“I would like to welcome you to the Immigrant New York Tour!” Curious people, many of which fit the first word of the tour´s title, including yours truly, enthusiastically gathered at City Hall Park in the intersection of Broadway and Chambers Street beside a woman holding the sign that reads Big Onion Tours. After collecting the $15 fee, $12 for students and seniors, the tour begins at 2 p.m. sharp. The newlywed couple from Mexico jokes about the big onion taking over the big apple on account of the city´s foul smells. It´s because of the summer heat, they say. Probably the same heat that would keep the Dutch above Wall St. in their summer homes during the 18th century.
The five women from Madison, Wisconsin, who have travelled together every summer since they graduated from high school 45 years ago seem to be in awe as the tour-guide explains that the Irish, who lived in small tenements in the Lower East Side during the 19th century, would share a single bathroom among 50 people. The man with the heavy British accent and his Asian wife stop to take a picture in front of The Eldridge Synagogue. Built by a Catholic German Architect it is currently part of Chinatown. A few blocks north we approach the cramped and fully decorative streets of Little Italy. Although it is no longer a functioning immigrant neighborhood, city officials have aimed at preserving its Italian essence. After two hours walking, the tour comes to an end at Mulberry Street where the 82nd annual feast of San Gennaro is taking place. Held in honor of the famous saint it offers a variety of international foods to satisfy the preferences of all those immigrants and curious New Yorkers on the tour. Having had enough with the variety, I dive in straight for the Colombian food stand.
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