NEW YORK NEIGHBORHOODS: WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN HARLEM

Harlem It's one of the New York neighborhoods We wanted to visit more. Anyone who hears about it automatically relates it to black culture, a culture that, while an intrinsic part of the country's history, did not have an easy life in the United States. Harlem has a fundamental role in this story, since it was here that, in the 1920s, a true “rebirth” of the culture of the blacks of America took place. We speak of an era of unprecedented cultural effervescence, where music, art and dances took to the streets and did so with an explosion of life, passion and feeling never seen before.

In this post we will recommend a few things what to see and do in Harlem (Yes, there is much beyond the Sunday Gospel Mass!),

First of all let us tell you one thing: the more we read about Harlem, the more we wanted to spend whole days swarming its streets. But this time it was not entirely possible, since it was our first visit to New York and with only one week of time, we had to choose a few visits, so this is the most important thing you should see and do in Harlem in one day:

ATTEND A GOSPEL MASS

It was the reason to plan the visit to Harlem on a Sunday! For nothing in the world we wanted to miss the opportunity to attend a Gospel mass. It is not that we are particularly believers, rather the opposite, but all who lived this experience (religious, agnostic and atheist) told us that it was one of the best things they could do in New York. So we went there.

Which Harlem church to choose to go to the gospel mass?

There are some recommended churches to attend a gostel mass in Harlem, but we opted, after reading Isaac and Paula, for the Bethel Gospel Assambly. Another good option is the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The one that was not recommended to us, for having almost more tourists than parishioners, is the Abyssinian Baptist Church.

→ More info: //www.bethelga.org and //www.amez.org

Recommendations:

• For the faithful, this is one of the most important acts of the week: you will see that they dress super well and behave in a respectful way. Be like them: we don't tell you to go in a suit but try to be “presentable” :-p Also remember that it is a religious function, so forget about the camera for a while and enjoy the moment.
• We had read that it was almost "forbidden" to take pictures, in our mass there was no problem ... many people took pictures with their cell phones or recorded videos, of course, in no way shameless.
• Be punctual
• In a moment they will pass with the typical basket of offers or with envelopes so that you can approach with your donation, do not be scratchy and contribute with a few dollars ... you surely deserve it!
• When the pieces of bread pass, take one and wait, do not eat it yet (guess who ate it?). You look at others and when they proceed, you proceed! Then there will also be some minivasos with divine must.
• Attend the mass at 08.00 am, the early morning is worth it since there are not too many tourists and that, after the show, you can take advantage of the visit to Harlem to enjoy a good brunch! When we left, the queue for the 11.00 am mass was VERY BIG… what was said: early morning and to take advantage of the day !!
• The mass lasts about 2.5-3 hours, the first part of songs and the second of sermons and personal experiences. If you don't want to attend to everything, don't worry, nobody is going to tell you anything, but try to leave in the most silent and discreet way. We stayed until the end and something boring was done, yes, before finishing a few people went up to the box to thank or make requests, some almost went into a trance! It was very exciting too. And yes, there are a couple more songs!

TRY A POWERFUL BRUNCH

It is tradition, after having fed the soul at Mass, to feed the stomach in one of the many restaurants in the area. A good example is Amy's Ruth, where one can gorge on one of the rarest southern specialties in our eyes: fried chicken and waffels! The dish costs about $ 15 so calculate that, between two people, you will spend about $ 35-40. Auch!

We went there and, while the dish was fine, it was not wonderful either, we found it quite expensive for value for money. Let's see, it was good huh, but it's still a waffle with fried chicken XD. Of course, the place was one of those with a heart and charm, perhaps only for this reason we believe that the experience is worth it (and for nothing in the world stop drowning the waffel with the maple syrup, with the chicken it is a bestial mix hehe ).

At our side sat an old woman who could not be more picturesque XD. And, as we have noticed since we landed in the United States, we seem to have taken the roles of moviegoers, everything around us evokes American movie scenes, if you don't believe it, look:

More ideas on where to do a brunch in Harlem:

One tip if you want to save some money is to try one of the 50 best chickens in the country, in Charles Pan Fried Chicken. They say that the food is divine, although the place does not have much interest. The fried chicken with 2 sides (ex: waffel and mc and cheese), costs $ 10.95. We did not go, but next time it falls fixed.

Sylvia's it is another bet of many, as well as Red hooster Y Harlem tavern. Come on, you're not going to leave Harlem hungry, that's for sure! (Below you can see a map with all the recommendations).

VISIT THE APOLLO THEATER

One of the key points in the "revival of Harlem" was the Apollo Theater, where they began their career on the stage sketches like Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Jackson, almost nah!

Another famous theater is the Cotton club, where jazz began to become known in New York. Francis Ford Coppola even dedicated a movie to him.

WALK BETWEEN BROWNSTONES

One of Harlem's symbols is their "brownstone" houses, named for the brown tone of the material they are made with: red sandstone. They are so beautiful, with their ladders, that they were declared Cultural Heritage. You can see them in the area between Fifth Avenue and Seventh, West 118th and West 124th. Do not worry if it sounds like Egyptian hieroglyph, on the map we indicate the area!

If you do not have time (try to find it hehe) do not worry, because they can also be seen in other neighborhoods, such as the West Village or the Greenwich Village.

So far our recommendations ... I said: on our next trip to New York, because it is clear that we will return, we will spend more time exploring this neighborhood so rich in history.

1. The first to arrive in this neighborhood were the Dutch, who named it as Nieuw Haarlem (New Harlem) in honor of the homonymous Dutch city.

2. We have talked about Harlem as the quintessential African-American neighborhood, and it is. Only, the African-American is not the only community that houses: the area is called "Spanish Harlem" due to the large community of Hispanics residing there.

3, Two of the main avenues of the neighborhood have the name of Martin Luther King and Malcom X, a clear tribute to these two great personalities who did so much for the civil rights struggle.

4. Initially, only whites could attend the shows at the Apollo Theater and at the Cotton Club. Ironic right?

5. The main cause of Harlem's development is, paradoxically, due to racism and the Great Migration of African Americans who moved from the Southern States (after the Civil War, slavery left room for segregation).