HARLEM A MIX OF OLD AND NEW
While the community is changing, its rich cultural identity remains
The boos were tentative at first. In fact, the three women seated behind us giggled between jeers.
But, within moments, the pockets of negative energy flaring up here and there were contagious and a good portion of the audience started booing enthusiastically.
It was a strange experience for polite visitors from Kitchener. The boos had a good-natured undercurrent, but one could only imagine how they felt on stage, where the singer seemed determined to wring another ounce of emotion from a Spanish song.
Suddenly, “The Executioner” tap-danced across the stage. That’s right, The Executioner. And, yes, he was tap-dancing. I am sorry to admit that we joined the laughter as he whisked the singer away.
Now, it’s not as ominous as it sounds — unless you are the hapless Spanish singer, of course. The Executioner, a.k.a. C.P. Lacey, had already wowed us with his dancing and impressionist skills. Performers like Sammy Davis Jr., James Brown and Michael Jackson are easy marks for Lacey’s costumes and fancy footwork. So, if there had to be an execution, at least the audience was primed to enjoy it.
But it still sounds nasty, right? It does as I write it down. My only excuse is that when you are immersed in Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, it is all part of the game. Any performer stepping onto this New York stage knows the house rule: Be good or be gone.
They also know survival can launch a career. Since Amateur Night was introduced in 1934, the winners’ circle has included the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Gladys Knight, D’Angelo and Lauryn Hill. These days, the “super top dog” will win $20,000 at the annual finals; winners of the 17-and-under contest get $5,000.
But performers also risk going out in a blaze of boos. As host/comedian Capone joked: It is best not to give performers false hope about a career in show biz.
On this Wednesday night, the winner — chosen through audience cheers — was a petite singer visiting from Japan who strutted around the stage like she had already found fame. An earnest R&B singer placed second and a high-energy dancer came third. A 12-year-old singer topped the 17-and-under crowd. (Fortunately, booing is not allowed at this level — that would be hard to bear.)
For the spectators, the atmosphere was part American Idol, part cabaret and part dance party. (At intermission, the audience was encouraged to swarm the stage and cut loose with the DJ.) After the final curtain, we spilled out onto Harlem’s main drag — 125th Street — pumped by our role in a musical tradition. Soul-food mainstays like Red Rooster, Sylvia’s and Amy Ruth’s are within a 10-minute walk, luring locals and tourists alike with cornbread and crispy fried chicken with waffles.
But there’s one other thing about these Harlem landmarks. Signs of gentrification are everywhere. Signs for Banana Republic and Red Lobster crowd the Apollo from the building next door. At the time of our visit, Whole Foods was in hiring mode for its first Harlem store a couple of blocks away.
Manhattan’s Harlem neighbourhood sprawls between the Hudson and Harlem rivers above the city’s
gorgeous Central Park. It ends at 155th Street in the north, just across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium. East Harlem’s southern border dips down along Central Park to 96th Street, including the upper tip of what is known as the Museum Mile. The area many refer to as West Harlem is harder to define; it depends on the map and the source. Some say it comprises three neighbourhoods — Morningside Heights, Manhattanville and Hamilton Heights. Others exclude one or more. The esteemed Columbia University, for one, prefers to say its Morningside Heights campus is on the Upper West Side, and some maps agree.
And names do count. When we talk about staying in a friend’s West Harlem apartment, the first question is about safety. Negative images linger from the 1980s when drugs and crime devastated Harlem. But that all changed in the mid-1990s, setting the scene for today’s people-focused street vibe that reminds us of parts of Toronto.
The west and central sections of Harlem that we explored were an invigorating mixture of the old and the new. Restored brownstones can sell in the millions, while just a couple of blocks away homes are unpolished, with real life beating back any phony veneers. You’ll see people hurrying to catch the subway south into the heart of Manhattan, while sidewalk vendors peddle fruit, CDs and jewelry.
In business areas away from the wellgroomed 125th Street, neighbours greet each other in small grocery stores, pharmacies, barbershops and delis. Some shops are spiffed up and modern; others are decidedly time-worn, but decently stocked with everyday goods.
Here are snapshots from a warm spring evening on Broadway near West 149th Street: The young customer in the wine store looks fashionably fabulous. Her black platform shoes are criss-crossed by white laces. A small red backpack is slung casually over the shoulder of her smart peach dress; a beige hat tops her long hair. As her boyfriend pays for their wine, she beams as the woman behind the counter