I am a Dominican-American writer, blogger, thinker and entrepreneur who grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, which is the unofficial third capital city of the Dominican Republic. In addition to owning and running the Uptown Collective, which has established itself as the voice of Uptown Manhattan online, I am working on the DR Travelogue, which is my stirring and sometimes comical ode to the Dominican Republic and its people. The DR Travelogue is a native son’s poignant and hilarious journey to the heart, soul and soil of the Dominican Republic.

The DR Travelogue is more than a book; it is more than just my story or my parent’s story. It is the story of a people who came from a beautiful island nation with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Fleeing poverty and wanting a better life for their children and how they worked, sweated and toiled to achieve their respective American dreams while at the same time retaining that love of their homelands. That love that was instilled in me by my parents and I, in turn, have been instilling that love in my children.

The term “un pie aqui y uno alla” (one foot here and one foot there) is a term that is used to describe a lot of the Dominicans living in the United States because many live bi-national existences. Living and working mostly in the United States but maintaining close ties to the Dominican Republic and its culture. That has been my story. I was born in New York City, lived in the Dominican Republic as a small child, returned to the US and have made regular trips backs to the DR since then. I write from the unique perspective of simultaneously being both inherently Dominican and quintessentially American. I am not just a Dominican-American but a Dominican New Yorker from Washington Heights, which is another breed entirely.

This site is the central repository for all things Led Black.

I invite you to join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter, or e-mail me at ledblackNYC@gmail.com