Going to Jackson Heights was an amazing experience, especially the first time. Right after I got off the subway I started hearing Spanish in the background. During all the time I was there I don’t remember hearing anyone speaking in English and I wasn’t expecting that at all. The first thing I encountered as I went down the subway stairs on to 81st street was a lady selling Obleas on the street (a special type of Colombian pastry that has Dulce de Leche and it’s very common in South America). Just a few meters away, a giant sign that said “Jugo de frutas” (natural fruit juice) a very common thing to drink on the streets, I felt like I was back home in Chile and it was the best thing ever. I had missed Dulce de Leche and Mango with milk so much and I haven’t found anything like this in other parts of New York, it felt like entering a portal to a mix of Latin American countries where everyone spoke Spanish to you. Also, something I liked very much was that in every place I walked into they had Latin music playing on the radio.
On my second visit, I started to look more at the shops and stores around Roosevelt Avenue and saw that they were mainly small restaurants and mini markets. Also, there were many Money Transfer centers due to the fact that most of the population is from or has family outside the US. I went into a Supermarket called Mi Tierra and found that they had so many Latin products than any other supermarket I’ve been to. I found very interesting that there were a few Asian markets and restaurants in between all the Latin ones; It was a very interesting mix.
Colombian Obleas
Mango with milk
