Career
This record store still stands today, and was the first Spanish-language music shop opened in the United States. He was the father of five children. Unlike the mega-music stores of today, Casa Latina and other neighborhoods music stores were gathering places for local and visiting musicians.
In 1948 Musician and entrepreneur Bartolo Alvarez establishes Casa Latina, a music and instrument shop that becomes the primary destination for Latin music lovers.
In 1962, the store moves to 151 East. 116th street where it continues its reign as the longest-running music store in East Harlem. Hunter College, Central University of New York"s "Center for Puerto Rican Studies" recently dedicated a special section to Mr.
Alvarez"s work. The "Bartolo Alvarez Collection" consists of.12 cubic feet of correspondence, song title sheets, music notes, writings, newspaper articles, concert programs, photographs, and music Civil Defense’s of Alvarez’s, from the period between 1953 and 1971.
The collection was donated by Ewin Martinez Torres.
