"Washington Heights: Past to Present" by Frank A. López

[LAGDB01]

Great video! Is Harlem, Dyckman, Inwood, and Washington Heights all in the same area? Also, would you say that most of these areas are mainly Puerto Rican and Dominican? Any info greatly appreciated.

[FrankLopezOnline]

@LAGDB01 Thank you! Harlem is right below Washing Heights and Inwood is right above. Dyckman is part of Inwood. Although Washington Heights has been predominantly Dominican for the last 20 years, things are changing now. Gentrification is a huge issue at the moment and many families are being evicted for not being able to afford outrageously new rent hikes.

[KombatKing3000]

Im behind you all the way brother, im from Washington Heights and i know the feeling of being around cool friendly people, i think about being back home all the time, being in the military sucks if youre hispanic because youre looked down upon,

[CrowdPleeza]

What's the name of that song in the background? It's kinda funky.

[CrowdPleeza]

I'am referring to the song that starts around 1:25

[gametight79]

Thanks for the video Frank..Im in Cali, and cant wait to get back to NYC..

[newyorkcitytravel]

I never knew much about Washington Heights. Least of all that it had a strong Dominican Republic culture. This is a great mini-documentary.

[sprimusp]

you are not latins. latin was the language of the italians, so the italians are the latins. you are just mixed peoples.

[malikark25]

@sprimusp As Rome's Empire grew their language, Latin, spread throughout the Roman Empire later evolving into several "Romance" languages; Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French. People from these countries are referred to as Latin, their language is derived from Latin.

i bet you fell stupid!

[sprimusp1]

@malikark25 Yes I know what Latin is. People in "latin" american countries have indian and african cultures that are nowhere near Latin or European traditions, they are Catholics and speak a Romance language, that makes them "latins?" No one calls Italians "latins" if anybody is Latin it is them. The real Latins were from Italy, not people who are mixed with spaniards somewhat and have indian and african cultures.

[DimeWS89]

good video i love wash heights

[bird2374]

151st baby

[violetblue181]

This video sucked!

[LaMami161]

Eyyyyy 161 and 163 ALL DAYY

[miosotissm4]

192 ST !!!!!!!

[elfuelte173rd]

173rd!!!!

[slapshot68]

nobody welcomes anybody here, i came to visit cause i luv the girls there n the guys dont like any visitors

[dtruth20091]

I use to live in WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, and now I live in the Bronx ... I hope people from other culters dont continue to look at us as drug dealers and Taxi drivers we could do anything in this world we are Smart people that could be Professionals.

[mikenice182]

182nd st.nich and wassssssssssssssssssssssssssss­d!!!!! OED ON DECK!@!!!!!

[fLaCaLoCa174]

reppin 174!!!

[FrankLopezOnline]

You both are so right. It's saddening that all Latinos don't recognize how similar we are. There is so much power in Unity.

peace family. thank you for your comments.

[mzamberfly]

164! alll dayyyyyyyyyy

[lente175]

reppin' hot 5th ! 175st !

[Jiggaman360]

representin 177, and 175 (the 5th).

[ellapiz000]

lol i love W.H cuz u can find alot of dominican food that u wont find in other places in USA

[FocuSzUzumaki]

Washington Heights is awesome all joke aside

but gangs are taking over that hood its too dangerous over there now a days

[slapshot68]

@FocuSzUzumaki go to newark or jersey city, u'll see alot more gangs there. washington heights i believe hasnt had a murder yt.

[sweetenpr]

I was born and raised in New York, actually I.m from Broadway 190th St. I got to spend alot of time at W.H. because my father owned a Barber Shop on 185th Audobon. This was in the early 50's till the 70's and I am Puerto Rican, now and then I get to visit relatives and alhough everything has extremely changed. I still love to walk through the streets .

[Defjams1991]

Im not form Washington Heights..but i was surprised at how much people looked like me and im not even dominican...Im central american and live in a heavily mexican populated city like 90 min North from NYC but goin there for the first time I was like damn I feel like i fit in....i was good feelin but livin there i would probably lose my identity..many of my people( Nicaragua) live in Miami...

