the symbol of the feeling of the Spanish community and paraded down the street 14, which was cut to traffic for a week. In this time, food festivals were taking place shows of typical Spanish folklore.

Virginia Admiral and her son, Robert Anthony De Niro Jr., moved to a top floor studio at the 219 West 14th Street, owned by the Galician entrepreneur José García. According to investigations, Robert De Niro was living during the 1950s at the heart of Little Spain after the divorce of his parents.[14]

References

1. Thero, Xavier (20 June 2014). "Rostros familiares en Nueva York". El País. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
2. Thero, Xavier (June 20, 2014). "Rostros familiares en Nueva York PDF" (PDF). El País / Meatpacking Productions. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
3. Aguilar, Andrea (November 18, 2010). "Un documental repasa la historia de Little Spain en la calle 14". El País USA. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
4. "Un documental repasa la historia de Little Spain en la calle 14". Hartford Courant. November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
5. Valenzuela, David (November 20, 2010). "Documentary Brings Manhattan's Little Spain to big screen". THE HERALD TRIBUNE. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
6. Remeseira, Claudio Iván (November 18, 2010). "Hispanic New York Project". Hispanic New York Project. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
7. "Un documental descubre la historia de Little Spain". EFE America. November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
8. Abad, José Ángel (November 18, 2010). "Little Spain, el barrio español de Nueva York". Antena 3 TV. Retrieved 2015-01-28.
9. "Nueva York descubre su Little Spain". Informativos Telecinco. November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
10. "Little Spain". RTVE. November 18, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
11. "Little Spain, el barrio español de Nueva York donde sólo se hablaba español". Onda Cero Radio. November 18, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
12. Conde, Arturo (November 18, 2010). "Saga Gallega en Manhattan. Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver y la energía del pasado". La Opinion de A Coruna. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
13. Payá, Juan José (December 18, 2010). "Artur Balder rescata en su documental la memoria española de Manhattan". Diario Informacion, Editorial Prensa Ibérica S.A. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
14. Pallas, Beatriz (February 6, 2011). "El casero gallego de Robert De Niro en Nueva York". La Voz de Galicia. Archived from the original on 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-07-02.

External links

• Little Spain at IMDb
• LA VANGUARDIA.
• El Mundo.
• Official Web Presence of the Spanish Benevolent Society.