story

"What's up everyone? I'm Christian. I'm in the Bronx, New York. SNKRS just dropped off this box. Let's take a look inside."

"Oh, I like the bag. See the familia, the family, familia you know. They reference to dominoes that we all have growing up. I love that. That's a nice little touch. Oh! Oh that's beautiful."

"Air Force 1 Low 'Puerto Ricos'. Oh we got a little, little towel. And of course again the little Puerto Rico on the tag right here. That's lovely. Yeah that's clean. I like that. Very summer, very New York."

"You know, 116th Festival, Parade, all that good stuff. I mean when I first look at the sneaker, I think the thing sticks out to me honestly, is the color, right? The sky blue, which is the true color of the flag."

"Puerto Rican culture to me is brilliance, it's dynamic, it's something that kind of captures the world. The way sneakers have brought Puerto Rico and New York together is realistically through, you know, this now 20 years..."

"...20 plus years, of this Puerto Rico Air Force 1, right? I think it's something that it really bonded the island in a very specific way, because it was the first time we saw the flag, or the culture realistically, being represented in that format."

"So not only did SNKRS give me a pair, they gave me three pairs to give out to the very special people in the Puerto Rican community. We're about to head down to the Lower East Side, or if we refer to it as the Low East Sider. We're gonna stop at Casa Adela, which is the oldest Puerto Rican restaurant in New York City."

"We're gonna meet one of the family members as well as legendary Eddie Palmieri. Wow. Wow! What comes to mind? These are beautiful. Beautiful. My father-in-law played a lot of dominoes."

"Look, these are beautiful, thank you very much. Thank you. How pretty, for real, for real! And look at the dominoes, so pretty! I think I'm gonna go back to my stickball playing days. I think you should. I think with these, you can play."

"After we go to the Lower East Side, we're gonna shoot out to Brooklyn to go to the Caribbean Social Club, or as we refer to it as Toñita's to meet Toñita herself. Hello, hello, hello. Hello, how are you? Good and you? Good! A gift for you."

"Thank you, a lot. And when you see these like, it's obviously honoring our culture, like Puerto Rico, in the community. What are some of the thoughts that come to your mind when you hear the word Puerto Rico? Like, what does it mean to you? Every time someone comes to this country..."

"...It's to explore opportunities, and to try to live better. To be able to return to Puerto Rico and buy your own house, or land."

"With time some of us end up staying here, but some go back to complete their original goal."

"Once again, my name is Christian Martir. This was the episode of The Drop-Off for the 'Puerto Rico' Air Force 1s. I'm about to head back to the Bronx. Thank you."

The Drop-Off

Air Force 1 'Puerto Rico'