[haitianzoezoe]

tru i hear miami has alot of nicarguans

[tmprogram]

puerto ricans look down on dominicans

theyre almost the same shit!!

[extraordinarialissy]

love this video ! i miss the heights so much i recently moved to the suburbs yuck. im still 20 minutes away but i barely ever get to visit. the heights is my home ! soy dominicana para siempre ! oh yeah and not all dominicans are the same! i happen to be valedictorian of my class. we are not low class or uneducated. DOMINICANA !!!

[joleimi]

nama entendi a la doña que hablo en español lolz! pero que bueno que hay dominicanos aya me siento orguyosa de no se que cosa pero na pa lante

[katonasotot]

@joleimi que inteligente esta orgullosa de no sabe quehaha increible .

[Bassdude]

that little kid is so cute :]

[cary22mg]

Wonderful! Washington Heights has its ups & downs... but its home... You can go to other states or cities, but you will not find everything you can find in Washington Heights!

[willgw5]

well i am also dominican, and i would say that there is two sides too this topic. I feel at home in this place but i do not like the amount of ignorance that is in here. Im saying it from a point of view of a college student who is also dominican and loves his culture,i would also add that i love how its changing now. but there is a few that bad apples in this bunch. ANYWAYS I LOVE THE HEIGHTS..ONE LOVE

[tupapa205]

I love how its 2008 and we still have racisms and ignorance. God bless America, right?

[NatureLoveGirl]

wow people "up in here" need to learn how to spell.

[aReLySz]

164!!! babiii all day evryday!!!! ya tu sabes. imma dominican!!! tato!!

[Weezyfeen1]

less qehtt itt pOppinqq 166st allday baibee !. Heiqhtsss

[justice121188]

I'm not even dominican. But Washington Heights will always feel like home. The people living there embrace you no matter what ethnicity or religion you are. I might be French and Chinese on the outside. Pero yo soy dominicano on the inside. Lmao. YA TU SABE!

[NatureLoveGirl]

this makes me NOT want to move to wash. hgts. hispanics go ape-shit when seeing a blonde, blue-eyes. no hay respeta. no gracias. me quedara lejos de washington hgts cabron.

[aReLySz]

shut up u dunt wuh u talkin bout my lil sista is dominican to dee fullest wif blue eyez and blonde hair. ESTUPIDA! so respect!

[HardBodyNyC]

They all like to live in "da heights" because thats where all the cocaine is held at by the Dominicans for the Colombians. America Is Dying Slowly.

[aReLySz]

and u da dumb person usin dat cocaine right. WHITE CAUCASIAN PPL r the major majority of ppl takin tht stuff

[FlaviusMinor]

Frank what street did you grow up on? I'm a WH native too.

[L0LAaAxD]

omqqq . im in that videoo :\

[dtorres1977]

dominicansz all fucking dayy

washington hieghtsz all fuxin dayy

if u got fuxin problem muhh nigguh u knoe we gett iit poppin

[Roodboinboston]

i've been looking at some videos about washington heights. and from what i've gathered it seems like everyone who lives there has a lot of pride in their town. it reminds me of boston. i lived there for 6 yrs and now whenever i see anything about it i get all nostalgic even though i'm not a native bostonian. its that pride in their city. its rare. not every city has it.

[creston180]

The Tribe of SIMEON

[SneakerHead172]

andrademe28 looks like he got his shit rocked

[ilyecua955]

washington heights=>best palce in da world

[anjimomo]

Yes, there is no place like Washington Heights. I am currently living in Orlando and just watching your documentary wow brought so many emotions.

Stay Blessed and Beautiful my People.

Angie

Proverbs 4:23

[rmejia17]

Dominican are educated, well spoken too, but why they mentioned this neighborhood feel like is in DR? No way! I remember mostly Greek and Cuban people live here, and is nothing like Greece and Cuba. There goes the neighborhood.

