Author name: Buffalo Latino Village

AGELESS NINJA

Business, Community /

Many of you may know, watched, or have heard of the show American Ninja Warrior. For those who have never heard of it or watched the show, it is pretty much a competition between an incredible athlete versus an obstacle course. The athletes are competing for the ultimate prize of $1,000,000. Only 3 have won that since 2009.  What many of you may not know is that this is being recognized as a bonafide sport. Where once people were known to set up courses in their backyards. Now you have gyms and League forming across the world. So much so that the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO) World Obstacle was formed in 2014 as an international governing body for obstacles & and related sporting events.  Currently, there are a few gyms in the suburbs of Buffalo but none in the city. Enter Dave Kozak – affectionately and professionally known as the Ageless Ninja. He’s currently 76 years young. He trained in Lancaster at Hybrid Ninja Academy. He’s been on the American Ninja Warrior show twice! And in November 2021 he was acknowledged by the Guinness World Records as being the oldest Competitive Ninja Warrior in The World! (*) He started this journey competing in Spartan competitions with family members. He eventually saw a call for athletes for a local competition for Ninja Athletes and he’s been training and competing ever since. It is a sight to witness the youth at Hybrid Ninja Academy transform into a cheerleading squad for every competition!  Dave’s goal is to bring the love of this sport to Inner City Youth who may not have transportation and/or means to experience the exhilaration of working to overcome an obstacle in a very physical sense. Not only for the accomplishment in the gym but for the lessons that transmute into everyday challenges.   For as long as he has been training and competing is as long as he has been able to bear witness to how this unique sport has changed the lives of young people. Not just improvement in the way of physical fitness but their emotional, psychological, and socialization skills improve as well. The “athletes experience positive changes in self-awareness, self-discipline, self-confidence, and many other personal attributes.”  Just as he has had this opportunity, he wants the opportunity to be opened in the City of Buffalo for youth. As such he embarked on a venture and has secured non-profit status for The Buffalo Ninja Academy. His hope is to secure a location within 6 – 18 months. As well as funding for daily operations to offer training for youth at little to no cost.  A suitable home for The Buffalo Ninja Academy would be approximately 3000-4000 sq feet with a 10-12 foot+ ceiling. If you have led to such a space – connect with Dave as soon as you read the end of this article!  If you would like to financially contribute to this non-profit endeavor, you can reach Dave Kozak at: dvkozak@yahoo.com   The Buffalo Ninja Academy website is also under development at: http://buffaloninjaacademy.com  You can follow him on Facebook at Ageless Ninja.  (*) To see the feature on WGRZ-TV: Search Local Athlete is World Oldest Ninja or click here: https://youtu.be/nbn1fg6DO-Y?si=PDo6SVpXrzA6657b https://youtu.be/nbn1fg6DO-Y?si=PDo6SVpXrzA6657b%20%20 Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics Sports AGELESS NINJA November 1, 2023/No CommentsRead More LEADING WITH LOVE THROUGH DANCE October 4, 2023/No Comments Thinking of the first time I met this fantastic human – my first thought was that she looked like she… Read More “UNAPOLOGETICALLY & UNCOMPROMISING” July 10, 2023/No Comments This month I am shining the spotlight on a woman whom I met a few years ago. When I met… Read More Load More End of Content.

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ARTSPACE BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT

1 Comment / Community /

By Mrs. Evelyn V. Santos, Artspace Block Association The home advocacy program provided Artspace beautification garden project opportunities and guidance in Buffalo, New York, 14209 and 14208 area codes. The Artspace Block Association and Cold Spring Block Association were given the opportunity and the funding to do several projects for our community. One was the Artspace community garden on Northampton Street and Ellicott Street off of Main Street in Buffalo, New York; the others were in the Northampton area for the homeowners.  With help from Cold Springs and our home group Artspace, we have been working extremely hard since the starting date for these new projects from 2023 to September 2023.   For Artspace, we have provided these services for the community garden and the lawn cutting, which was done by both block members like Mrs. Carry Ingram, president of Colds Springs Block Club, and Mrs. Evelyn Santos from Artspace Block Club. Not only is Santos president, but she is also a resident of the Artspace loft apartments on 1219 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14209.   This project is significant to Mrs. Evelyn Santos, who wants to make a difference in our Artspace community and to make long-term changes to the garden that, by no fault of the past garden manager, Mrs. Colleen Morrisey, and due to lack of funding, she could not continue with the upkeep of the Artspace community garden. We wanted to reach out and help her to make these significant changes happen.   This project has been an eye-opening experience for both groups involved in learning about the procedures for healthy plants, the planning of the vegetables and fruits, and the preparing of the soils for each season and plant. Learning about the different plants and the benefits they can provide us for good nutrition.   We cut the lawn ourselves at first because we were learning what to do for the first time, and then we found a great person to start cutting the lawn for us at an excellent price for the block club. We started buying the different tools needed for the projects and buying the right plants, like the perennial and patio furniture, adding decorations for the garden, and adding colors to make the garden look great and welcoming to our community and the neighborhood.  I want to end this story by saying thank you to the home advocacy program for all their help and trust, especially for allowing us to work with the beautification program, including the garden and the procedure. Read More From Buffalo Latino Village All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics Sports ARTSPACE BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT October 4, 2023/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More  MEET EL COQUITO at ALLEN STREET “AUTHENTIC CARIBBEAN CUISINE” October 4, 2023/No Comments At 242 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201 you will find El Coquito, impeccable architecture, and the smiling face of founder… Read More MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS October 4, 2023/No Comments In this edition, I hope to educate and inform about medicinal mushrooms, specifically about lion’s mane mushrooms. Lion’s mane mushrooms,… Read More Load More End of Content.

