September 2026 – October 2026
Greenwich St. Jewelers and NuevaYorkinos present Adornos: Jewelry, Memory & What We Pass Down. An exhibition using archival family photography to explore how jewelry acts as a vessel for culture and identity across generations of Latine and Caribbean New Yorkers. The show opens in honor of Latine Heritage Month.
adornos: jewelry, memory, and what we pass on
Jewelry is a cornerstone of our community. The way we adorn ourselves, the care we put into passing down heirlooms, the memories that come with buying our first rings or chains, earrings or bracelets. As Black, Latine, Caribbean, Indigenous folks, our relationship with jewelry is one of pride, ancestral memory, and veneration. It's a language of cultural survival and empowerment. Partnering with Greenwich St. Jewelers for their 50th anniversary serves as a reminder of jewelry, its legacy, and lasting impact.
“Living the golden era, 1994/1995, wearing my bamboo earrings living in the Bronx and working at the museum of natural history in Manhattan. My bamboo pieces meant everything to me; I felt incomplete without them!”
Taisha Rivera. The Bronx, c. 1994-5. By Taisha Rivera.
“Here is my father, who worked in the jewelry industry for most of his life here in NY. I believe he started in the late '70s, early '80s. He was a stone setter and a polisher. He brought along many of his friends and many in my family to work in the industry. At one point he tried to start his own business employing his friends from Honduras new to the city. Here he is at the job in the diamond district. He had a bench like this at home as well, with drills and pliers and brushes and little drawers with precious gems and metals and dust. I don't know quite how he got into the business but the allure is easy to imagine, being surrounded by riches. He would get discounted prices when he got pendants and earring bases and stones that he would set himself into the pieces and give to my mother or me. He passed away in 2008 of several illnesses. I'm still not sure how he got some of them, there are times I think the metal dust could not have helped. We still have a lot of his jewelry. I wasn't the biggest fan of gold as a hippie-ish silver-wearing teenager but I came around and still rock his pieces, rings with my initials, a nameplate of course. My mother too especially, who still knows what a decent price is for a piece. She worked many years at the bench at home, helping him fulfill orders, also selling prendas on the side to the neighbors and women at her job in a lamp factory. They didn't just wear the jewels, they made them.”
Armando Maldonado. Wagner & Son, New York, NY February 6, 1990. By Sheila Maldonado
“This is a picture of my parents on New Year’s Eve in 1991. They were newly engaged and were getting ready to go downtown to celebrate the night. They can’t quite remember but they were either going to Webster Hall or the Tunnel (where they met btw). My mom was wearing marcasite earrings from her mom and her engagement ring. My dad is wearing a Seiko watch which he reserved solely for special occasions. It was their second New Year’s Eve engaged and I’m happy to report they are still together to this day. This coming year they celebrate 30 years married and 37 years of knowing one another (crazy, right??)”
Lietys Novoa-Rodgers and Wesley Rodgers. Harlem, 149th St and Broadway, December 31st, 1991. Submitted by Gabriella Rodgers.
Katina Rojas Nazario-Joy pictured here at LaMirage in the Bronx, Roseland, and the Tunnel, and off of Bainbridge Ave in the Bronx. The Bronx, early 1990s. By Katina Rojas Joy.
“The backstory on this piece is about Keepsakes. Items that are of significant value, not of price but of Emotional value. This is a recent piece I've made that’s apart of an on going series called ‘Peacocking.’
‘Peacocking’ is a striking collection that showcases the unique personalities and sense of style of family, friends and miscellaneous individuals I've met over the past years. Within the collection, multiple themes of representation are explored, delving into the multifaceted layers of identity and the transformative power of self-expression. Each artwork becomes a visual motif, a means of allowing each individual to shine brightly in their own unique way and making one as a figure highly worthy of prestige. This series is also rooted in the importance of providing a safe space where each subject's unique identity can be acknowledged and celebrated.
This will forever hold a special place in my heart, because it captures moments, emotions, and memories I didn’t realize I was preserving at the time. But they’ve become quiet reminders of who/where I come from, where I’ve been, and who I’ve met through my life.”