[gee1189]

times have changed, now if you come to washington heights all you will see is a majority of dominicans every where you go and a few other people from other ethnic backgrounds...Alot of greeks have moved out, and many dominicans have moved in.

[FrankLopezOnline]

My film is about community and pride in one's culture and peoples. I hope we all remain focused on that and not the differences that may separate us from one another's common humanity.

Be love.

[ht616mami]

I completely agree on that. I might have never lived in Washington Heights but the culture that derives from the people lving there is vastly rich and embedded with the customs they have brought with them from where ever they might have come from. And I say that Iam proud to be Dominican-American and have not only the American customs in me but sangre Dominicana as well

[lightbaby122]

whoa..dominicans are not uneducated.. u make it seem like its just them.. majority of people.. blacks whites what eva race you are.. they ar uneducated..so get it straight before you start talking nonsense

[vinafina]

I left in 1990. I couldn't stand the thefts, litter and the damn blasting of merengue out the windows and freaking cars. To sum it up, unfortunately my impression of Dominicans are low class, uneducated people. They should return to their beloved country and pratice their "culture" over there.

[ht616mami]

Well vinafina Iam sorry that unfortunately your encounter with Dominicans left you upset. I have never lived in the heights, but every time I go up there I feel home. I like it up there, but it would be dificult for me to live there since Iam from Queens and also vinafina. All Dominicans are not the way you think--In my house we are all college graduates, well educated and practive our culture as well.

[babes322]

well ill have you know that i am dominican and my father has his own company and makes 6 figures a year

from one bad experience you cant think that all people are that way

and last time i checked this was a free country where people have the right to expresss their cultures

and nice of you to use quotations because the dominican race is filled with culture so maybe you should go back to where ever you came from and stop being such an ignorant close minded ass. =]

[rmejia17]

I totally agree with you, it's irritating!!! This is America!

[DarthBelly]

Well that's an unfortunate perspective. It's that kind of hateful xenophobic prejudice that led to the creation of German concentration camps. I can't imagine anything that lowers us as a species more than that kind of obtuse incendiary rhetoric.--Signed, A Columbia University Graduate School Educated Second-Generation Dominican-American

[DarthBelly]

That was posted to Vinafina's comments

[NatureLoveGirl]

unfortunately i agree w vinafina. i have lived in dominican neighborhoods,i speak spanish and all.. but since i'm very white-looking i get treated like shit. men cat-call me and the latinas are so jealous. i dont think all dominicans are like what vinafina says, but most that i have encountered are-- thus making the good dominicans look bad. i wish the hispanic immigrants had more respect. when my family came here a while back they respected this country and made it better, not worse.

[Drakalingo]

What do you wanna kill, dominicans, cause if so, you are fuckin crazy.

[rmejia17]

Right on!

[thegayrecluse]

Cool video--you might want to check your dates on the Irish/Jewish immigration waves, which were more like 1930s and 40s, followed by Cubans (50s/60s) and Puerto Ricans (60s/70s) and then Dominicans. Plus a lot of artist/singer/gays of all nationalities/ethnicities live up here, which I think is part of what makes it cool (I actually feel like a complete outsider walking around here, but I like that).

[ricanspartan]

sorry puertorican were here since the earley 1800 in newyorand also the late 1800's,in harlem in the late 30's and 50's

[ElReye03]

xactly we brought work for ya to do DOOFUS

[odn000333]

nice video manito....me encanta...i feel errthing dat waz said....

- dolorez

[ElReye03]

162 !!! MY BLOCK>>> lol

[bronxer78]

One would get the impression that nobody but Dominicans live in Washington Heights. This documentary starts off purporting to tell a comprehensive story of Washington Heights, but quickly shifts to only one perspective.

[FrankLopezOnline]

Should've added - This is just a trailer version I did for class. I have a couple more segments which include the story of Irish and Jewish immigration in the 60's and 70's. As well as the gentrification of the times. There's alot to cover. This was mostly about family and community.

Thanx for the comment Bronxer.

[pimentel79]

The truth is, the overwhelming majority of residents in this community have dominican roots.