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 MEET EL COQUITO at ALLEN STREET “AUTHENTIC CARIBBEAN CUISINE”

1 Comment / Business /

At 242 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201 you will find El Coquito, impeccable architecture, and the smiling face of founder Yamilex Sanchez. The new kid on the block, literally, “On Allen” is a lifestyle, a way to tell time, and a destination for locals. Located on a busy business heart valve of the traditionally diverse, vivacious, well-known, forward-moving, and food-centered neighborhood of, the West Side, El Coquito is the new worst-kept secret in Buffalo. Yamilex is although, the perfect archetype of the entrepreneurial spirit that has long nourished our neighborhood for centuries, and the tenacious, internationally in-tune, and trend-setting spirit of the young and bright creators, “westside babies” as I like to call us, who make up the new regime. A woman of many passions, the first of which, is her children and motherhood, The second, is food and community building. A third is storytelling and community building. Food tells us stories about ourselves, that we don’t know. We know the flavor, the texture, and the smell, but sometimes we don’t know the story of our history. Like Yamliex’s Taina bone structure, Mofongo, a feature on the Coquito menu, gives heavy main character vibes. Mofongo can be accompanied by shrimp, chicken, or served alone. Your first bite is a crash course in Puerto Rican history. The lesson: Mofongo, like the island’s culture, is eclectic. Our beautiful West African ancestors were sold into slavery, and brought with them, fufu, a doughy food made soften. Fufu was then pounded with a mortar and pestle. Over time, Taino and Spanish flavors were stirred into fufu, and out came mofongo. After generations of perfecting, every cook has their own secret. A Buffalo girl by example, Yamilex’s story was one that could have been written differently.  Her life was touched by the ravages of the unjust and heavily one-sided criminal justice system; our nation continues to reform. The weight of Yamilex’s journey extends into the hearts of those unseen by ones. many, but very present in the minds of their loved ones from plantains, cassava, or yams that were boiled to. A motivator, a unifier of stratified spaces and peoples, when I think of Yamilex I think of Cacique Yuiza “Loisa”. Predominately for one reason, Yamilex like Cacique Loisa, is recognized, and lifted by her own people. And the admiration of her own people, forever in time, is the highest compliment a woman can be given outside of motherhood. FYI Cacique is the indigenous word for leader amongst the Taino. Memorialized by the Spanish, much of Cacique Loiza’s story is unknown but we know two things: (1) she was the ONLY female cacique recorded in history; (2) she was loved and that love inspired pride of self in others. Yamilex Sanchez brings light to dark spaces. Her inner light is seen in the faces of the people who love her. I maintain that one of the greatest measures of a person, in today’s digital era, is the look on the faces of the people around them. Not the face of the subject of the photo frozen in time and perfectly poised, but the faces of those who inhabit their space willfully. When you follow the Coquito Facebook page, and when you visit in person, you will see and experience a neighborhood, a street, a building space, and people made to be more hopeful and more fully alive by Yamilex. and her business. Yamilex, kindly has created a refuge for so many of us who crave the familiarness of our neighbors and flavors, sounds, and laughter of “home”, but remain thousands and thousands of miles away. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics Sports  MEET EL COQUITO at ALLEN STREET “AUTHENTIC CARIBBEAN CUISINE” October 4, 2023/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More… Read More INTERVIEW #31: MARIA CRUZ July 4, 2023/No Comments On June 2, 2007, I posted my first Facebook photo. I made identity-affirming Latina-centered student content before it was seen… Read More INTERVIEW #30: CASSANDRA BOCANEGRA PONCE June 4, 2023/No Comments My son is a six-year-old CEO. We started a brand because he likes art and I found it easier to… Read More Load More End of Content.

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