Yolanda Davy, 1970s. By Bryce Alexander Dixon.
“This submission is of my daughter, born in Brooklyn to her deeply Puerto Rican dad’s family and her Mom’s very White Irish/mix European family. Her Dad would adorn her with the traditional gold jewelry of his culture, even after they split up at her tender age of 2.
It was her Dad who insisted on her ears being pierced and bought her first name plate bracelet for her. You can see a glimpse of it on her little wrist as she is joyfully playing at the beach with her constant companion, her bunny. I’m pretty sure this picture was taken at the Jersey Shore in a sea if White people. There was no loud Salsa music playing, or grills smoking meat nearby under the trees at the park like when her Dad’s family goes to the beach. There were smiles, and ice cream, a picnic and probably a body board being drug through the sand… and always a bit of her Dad on her wrist with that little bracelet to let everyone know who she is, a beautiful Puerto Rican child.”
Amelia Martinez, c. 1993-4. By Jennifer Hilton.
“All I wanted was my name adorned in gold, the flyest thing a girl could own in the early 2000s. It wasn't something I'd ever ask my single mother for. But like all single mothers, ellas resuelven. This picture was taken on my 8th birthday. Here I am in my bathroom, showing off my most cherished possession: my name chain. I felt like an it girl. That chain meant everything to me, and it still does. That is why, 24 years later, it's still around my neck.”
Leslie’s 8th birthday. C. early 2000s. By Leslie Martinez.
“I was born and raised in 1860 Billingsley Terrace, Bronx NY 10453. My parents Jose & Altagracia Espinal-Taveras immigrated from Valverde Mao & Santo Domingo DR. They resided in the Bronx and the rest is Hip Hop history! They called me La Princesa in my building when I was born.
My mom Altagracia Espinal-Taveras loved buying jewelry. She always made sure that my siblings and I always had a gold chain, a ring, a bracelet, and a watch. To my mom it meant everything to see us dressed up on Sunday's for church with all our nice jewelry on. When my mom passed away, she left my daughters Izabelle & Emily all her jewelry. They had inherited her beautiful jewelry. Now seeing my adult daughters wearing a piece of jewelry that belonged to my mom means the world to me. They each carry a piece of her with them by still rocking her jewelry today!
I started working at 14 years old and started buying my own jewelry. I was always a Fly Girl, always with the jewelry! Bamboo earrings, to name chains, to rings. Jewelry always from Fordham Rd. and St. Nicholas 181st. St. My wedding engagement ring was from Castle Hill Ave. I would love for my children to inherit my jewelry and wedding rings bands. I hope and pray that our kids continue our Dominican/Bronx traditions and culture by always passing down our family jewelry azabaches & heirlooms to the future generations.”
By Johanna E. Velez aka La Puchi.
A marker of all Puerto Rican childhoods- a name bracelet. I’m probably almost two here, relishing in the comfort of the very early 90s. There’s a tv in this Sunset Park Brooklyn apartment that rattles off “It’s 10pm, do you know where your children are?” Oddly, I remember that remote (is that possible?) Abuela and Abuelo gave me the bracelet, a keepsake for their first grandchild. It’s gold and it’s really important to my Abuelos that I wear it every day, even for mundane things like prancing around the house. Decades later they’ll still be around to buy one for my first born son too. What a beautiful privilege.”
By Janice Hernandez
“Such fond memories. We are true Jersey/New York girls. It was a time with no iPhones and real hip hop. Biggie and Nas and wu tang was what we wanted to hear and of course 90’s R&B. We danced, we smoked weed, and drank forties yet we all turned out to be smart women. These girls are still in my life and forever grateful to have grown up with them in my life and In the 90’s.”
Christina and her friends. c. 1992-4. By Christina Peterson.
