Evolution of Culture

In junior year Spanish class, we had a celebrity, Ruben Blades, visit our school. At the time, I was not familiar with Blades – all I knew was that he was a Grammy award winner, and had collaborated with pop artists, like Usher. He came to talk to us about his upbringing, and how his culture inspired the music that he has composed for the last few decades.

When we visited the “Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York” exhibit in the Museum of the City of New York, I was excited to see a magazine cover featuring Ruben Blades behind the glass screens. It reminded me of how influential Blades was, not just in the musical aspect, but also in the cultural aspect. Seeing the evolution of Latin culture in New York was inspiring because it meant a growth in cultural acceptance. After this visit, I have become more aware of how much Latin culture has influenced us. New York is full of difference cultures, which has caused a fusion in history, food, and art.

Besides that exhibit, we also looked around the main room which showed the history of urbanization in New York. Neighborhoods that were deemed “bad” by society included East and Central Harlem. These neighborhoods were called red light neighborhoods because white, affluent people stayed away and moved into richer, nicer communities. There were still people fighting against segregation and discrimination. People of other cultures weren’t allowed to move into rich communities, simple because of their race. In the exhibit, there were a lot of paintings and photographs that showed the hardships that immigrants had to go through. They were restricted from growth because they had fewer opportunities given to them. Many of them were kicked out of their homes and unable to hold jobs, merely because white people didn’t want them “taking over” their city.

Walking into the museum, I noticed the different themes of each room. The first thing I saw was the grand, spiraled staircase, surrounded by twinkling lights and white columns. Having those long steps lead to different rooms, filled with history, was a theme of showing the importance that culture has on New York City. The museum also had interactive aspects, with audio for some sections, and even a salsa dance teaching lesson.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed how the large gallery room showed not only history, but current events. I was able to relate to these moments because our society is currently living through it as we speak. There were posters for “Black Lives Matter,” showing silent protests and people joining together. There were also signs that displayed LGBTQ rights, and people fighting for marriage equality. Seeing these current news side by side with historical moments allowed me to visually see the differences and similarities between history. Unfortunately, some things that were relevant years ago, are still being fought for today. That just calls to show that there is always room for change, and we still have room to grow as a society.