Grandma Irma and Grandpa Ernie’s Brooklyn home…

was the center of my universe growing up. It’s floors strained under the near constant procession of family, friends, and neighbors popping in for a visit. Like a game of musical chairs, everyone took turns at that kitchen table littered with the morning’s Daily News, cigarette packs, and crumbs from a ever-present loaf of Italian bread. Conversations were loud and passionate, seemingly in a battle for attention with the bubbling pot of arroz con gandules on the stove, the Met’s on TV, and the hot hiss of the brownstone’s radiators. Everything hummed with an energy that was, at times, chaotic in the best way possible and always exciting.

My grandparent’s Brooklyn story played out at this beautiful mess of a table. It wasn’t until I stepped away though from this table that I could strain to hear the stories of their childhoods spent in Puerto Rico (Grandma) and St. Thomas (Grandpa). Those stories had been neatly tucked away, relegated to the realm of dreams, only to be truly heard with their passing.

Ancestors of Paradise invites you to pull a chair up to the kitchen table and join us on a journey to uncover the untold stories of the Grandma Irmas and Grandpa Ernies in your lives. Let us always hear the voices of our Caribbean ancestors and know their stories!