Spreading Nuyorican Pride From His Tricked-Out Tricycle Ride

A year on the streets of New York with “El Gallo,” an 84-year-old retired Carvel manager who spreads music and delight from the seat of his conspicuous colorful three-wheeler.

Photo by Myra Iqbal

JANUARY 2015

Cotton balls descend on New York City. It is the first snow of the year, and it is the storybook kind. There is enough for children to gather up mittened-hands full. People breathe warmth into their raised collars. It is so cold that toes sting, even in multiple layers of socks. And then, by the afternoon, the sun is out and the streets are clear.

It is Three Kings Day, the Epiphany, a rare time that the news crews come to East Harlem for a celebration, a small parade in the context of New York City. There is a nativity float, oversized puppets of the three kings bobbing on sticks and a couple hundred children beating homemade drums in crowns and winter coats. And, of course, camels, which high step it across 106th Street, at the parade’s climax.

It is primarily an event celebrated by and designed for young people and their parents, but Luis Cajigas takes no notice of this. Eighty-four years old and always one for a party, he has little in common with most…