Amadeo sells CDs and records at his store in the Bronx, but he doesn’t make a lot of money. Amadeo is fortunate to make $20 in sales every day. He doesn’t mind because he no longer runs the store for profit.
Amadeo said that it was like a museum. I’m going to stay here as long as I can. This is what motivates me.
Casa Amadeo is a Latin music store in New York. In 1941, the shop that sells Latin music CDs, vintage records, salsa music instruments and an array of other cultural staple like dominos and Puerto Rican flag bandanas opened its doors.
The store’s original owner was not Amadeo. The first name of the store was Casa Hernandez because its brother was a composer. Victoria was considering selling the shop at the same time Amadeo was looking for a new job. Victoria accepted Amadeo’s offer to purchase the shop.
For the last 53 years, Amadeo has been in this corner.
Victoria was not going to allow anyone to buy her shop. The son of a Puerto Rican composer, Amadeo first picked up a guitar at 14 and quickly built a career in music.
Amadeo was a big fan of music. He doesn’t know how to read sheet music, but his natural talent has been obvious since he was a child. After moving to New York City, Amadeo was given a guitar and was able to play it.
Amadeo began singing after he got the guitar. My music was on the radio when I was 17 or 18.
The salsa compositions of Amadeo were put in the hands of Puerto Rican singers in the 1950s. People confused Amadeo’s work for his father’s because he was so experienced.
After returning from a tour with the army, Amadeo continued to write and compose music for artists and worked with icons. If you count all of his recordings, he had over a thousand songs.
Casa Amadeo is the music legend’s small slice of heaven on a South Bronx street corner. The store was making thousands of dollars a week in the 70s. Amadeo gave back to his community often, donating to charities, writing checks for local little league teams and investing in a neighborhood that was in turmoil.
The entire block was torn down when the Bronx was burning. Everything went according to Amadeo. There was a store here. I didn’t leave.
The South Bronx was often engulfed in fire. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced as 80% of their homes were burned to the ground. The South Bronx was in the middle of an economic collapse with the majority Black and Latino area suffering from discrimination. Casa Amadeo was in danger of being destroyed, but Amadeo bravely guarded his store, enduring a year without heat or lights.
Amadeo said that people started walking in breaking windows. Everybody was frightened at that time.
Amadeo doesn’t have to worry about his store being burned to the ground anymore because the Bronx is still dealing with the effects of the burning. There is a picture on the wall of the store that is an homage to the detrimental decade.
Casa Amadeo was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001, but that is just the beginning of Amadeo’s many awards, including recognitions from the New York State Assembly and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. There is a street named after him.
Amadeo is proud to be known as a community historian and keeper of Latino history and culture.
Amadeo is 89 years old. Five years ago he lost his wife and many of his friends. He doesn’t think his family will continue to run his shop after he dies, but he’s okay with that He wrote a song about how important it is for love and praise to be shown to people before they die.
“No vayan an esperar, Despues de Mi partida” is the title of the song.
Do not wait after my departure, they will give me what I need. I don’t want it to happen to Daniel, to Pedro, to Flores, to Rafael. That’s why I need to give it to you.