BLODEGA BY THE PERALTA PROJECT

The most sought after thing when making a fashion statement is wearing something exclusive,  rare, and hard to find. The De’Alma jewelry line offers that and more. This Dominican owned elegant jewelry line by Brigitte Diaz is hand crafted with rare gemstones only found in the mountains of La Republica Dominicana such as Larimar - a crystal blue healing stones, Amber - an organic gemstone regarded as the stone of courage, and Black Coral - symbolic of regeneration. Wearing a piece of this jewelry is like walking around with a piece of mother nature’s healing powers. A personal favorite is the Dual sided Larimar x Amber Square ring because who doesn’t love a two for one? 

September is not only the beginning of Latin Heritage month but also the month in which Mexico celebrates its official Independence Day! In honor of this, Vogue Mexico’s released a special issue in September named “Iconos de Mexico”, of which the history making Oaxaqueña model, Karen Vega, was a part of. At just 18 years of age, this trail blazer became the fist Oaxaqueña model to make the cover of Vogue Mexico back in July. We love to see it and hope that Vogue and other mainstream editorial magazines follow suit. QUE VIVA MEXICO LINDO Y QUERIDO! 

 Pay no mind to that smoke coming out of your T.V. It’s only due to the hottest, sexiest, most anticipated fashion show that hit our screens on September 23rd, courtesy of our beloved Rihanna. That’s right, Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 is back! This years line up is full of Latino stars like transgender model, actress, dancer, and activist, also known as Wonder Woman, Leiomy Maldonado, Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee, and our Boricua baddie BIA whose hit song “Whole Lotta Money” won’t stop playing in our heads. Just the distraction we needed for the fact that we still don’t have a new album from Riri. Our screens are not worthy of all this heat! 

FIT OF THE WEEK goes to this picture perfect drip put together by @mr.r.Ortiz wearing our “YO VISTO ASI” tee, inspired by one of our favorite songs and lines by Bad Bunny, "Me importan mucha' cosa' Pero tu opinión no está en esa lista”! 

Living in a world where we are stuck in our self created social media bubbles of posts, tweets, and videos of the accounts we follow there is little to no room left for our curiosity to run free. Tony & the Peralta Project team wants to change that. Like the corner bodega that carries random but essential items, we’ve curated a space where you can stumble upon all things dope shaping la cultura. From art to food, to fashion and the people rocking them, to the latest music or podcasts we are listening to - we’re that homie that is always putting us on to what’s hot right now.  So grab your cafecito, pull up to the corner, and step on into the BLODEGA.

In case you didn’t know September marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month and that means we will be celebrating our roots, culture, and Latino excellence in this 1st edition of the Blodega. Our contributions to this country & the world have been impactful adding a bit of sazón to everything we touch. Están listos? Latinos stand up! 

One of the highlights to start off Hispanic Heritage Month is the New York Latino Film Festival, showing 102 films from more than 12 countries bringing back the festival to the Bronx. This year there is retro flair to the festivities as some of the films will be shown via drive-in movie screenings. Opening night begins with the 20th anniversary and cast reunion of ‘Raising Victor Vargas’. Another much anticipated film & on our watch list is ‘La Soga 2’ starring and directed by Dominican veteran actor Manny Perez. Closing out the festivities is Moving Pa’lante!, a free outdoor event that will celebrate Latino music with a special performance by Justin Quiles. Grab some popcorn and watch our gente create magic on screen. 

Need a good laugh? The hilarious Puerto Rican comedian Gina Brillon has got you covered. As one of the finalists of ‘America’s Got Talent’, she’s going to need our vote on Tuesday, September 14th to become the 1st Latina comedian to win the competition with the finale airing Wednesday, September 15th on NBC at 8 p.m. Suerte Gina!

This one is for my art enthusiast. Head uptown and check out El Museo del Barrio’s ESTAMOS BIEN – LA TRIENAL 20/21 exhibit showing works of contemporary art of 40 Latinx artists from all across the country and Puerto Rico. September is the last month to take it in and get inspired by these amazing artists. 

A Caribbean artist who’s name you should know is Yermine Richardson. This Dominican born and Spain based artist creates work which encompasses Afro-Caribbean heritage beautifully via his use of feminine silhouettes, bright colors, and personal portrayal of the beauty of black skin. 

Every Latina abuelita dreams of hitting the jack pot when playing the lotto. To this day there is not a dream that I have shared with my abuelita which is immediately followed with a “pale” of numbers she comes up with (based on the dream) to go play for her.  ‘Abuela’s Luck’, a short film by Dominican director Ricky Rosario takes you on a quick trip to the bodega for some scratch offs for his abuela  with a bit of some unexpected events. September is the last month to watch this critically acclaimed movie on HBOmax. Buena suerte! 

We’ve been in search of Latino based podcasts and struck gold with Netflix’s ‘Brown Love’ hosted by Dominican actress Dascha Polanco who’s joyous  personality makes you feel like your talking to one of your homegirls. The series is composed of numerous Latino actors being interviewed by Dascha on a variety of topics relating to the Latinx experience, struggles, and biases within our own communities. Trust us, it is worth the listen. 

Hay hambre and we have just the person for you to follow and drool over as you scroll through their feed - New York’s very own Dominican Chef Kelvin. Better know as the Arepa King (arepas so good that they granted him a win on Beat Bobby Flay), Chef Kelvin is now blessing us by sharing some of his mouth watering recipes on his YouTube channel like his Baby Back Ribs with a Guava Glaze. Delete that UberEats app and go create some magic in the kitchen. Your stomach and taste buds will thank us later. 

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh coffee brewing in your greca? If you are a coffee aficionado like us, you are going to love Don Carvajal Café created and founded by Hector Castillo Carvajal. Influenced by his childhood in his grandfather’s farm in D.R. and the call to break the unethical practices used by major coffee producers, this organic coffee which is packed in biodegradable & compostable packaging, offers options from D.R., Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. Did we mention that our very own Tony Peralta designed the graphic art used on the Greca Blend? Go show support for this Latino owned coffee brand that will not let you down.