Every season is special in New York City. Fall kicks off great layered fashion, winter ushers in the holiday celebrations and spring blossoms with nature all around the city. But New York City summers are unmatched, and the Bronx in particular comes alive.
More than half of the Bronx’s population identifies as Latino, so it’s a huge part of the culture that shows up in many ways—including street food. Warmer weather and later sunsets mean the vendors are out in abundance. On any given corner in the Bronx, you’re bound to see the ice man scooping any blend of flavors (coco and cherry are a classic) or the pastelito lady selling savory half-moon pies filled with beef, chicken or cheese. Fresh fruit trucks set up shop by various train stations for morning or evening customers wanting mangoes, watermelon or rambutan. My absolute favorite is the frio frio or piragua cart. This shaved-ice delicacy goes by different names depending on which Spanish-speaking Caribbean island you’re from: frio frio (Dominican Republic) or piragua (Puerto Rico). Tamarindo is my go-to flavor, guaranteed to ease the summertime heat.
Jessica Matos. Photo: Al J Thompson
The Black community in the Bronx is just as prominent. As the birthplace of hip-hop and a long-standing home to genres like salsa, bachata and merengue, the Bronx and its streets are filled with melodic beats, rhymes and croons from artists spanning generations and styles. Like listening to a playlist on shuffle, you’re bound to hear Pop Smoke followed by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. This catalog of songs is one of the many elements that reflect the cultural makeup of the borough, from the block with 1520 Sedgwick Avenue (renamed Hip Hop Boulevard in 2016) to Rogers Place (home to a popular mural honoring Big Pun). You could say that I am a blend of these worlds as a Black Dominican, flowing in and out seamlessly, something that is pretty common for many Bronxites.
Summertime escapes to Long Island or Central Park can be quite the trek from the northernmost borough in the City. Thankfully, the Bronx is filled with gems that allow you to stay local while “getting away” from the bustling streets.
While the Bronx has a majority Black and Latino population, roots from Europe can also be found.
Not too far from Little Italy, the
When I'm on a shopping mission, there are only two words that will do: Fordham Road. Home to Fordham University, this main street sits right in the middle of the North and South Bronx, making it a central hub. Weekend sights like the
Food, music, art, shopping, nature—the Bronx really has it all. And as the borough continues to evolve, I hope the sounds of kids running in the park, open fire hydrants serving as watering holes, the ice-cream truck announcing its arrival from miles away, double Dutch rope hitting the sidewalk and dominoes being slammed after an epic capicu—the moment when the winning bone can play on either open end of the board—fill the air for generations.
To my favorite borough and season, you have my heart forever.
Jess Matos is a proud Bronx-born and -raised Dominican, advocate for Afro-Latinidad, TV executive and creator of