January 26, 2021
“I come from the South Bronx. I had to leave the Bronx to have access to these things. I had to go downtown to take arts classes, writing, theater and poetry classes. What did I do it? I brought all that shit back Uptown so that everyone had access to that and it wasn’t just me. I felt horrible to be in these spaces that I knew would never accept me if I was with my homies from the block. They would never allow me. It was important for me to be the conduit or in the middle and maneuver through these spaces to see what I can do so I could bring it back.” – Patty
“There’s a lot of dope things in the hood. We’re trying to empower people to celebrate the dope things. It’s not always about getting away and getting other resources from outside of the hood. That’s super important but it’s also about celebrating the things that are dope in the hood, why we should stay in the hood and foster it…While you’re going out and getting resources from other places and seeing the world, you’re also celebrating your people and the world that you’re in while uplifting those narratives that are from the block.” – Reph
This episode has no shortage of hype and energy as we’re joined by Amilcar Alfaro-Martell (Reph) and Patricia Marte (Patty Dukes), who started Circa ’95. They’re a hip hop music collective with Afro-Latino roots that actually started off as a podcast back in the day. Their work looks to mesh the best of music, art, culture and athletics through running. They’ve performed at Carnegie Hall, SXSW and even at the Smithsonian Museum. Reph and Patty grew up in Washington Heights and the Bronx and when they’re not hosting their own runs they can be found running with We Run Uptown. (If you want the story behind that group’s origins check out one of our earliest episodes with Hector Espinal.) We kicked off the new year with them because it was recently announced they were among six winners of the Tracksmith Fellowship and look to create a Hip-Hop music project “born at the intersection of arts, athletics, and social justice.” We touch on that, the importance of celebrating and cultivating talent in the community, the connection between hip hop and the urban running scene and much more.
Follow Circa ’95: @circa95 | https://www.circa95.com/
Follow Reph: @RephStar
Follow Patty Dukes: @Pattydukes
This is Runners of NYC. A biweekly podcast from CITIUS MAG. Hosts Leigh Anne Sharek and Chris Chavez look to bring you many of the untold stories behind luminaries and legends that make up New York City’s running culture. You can catch the latest episode of the podcast on iTunes so subscribe and leave a five-star review. We are also on Spotify!
SHOW NOTES AND QUOTES
– “I come from the South Bronx. I had to leave the Bronx to have access to these things. I had to go downtown to take arts classes, writing, theater and poetry classes. What did I do? I brought all that shit back uptown so that everyone had access to that and it wasn’t just me. I felt horrible to be in these spaces that I knew would never accept me if I was with my homies from the block. They would never allow me. It was important for me to be the conduit or in the middle and maneuver through these spaces to see what I can do so I could bring it back. That’s always been who we were. That’s never going to change. Right now, anyone can hit us up from our community that they need something and we’re there. We are fixers. We are cultural ambassadors. We’re everyday people. We’re human beings. We care.” – Patty
– “There’s a lot of dope things in the hood. We’re trying to empower people to celebrate the dope things. It’s not always about getting away and getting other resources from outside of the hood. That’s super important but it’s also about celebrating the things that are dope in the hood, why we should stay in the hood and foster it…While you’re going out and getting resources from other places and seeing the world, you’re also celebrating your people and the world that you’re in while uplifting those narratives that are from the block. As Patty said, a lot of times, college is not accessible to everybody or that might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But, they have things that are special about them, where they come from and their story that contributes to society and we all need to hear. Hip hop is that voice.” – Reph
– “The guy on the corner can talk to you about life. We listen and learn from everything around us.” – Patty
– “We ran with every running crew. Shout out to all the New York City running crew. We were visiting everybody. I wanted to see what it was like everywhere. I still do. I don’t feel any type of way about running with nobody. I want to find out where you run. I want to go to your city and run with you.” – Reph
– “Shout out to Mike (Saes) and Bridge Runners. He did set a precedent…Not only is he in the music industry but he leads a hip hop lifestyle and so he’s involved in all of the elements of hip hop. He’s wholistically combining that with running. He made it possible. Here we are as artists saying, ‘That’s a dope lane. How do we expose more people? How do we amplify these messages?’ That’s what we’ve been on since then. We’re amplifying it through music and the arts.” – Reph
– “It’s a beautiful thing for (Mike) to be an ally and friend. We see the hustle in each other. We see the work and the respect. That’s part of the community for us to all learn about each other and think, ‘Oh wow. These are these guys who come from Uptown. How can I support them?’ Mike has also been so supportive and shows up to any event or anything we’ve got going on. That’s the power and the strength of the running community. Even though folks have done their own thing, it’s not siloed. Everyone is showing up and supporting each other. Everyone is re-posting their flyers. It’s a communal effort in the whole situation. It’s a beautiful thing…He’s sharing the knowledge. He’s like, ‘I want this to grow.’ Especially the more people of color in running. It’s better for the world. We wouldn’t have the scenarios that we see now on the news if we saw more people of color running. It’s a beautiful thing for Mike to have started and for us to be part of the generation to keep amplifying and keep making it.” – Patty
– “That’s the strength of people power and community power. That fact that this team of like five or six that were the core and said, ‘Alright, let’s break this through.’ Now every Monday night, there’s a run. It’s a beautiful thing no matter who is there. Hector (Espinal) doesn’t have to be there, Patty’s there. Reph is there. Josh is there. It doesn’t matter because the thing is going. The momentum has been set. The wheel has been put in motion. That’s what we want to do for everybody.” – Patty
– “I want to see a running crew every six blocks. I want to see a running crew in every building. I want to see a running crew from every school and community center. I want more and more running crews. I think running is a powerful thing and it’s going to change the world but it’s going to take everybody to share and now horde that.” – Patty
– “The way that running breaks you down highlights the humanity in each one of us.” – Reph
– “If it wasn’t for hip hop, we wouldn’t be as engaging…We come from a cloth of hip hop that emphasized loving yourself, developing yourself and believing in yourself. That’s what we try to bring to everybody. Self-determination.” – Reph
– “I’m a hip hop runner not a regular runner. I’m gonna show up with my swag up. Don’t throw any regular running outfit on me….If We Run Uptown looks good, we all lookin’ good. We’re making sure if we’re showing up, we’re showing out. We’re not not just a regular run crew. We’re a RUN crew. We’re showing up. There’s something to that. We built all that. We’re part of that. We’re part of that aesthetic of making sure people understand that it’s not just about running and it’s actually a bit more than that. It’s deeper. It’s our fashion. It’s our style. It’s how we eat. It’s how we hang out. It’s all of us together that makes this.” – Patty
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.