“I was 19 years old here. This is my graduation picture. I became a mom at 18, so I wasn’t able to graduate in ‘95. I attended Manhattan Comprehensive Day & Night HS for a year. I worked in the AM & went to school right after, from 5 to 10 pm. It was difficult having a child at a young age & being out of the house all day. Thank God I had help from family to help me with my daughter. What can I say, the 90’s were amazing. The music, the clothes, jewelry, everything was just so dope! What I would do to go back to the good old days. The 90’s, thank you for such amazing memories.
Jaylene Hernandez’s graduation photo. 1996. By Jaylene Hernandez.
“Growing up in Nueva Yol, Brooklyn, to be exact, jewelry has always been a staple and a huge part of my sister’s fashion identity. She always had pieces that felt bold and had character. Pieces that were in style and put to the forefront of every outfit. Her fashion statement was always her jewelry.
She was 13 years old when our mom bought her a ring with her birthstone, and later on gifted her another ring as an heirloom. They are both special in their own right, but the heirloom was extra special to her because all of our aunts and maternal grandmother owned the same ring. My sister still wears these rings til this day and will not take them off.
When she was 14 years old our mom bought her the very first pair of many door knockers that she would come to own throughout the years. Eventually she stopped buying and receiving them as gifts because each time someone hugged her tight enough they would flatten. Then came the hoop earrings that she continues to wear til this day.
The name plate necklaces were always worn in different styles, two of which you can see in these photos and that she still has. There’s an approximate 10-year difference between the two photos and yet she’s still wearing the same rings. Now, 25 years later, nothing has changed. My sister still wears those very same hoop earrings, rings, and whichever name plate chain/necklace she’s in the mood to wear.”
By Kayla de Jesus.
Elias at his 1st birthday, and as a toddler. Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 1990. By Elias Marte
“This photo was taken at my sister's Sweet 16 and Bobi, my abuela, is in the center surrounded by her four girls. She was a very simple woman and didn't wear much jewelry, even though my mom owned a jewelry store. The one item she was photographed most in were beads. In this photo she's wearing a strand of pearls but she loved them all: plastic, coral, pearl, crystal - beads were her thing. She was a deeply spiritual woman and beads are ancient, one of the oldest forms of identity, currency and connection. In her older years she was a devoted Rosarian, putting the beads to use in service of prayer and ritual. But here in this moment, on a night celebrating one of her beloved grandchildren, I hope she put them on and felt beautiful and precious, as she was to all of us.”
The Ramirez Girls: Milly, Alma, Amelia, Edith, Dolly c. 1997. By Jennifer Gandia.
“I remember every piece of jewelry I received from my parents. Sometimes for birthdays, Christmas, accomplishments or graduations, my siblings and I were given a special piece of jewelry to wear proudly. There were 6 of us and my father worked for the US postal service and mom was a housewife so these gifts were precious. In this photo, I’m wearing all the gifts I got for birthdays. The letter "D"necklace I got at age 14. The nameplate was a gift for my 18th birthday. For my sixteenth birthday they gave me a gold bangle which is very dear to me and I still wear today. What you can't see was a charm holder with several charms, which reflected ME. As you can see from my smile, when I wore these gifts from my parents I felt like gold!”
Desiree c. 1986. By Desiree Mejias McNally.
“Leading up to my 16th birthday, there was only one thing I wanted: a nameplate necklace. All the cool girls and celebrities had one. It was not only a status symbol but also a cultural one. If you had a nameplate, you were a Puerto Rican baddie. I can't remember if I was asked what I wanted, or if I told anyone and everyone (like when I badly wanted Timbs and got knockoffs instead). But my godfather/Uncle Felix came through at my Sweet Sixteen birthday party (American Legion Hall - Castle Hill, Bronx). He's the one in the photo with me. The joy I felt was immeasurable. As a white passing young Latina, I finally felt like I could fit in with my peers, and my cultural identity.
In writing this, I realized I've been wearing this necklace for 24 years. I wear it much less nowadays because it's so precious. If anything happened to it, I would be devastated. But I love wearing it for special occasions, or when I want to let the world know who I am, and where I came from.”
By Amaryllis Ruiz.