La Nacional. Spanish Benevolent Society of New York since 1868.

ONCE UPON A PLACE

Once Upon a Place (Érase un lugar), A Documentary by Cèlia Novis
New York, USA/Barcelona (2013- 2020)
With the support of Consulado español en Nueva York and Acción Cultural española. 

Once Upon a Place is the story of “La Nacional,” a nondescript building in New York City that welcomed thousands of immigrants to the United States over its 150-year history.

Its striking story is the story of the ebb and tide of Spanish immigration to this country; of the rise and fall of New York City as home to the American Dream, and the tale of hundreds of lives touched by the possibility of a new life.

Yet that story of immigrants to America, so relevant today, remains a mystery to most New Yorkers and Americans.

Founded in 1868, “La Nacional” still stands in 2019, the last remaining survivor of the vanished New York neighborhood once known as Little Spain, the largest Spanish immigrant enclave in the United States. “La Nacional” bore witness to the golden age of Little Spain and the tumultuous times that eventually ended in the disappearance of the entire community. This is her story. And the building itself is going to tell it.

Special Guest: Famous Spanish- American artist Domingo Zapata, who has painted the largest Times Square (NYC) mural of all times.