A Love Letter to the Harlems: 

The Photographs of Ruben Natal-San Miguel

On October 25, 1977, thirty Puerto Rican activists, including members of the Young Lords, planned and executed an audacious act of political activism by tying a giant Puerto Rican flag to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. This singular gesture has been commemorated in photographs, paintings, posters, on film, in public art, and as seen in the art of the self-taught photographer Ruben Natal-San Miguel. This image is meaningful on many levels. Beyond the replication of the statue’s head, surrounded by her crown of spikes, and the placement of the flag across her forehead, the entire image is painted atop the surface of an exterior wall that includes a section of breeze blocks. Frequently used in tropical architecture, these breeze blocks not only remind us of Puerto Rico but literally bring the island to mind as we gaze upon the silhouette of the Statue of Liberty and the image of the flag. This photo, then, serves as an homage not only to the work itself and the inventive nimbleness of the artist that created it, but also to the island, as a powerful reminder of homeland, nation, and transnational identity. 

The photo also records the resilience of the human spirit in the face of forbidding urban walls. In this case, a former window has been covered with wooden slats and, to enhance this view, a creative individual placed the breeze blocks over the sadness of the shuttered window. This spirit of prioritizing beauty and pride can be seen across the remainder of the photos in this exhibition, an homage to the people and places of all the Harlems: El Barrio, Harlem and West Harlem or Barrio Viejo. This mural is no longer extant, having been painted on a building that has since been torn down in order to make way for new development. Ruben Natal-San Miguel’s work records the encroaching gentrification across the Harlems. Having made his home in Harlem for over 25 years, he has been able to capture unique aspects of the neighborhoods as well as the rapid changes taking place.

We can explore the works thematically as he offers us several views: the texts of these neighborhoods, as seen in the signage and other aesthetic choices made by small businesses; the people of the Puerto Rican diaspora expressing national pride; those who use fashion and body adornment as expressive motifs; and the broad variety of ordinary and extraordinary folks that make up a neighborhood. 

In addition to these thematic areas, the artist records the use of color, the prevalence of design, and architectural details, among other sources of inspiration. His work is created in the moment and the titles are accompanied by the location, time, date and even the temperature at the time the photographs are taken. This journalistic way of taking photos allows the images to act as witnesses, recording time, place and sensibility. The entire body of work is buttressed by the photographer’s invisible labor of in-depth research, touching on architecture, the environment, urban planning, demographics, and design.

Among the most charming of Ruben’s many images of small businesses across the Harlems is one with a neon sign that notes they sell “bizcochos” and “pan caliente,” two things most people cannot resist. In addition to the bright signage, the front window features a selection of incredible cakes for every occasion. Historically, Ruben’s recording of these small businesses mirrors the work of two photographers working in Harlem: Roger Cabán (born Puerto Rico 1942, raised in East Harlem) and Camilo José Vergara (born Santiago, Chile 1944, lives/works in Harlem). Cabán engaged in a similar project with his fellow photographers, Charles Biasiny-Rivera and Felipe Dante. The En Foco Portfolio  (in the collection of El Museo del Barrio) dates to 1974 and covers three areas of Nuyorican life in New York City and upstate: small businesses, education, and agricultural work. Cabán’s photos are a loving tribute to the Puerto Rican diaspora in East Harlem and tender examples of historic street photography. Vergara spent his life documenting the storefronts and facades of Harlem over a 40 year period, similar to Ed Ruscha’s photographs of the changing streets of Los Angeles. 

In Ruben’s images, the tribute is to all the Harlems. The barber shops, the music store, the tire rim shop (Tire Fix, in all its glorious informality), the bodegas and the butcher’s are recorded by his lens as incredible examples of the vernacular architecture and design aesthetic of these historic neighborhoods and their communities. The  photos that feature bodegas do double the work, with the iconic advertisements acting as the artistic backdrops to the subjects posing before them. Ruben’s photography acts as a vehicle for his respect and affection for all his subjects and as a visual symbol of the many communities of Harlem.

Among the images of those clothed in versions of the Puerto Rican flag, we can imagine they are preparing for the Puerto Rican day parade, a celebration that was founded in East Harlem in 1958 and has grown to become one of the largest parades in New York City. Ruben’s subjects wear the flag in many different ways and the reverence is poetic. Among the more glamorous individuals, Ruben highlights their allure as well as their humanity. Posing like models, they add a deeper level of meaning to the streets and spaces that become their backdrop. 

Nykki is posed before a large-scale reproduction of an image by the Young Lords’ official photographer, Hiram Maristany titled “The Garbage Offensive.” This was another act of civil disobedience organized by the Young Lords in 1969 to protest the NYC Department of Sanitation’s lack of attention to East Harlem. As a backdrop to Nikki’s pose, her fist in the air, the moment is laden. In her red velvet jumpsuit, bra strap visible on her bare shoulder, Nikki takes up the gesture of protest, this time on behalf of gender justice and trans and gender nonconforming communities. In this same vein, the photo TransRican takes its purposeful title in order to celebrate these often invisibilized populations and features a tight closeup of a necklace of mini Puerto Rican flags and a lavender tank top. Ruben notes that, as the origin of ballroom culture, the Harlems host a significant trans and gender nonconforming community, one that he treats with quiet reverence.

Also among Ruben’s subjects are artists and cultural workers, underscoring the aesthetic value of the Harlem communities and how artists are at the center. Among this group are the printmaker and painter Nitza Tufino, a group of smiling mariachis, and the curator Souleo with the designer Be Au who are photographed at the site of the new transit hub that will connect the subway with Metro North (another dramatic change for the neighborhood). The intertwined history of people on the top East, West and North sides of Central Park is recorded in the magic of these images that present the residents, businesses, and landscapes with love and dignity. 

Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Ph.D.