Amaurys Abreu

Amaurys Abreu

Age: 32
Years Living in JP: 29 (I was born in the Bronx and then I came here like at 3 years old).

Where are you originally from?
South Bronx. Boogie Down Bronx. Birthplace of HipHop.

What Brought you to JP?
Parents. They just moved over there. The Bronx was a war zone so they came over here.

What do you like about living in Jamaica Plain?
There’s diverse type of people so I think it prepares you for the real world. I mean, the only thing there wasn’t much of growing up was white people [laughs] but now we got some of that. It was always lesbians, homosexuals, heterosexuals, Latinos, African Americans, Caribbean people, everything really, like a little bit of everything. Also like people are tryina be a little more progressive thinking. At least they’re trying to be progressive thinking. And its accessible to the city. There are Dominican restaurants.

What’s your favorite spot in Jamaica Plain?
Jamaica pond, probably. JP pond. Just walking the pond. It’s very beautiful to drive by.
JP has a lot of beautiful places: the Arboretum, Anderson Park. I’m a nature boy so I like to enjoy, you know, Mother Nature. JP pond is beautiful, I don’t think there is any other place besides maybe like the public gardens that is as beautiful.

Throughout the 29 years that you’ve lived here, what changes have you seen in the community?
Well I think that as Boston as a whole has changed, I feel that my particular community was marginalized a great percentage as far as not having access to the city. I think JP is just like a microcosm of everything else. The only thing I would say that JP has changed more than the entire world really changing is that there’s more of a mixture in certain neighborhoods. Before it could’ve been just like a Dominican or Latino area but now just like people are not afraid to go into those areas, it just seemed like people used to be afraid. Like I said, it seems like the whole world has changed you know with the Internet, people have more access to information, we have recycling now… but those are all things which happened within the bigger bubble.

In your opinion what is the most pressing issue facing the community?
Well at least as far as “my” community in JP – cuz there are different JPs, I can’t compare Jamaica Plain on the other side of Jamaica Pond, with those big mansions, you know comparatively they’re mansions to the area that I live in, um and I think the biggest issue that my community deals with in JP is uh first of all not standing up to demand and organize what they need and change come from a community of oppressed people African American, Native American and people of that mixture so I just feel that my community needs to organize more and get really hard work done.

My community in JP is basically a reflection of every other community probably in the continent of America really. The only thing that we’re supposed to have more services here that we’re in the United States supposedly. But um I would just say more of an organizational structure and like a goal to actually fight the legacy of the Diaspora – the African Diaspora and the Native American, uh, land taken I guess – basically people that have been historically deprived by one person or another person are still in a situation but they need to start understanding that they are in that situation and organize to kind of do it in a structured way like you know the people of the Jewish descent you know have the JCC and they have community they are very evolved and very organized and like we need to start doing that and doing that not to only like Black and Hispanic people but also anyone that really needs like a helping hand. I think that like you can’t just say “oh just us” you know what I’m saying Anybody that needs help you know you have to reflect positive vibes off that.

I would like to see that more towards Eggleston Square, I know they’re making probably a community center here in Hyde Square but uh I like the concept of like little community centers all over the place. Just for the kids, I mean that’s just another issue where kids are out hanging out in front of their house and people wanna call the cops on them, further like criminalizing them, you know what I mean. Like personally I’m 32 years old and um cops still you know harass me and uh I might have like a little bit more knowledge on it but I could see them being teenagers and not really knowing their rights being victimized really and uh feeling that “ok these folks are against me so I’m going to work against that” you know kind of making them, making them be like criminals really… but I could talk about that all day I guess. But those are the most pressing issues I would say.

If you could change something about Jamaica Plain, what would you change?
Like I said I would make at least like more community centers like smaller community centers where kids can go, and uh not only kids really just like informational centers. There are a lot of old people that could be learning yoga, you know what I mean, older people that could be learning how to get on the internet, you know what I mean, learning English or learning French, whatever they really want to learn, you know what I mean like I would be willing to volunteer but there’s nowhere really where you can even sit down and have a meeting really without paying. Like for you supposedly to have a meeting at the YMCA, like supposedly they charge you like $25 an hour you know what I mean, but how is that like helping the community? Then they wonder what’s wrong, but its like when you try to organize something its so hard. So I think the city should have per capita like a certain meeting like a meeting area you know what I mean? That’s just my thing.

JP in three words?
City with Sazón.

City with sazón. We’re part of the city with the sazón. JP has historically been like home to like graffiti crews, hip hop crews, like artists… like, we forced people here to have the Dominican festival. The city wasn’t letting us have the festival, we closed this park down! Like we closed it down, like I mean just partied, like they couldn’t do nothing to us you know what I’m saying. And at the same time, like every little part of JP has their own flavor, like the lesbian community, like that’s good they have their community you know, like that’s their flavor too. You know everybody’s got their flavor, everyone gets along, so I say that’s the part of the city with sazón.

How are you connected to the community, what’s your involvement in the community?

I have a little record label, Malcrio Entertainment, a recording studio, Eggleston square. Political hip-hop, hip-hop in Spanish, support everything, support all genres.
Kind of try to organize the youth really, like just talk to them as people.
Um right now trying to get something like career coaching in my neighborhood uh so the kids can get that coaching, and hopefully councilor Tobin will push it and uh at least a couple of kids will be helped you know one by one I guess. That’s about it.

Malcriao entertainment – watch for the cd! Malcriao clothing – buy a shirt! Malcriao.com

Malcriao basically is short for “mal criado,” which means you’re not raised right, but really where I get it from is Cesar Chavez, the socialist worker or the community worker or the union worker really. His newspaper was called “El Malcriado,” where he reported abuse and informed people, so that’s kind of what my music does, tryna inform people, also entertain, so it’s Malcriao entertainment. So hopefully you guys will support the rebellion, join the rebellion [laughs].