Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-10-29
Mew York
Letter

NEW YORK-ThoSe VINO prefer
Broadway as o choice OF Mannat-
tan Fairgrounds are welcome TO It
I'll still take Second Avenue!
For, after q number OF years OF
rambling about this town, this main
stem of the East Side seems less
spoiled by changing times. Oh, yes
1t has changed. Attempts have been
made to make 1t look like Broad
way. But the nations OF the earth
that have settled on the fringe OF
this thoroughfare keep alive the
gypsy fiddlers; the charming chants
OF the Yiddish ballad singers; the
iullabies OF black-eyed Russian
girls: the soft, hollow intonations
OF the zymbalom; the dissonances ,
and sentimental heartbreaks in the
folk songs as played by the Hun
garian bands.
Yes, you can drop in on Broad
way places where Gypsy Marakoff
plays and sings or where Tamara
strum 50 guitar and sings glamor-
Gus love songs-but the background
Of Broadway Is therei
Second Avenue, to be sure, has
made a few concessions in the d.
rection Of Broadway. The Russian
Arts has a dance floor and q
canopy over the streets and a
lighted marquee. And college boys
and girls do romp about Of Satur-
day nights. But OF an evening
earlier in the week, the atmosphere
here, as elsewhere in Second Ave-
nue.. agrees more amiably with Its
geography.
or round the corner at the
Kretchma!.. or in Moscowitz'. ..or
in any one OF a dozen Yiddish,
Austrian and Hungarian eating
places. M. The coffee houses where
groups gather in the best Euro
pean fashion to talk and talk ard
talk way into the nights. TIL
types and the sights and the sounds
These are all far, far from
Broadway and one may pretend
he is travelling abroad in his own
town. And make himself believe
llAAo bEAOAC AlOAAAAAAbs
II was Just the other evening at
the Kretchma -. witch candles
Pickering on dozens OF tables.
two dancers appeared as part OF
the evenings entertainment.
DO you know who they are?" a
friend whispered. / shook my head.
"Swoboda and Jurieva-l... OF
course you wouldn't know them.
You hang around Broadway too
muchl"
My friend fumed Indignantly at
my Ignorance.
For two years Swoboda was
ballet maestro for the Chicago
Opera. When the Chauve-S ouris
made such a hit, he went abroad
with 1t. And Jurieva was the bal
lerina for PavloEal Ugh-but you
should know that who watches only
hooters Of the theaterl
There are stories down here in
Second Avenue. my friendl Here
you are: two of the worlds great
dance artists in a quaint spot in
Fourteenth Street, Where Is your
Broadway"
I interrupted a this point. II
isn't my" Broadway! AS far as I
am concerned the other fellow cal
have railways could. for that
matterl Certain requirements OF
my job take me there a bit more
often than elsewhere. I explained.
There Is little place for the
great ballet people now my friend
went on. The ballet has never
played a great part in the Metro
politan Opera productions. Ballots
will come back soon-and then
you will see. From abroad you read
that Roxy Is getting many people
for the new theaters that will rise
in Radio City. There will be great
ballets and great dancers. There
are many. many to be found about
New York. Up town at the Russian
Village you will see none other than
Gavrilov, once star of Diaghileff's
balletI I could tell you of more"
But I wandered on to the smaller
places TO watch the plump East
Siders sitting about their tables,
eating heartily and listening to
their folk songs.