In El Centro Espanol-La Nacional in New York, you can get a taste and feeling of Spain at the heart of downtown Manhattan. El Centro not only has a small original Spanish restaurant in the basement, a cafe with Spanish and Hispanic soccer games, but the main hall has some of the best Flamenco performances in town every Friday and Saturday evening. On January 19, Nelida Tirado danced to the singing of El Pola de Sevilla, accompanied by guitarist Pedro Cortes and percussionist Peter Basil.

El Centro is one of the oldest Spanish social clubs in New York, established in 1868, at the time still in Bowery Street, and merged as La Nacional in 1929 out of several regional Spanish social clubs. It is one of the typical social clubs where immigrants found a little bit of home, and support in the new homeland of America. What makes a visit to El Centro worth while is simply this community atmosphere imported from Spain and being influenced without a doubt in the later years by new Hispanic immigrants. One of the successes of American immigration policy wihtout a doubt is the self-supporting role immigrants had to play due to the lack of interference by the government, and up to today you find many active national social clubs, like for instance El Centro Espenol or the Polish Home in Brooklyn. These social clubs offer a great opportunity to experience performances and shows of the foreign cultures in New York. (lees verder…)