Wiser With Age

Tag: New York

  • Harlem cook realizes dream and opens vegan soul food restaurant

    Harlem cook realizes dream and opens vegan soul food restaurant

    Brenda Beener, owner and chef at Seasoned Vegan in Harlem, NY (Photo/Kori Raishon)
    Brenda Beener, owner and chef at Seasoned Vegan in Harlem, NY (Photo/Kori Raishon)

    Owning her own restaurant is something Brenda Beener has wanted for a very long time.

    “I didn’t even realize it, until I started talking to people,” says Beener, who is known in her Harlem, NY community for her exceptional vegan cooking skills.

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  • From growing up in the South Bronx to leading the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra

    From growing up in the South Bronx to leading the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra


    A man playing the piano in front of an audience.
    Grammy-winning musician Oscar Hernandez (Photo/AB McNeely)

    Oscar Hernandez says he isn’t conscious of when he first knew he wanted to be a musician – it just happened. What he does recall, however, is hearing salsa from as young as he can remember.

    “In the ‘70’s, in the South Bronx, you heard music coming from every other window and door,†he says – mentioning the sounds and voices of Machito, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Tito Rodriguez, and Eddie Palmieri – which enveloped him since youth. “It was very much the part of the Latino culture that was developing in the city of New York.â€

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