nycgo / maps

El Barrio/Spanish Harlem

Tito Puente grew up there. Bob Dylan and Carlos Santana wrote songs about it. El Barrio/Spanish Harlem is home to a vibrant mix of Latin cultures—not to mention restaurants and nightclubs that rival those of the Caribbean. Stretching from the East River to Fifth Avenue and from 96th to about 116th Streets, the area used to be referred to as Italian Harlem until after World War II, when tenements housing Italian immigrants were destroyed to make room for public housing projects and Latino immigrants began moving there. Now, El Barrio/Spanish Harlem has the highest concentration of Nuyoricans (a term for Puerto Ricans living in New York) in the City and is home to El Museo del Barrio, NYC’s only museum dedicated to celebrating Latino art. Just a half-hour subway ride from downtown Manhattan, the neighborhood teems with Spanish diners (where the signature dish arroz con pollo is always on the menu) and some of the liveliest Latin-music venues in the City.