Boerum Hill Brooklyn

Explore Latin Boerum Hill, Brooklyn at Roulette Intermedium; and Lebanese and Arab NYC along the Atlantic Avenue corridor. Africans brought Arab traditions with them to the Americas. The Puerto Rican pandereta used in plena is originally an Arab drum. The Dominican snack quipe comes from kibbeh, brought by Lebanese and Syrian families. On both islands, people occasionally speak Arabic to me because they’ve been taught to pray at home in secret for the last 500 years. Colombian singer Shakira’s hips don’t lie because she is Lebanese descent. So Latins are Arab descendents too.