ABOUT

Latin Empire Productions is the vision of Willie “Marine Boy” Estrada, author of The Dancing Gangsters of the South Bronx, actor, cultural historian, producer, and Latin Hustle pioneer. Through my writing, archives, and lived experience, I have preserved a story that was almost lost: how Puerto Rican teenagers in the South Bronx brought peace to one of the most violent communities in America through music, dance, and community spirit, long before Disco and Hip Hop had a stage.

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This is not folklore. It is documented in my father’s photographs and film reels, in my own firsthand accounts, and in the voices of those who lived it. What began at St. Mary’s Recreation Center in the summer of 1974 was more than entertainment. It was a turning point. Rival gangs laid down their colors to dance together, proving that rhythm could succeed where politics and law enforcement failed. That summer marked the birth of a movement, the Latin Hustle, the last original partner dance ever created in New York City.