Actor brings it home
Story by Anthony López | Livin’ Americana
“I loved my block,” says Nabil Viñas.
Nabil Viñas is a born and bred New Yorker, straight out of Washington Heights.
The Viñas family emigrated from the city of Moca in the Dominican Republic in the 70’s. His parents knew each other in Moca but got together in New York. His mother had come to the city to help support her mother, while his father wanted to expand his music career. They had three children.
“I had a really lucky childhood in the Heights. I loved my block,” said Viñas. “I grew up the youngest of three kids and my dad was the super of our building. He was really loved by the tenants there, a lot of which came from the Dominican Republic just like him.”
“Our cousins lived on the second floor and my grandmother, who passed away recently, lived on the 6th floor,” recalled Viñas. “There were even more relatives living there at different times, and really it felt like a building full of family, which I didn’t realize was so special until I became an adult. Looking back, especially with the quickly gentrifying city, I feel incredibly lucky to have had that experience.”
Read more: “We’re beautiful” | Manhattan Times
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