"Piraguas aka Puerto Rican snow cones. Sadly, it’s a dying tradition here in New York. During the summer months, a guy would push a wooden cart through different neighborhoods selling shaved ice flavored with syrup - anything from cherry and grape to tamarind and coconut. It was the showmanship that made it so great; the removal of the towel (a towel protects the ice from the sun) to reveal the block of ice, the sound and action of the ice shaver cutting into the block, and the pouring of the syrup over the ice into a cup or paper cone. All for 25 cents."
My big-brother-from-another-mother Raul @ Things I Hold Dear posted this a little while ago and it brought syrupy artificially flavored coconut tears to my eyes. I'm Brooklyn all day, but I spent a large and joyous part of my youth in The South Bronx busting down piraguas 3rd Avenue style with mi Abuela y Abuelo (I love you Abuelo R.I.P.). This is some classic New York shit right here that you don't see enough of nowadays. I miss this so much.
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