@artbydario draws vibrant scenes celebrating life in the beloved Uptown neighborhood where he grew up. His images are vibrant representations of what many of us walk past everyday, sometimes without noticing, or at the very least, taking for granted the characters that exist in the background of our lives.

Ruben Dario, named after a Nicaraguan poet, never takes the small details for granted and brings forward the images, people and objects that make up the wallpaper of our existence. Dario takes the mundane aspects of our lives, infuses them with Dominican imagery, and places them on a pedestal so that they can be honored .

He discovered his aptitude for drawing at an early age., but never considered a professional career in art. The COVID pandemic changed all that. That's when he decided to leave his successful but unfulfilling sales and banking career to pursue his art professionally.

With the unwavering support of his wife, Rosdaly Ramirez, he's had a number of winning collaborations with the likes of Moleskine, Snipes, Soundcloud, Harper Collins, Converse, Yandel and more. Always highlighting his neighbors and their energy - the superpower of the immigrant in the United States.

Join Led and Octavio in this heartfelt and fun conversation with @artbydario on this episode of Uptown Voices!

Johanna Garcia, a member of the Save Fort Washington Collegiate Church, now rebranded as The Fort Washington Community Church, joins Led and Octavio to discuss what the next steps are for her congregation and to raise awareness about what the ongoing loss of our community spaces means for our neighborhood.

This important episode of Uptown Voices describes latest turn of events in negotiations with the Marble Collegiate Church system which, as of June 30th, has evicted the Fort Washington Community Church from its premises and scrubbed its bylaws of any legal ties it had with the historic congregation that anchored this crucial site in Washington Heights.

As of Tuesday, July 15, we still have no idea what is going to happen with the site. The Collegiate System has not been reachable and its only community-facing announcements are found on its website.

Garcia says that this community, whether one is a member of the congregation or not, must flex its muscle and raise its voice to have a say as to what will ultimately happen to the site.

Certainly, the prominent corner of 181st and Fort Washington Avenue cannot become another of the growing disused and abandoned lots that are currently blighting this neighborhood, she says. Worse still, as the former site of the Coliseum remains abandoned, the blocks between Broadway and Fort Washington Ave. are about to become book-ended by unused prime real estate.

Advocates fighting for this congregation and those who are fighting to improve the quality of life of this community call on residents and elected officials to take a stand. "We’ve reached our limit," they say. The congregation is crushed. Garcia asks, "How is it Christian for a church to evict its poorest and most diverse congregation, which it had promised to help sustain, all because of the poor financial outcomes of decisions made by its overarching church leadership? "

All in all, it raises worrisome concerns about the direction of the institution.

Is the church - which was founded after Dutch Reformed settlers bought the land that eventually became Manhattan from the Lenape in an unfair transaction and whose early clergy also included slaveholders - reverting to its ethnocentric ideology and the financial shell-games of its past, which the church elders had vowed to address and fix in 2020?

All this and more is addressed in this episode of Uptown Voices, available here, and everywhere you listen you tour podcasts.

Join Led and Octavio on Uptown Voices as they sit down with Maria Lizardo, the dynamic executive director of NMIC. Since 1979, NMIC has been a beacon of hope, expanding from Uptown to The Bronx.

Maria's story is powerful. Hear her describe how her mother's immigrant tenacity, unwavering belief in education, and dedication to community service shaped a lifelong mission to help New Yorkers thrive. From overcoming an abusive past to factory work, Maria's mother instilled in her the profound value of both education and community service.

Don't miss this inspiring episode showcasing how this Uptown powerhouse empowers her community to discover their own strength amidst incredible obstacles!

In this episode of Uptown Voices, members of the Upper Manhattan Tenants Union join Led and Octavio, on the eve of Zohran Mamdani's historic primary win, to discuss their group's fight against what they see as some of the most infamous landlords in the city and what they say is class warfare against tenants.

Tenants say that landlords are purposely, and in a coordinated way, withholding capital needed to provide basic services and maintain their buildings to create an unlivable city as they seek to raise the price on rent stabilized apartments. Landlord groups, meanwhile, say that many rent stabilized buildings are on the brink of bankruptcy and that's why the maintenance for many is falling by the wayside.

Who will prevail in this class war?

Tune in for an eye-opening inside look at how tenants organizing to stand up to their landlords in Washington Heights and Inwood.

In this episode of Uptown Voices Led and Octavio are joined by David Hunt, co-owner of Coogan's to remember his friend and business partner, Peter Walsh. To know Peter Walsh was to love Peter Walsh. Since 1985, Coogan’s was a Washington Heights institution that welcomed one and all and Peter was the soul, spirit and beating heart of that place. Peter personified the very essence of Coogan’s. Peter Walsh passed away in April, but he will be fondly remembered by anyone fortunate enough to have met him.

Join us in this touching and surprisingly fun remembrance of Peter as David recounts some amazing stories about the bar that became a haven for Washington Heights: Coogan's, and the man who personified it: Peter Walsh.

In this episode Mino Lora, Artistic Director of The People's Theater Immigrant Cultural Center's Executive Artistic Director & Co-Founder, joins Led and Octavio in conversation about the upcoming state of the art performance space on 206th street in Inwood, opening in the Fall of 2026.

Mino is a powerhouse of the Upper Manhattan community. She's been helping build community here, welcome new immigrants and encourage the performing arts. The new space marks the next chapter for The People's Theater (formerly The People's Theater Project,) and it comes at precisely the right time. In its new building, the non-profit will continue achieving its goals of teaching community members, allowing immigrant stories to flourish and building a more just and equitable world through theater.

Franck de Las Mercedes joins Led and Octavio to discuss his latest project: You Are Here. He also takes us on his journey, from leaving Nicaragua with nothing and landing in Washington Heights as a kid in 1985, to becoming a world renowned artist - still based in his beloved Washington Heights.

In this episode Avi Garelick, of the Northern Manhattan Community Land Trust joins Octavio and Led to discuss how the NMCLT is helping tenants become owners of the buildings their landlords are neglecting.