Detective Amaral had never seen anything quite like it, even after fifteen years in the Providence Police Department. He knew that his recent promotion from patrol would come with consequences, and visceral displays of vivid violence put on full display by the sickest of minds, but this was next level. The victim had apparently been […]
In 1908, a vicious tropical storm ravaged the San Juan de la Maguana region of the Dominican Republic. Crops, livestock, homes, and people were wiped out on a record scale. There was an eccentric old man living in the area at the time, Olivorio Mateo. He had no family, no home, and slept in the […]
It should be abundantly clear to anybody who has read my work over the last years of published pieces here at Motif: I love the city of Providence. Everything about it to me exudes quiet charm, limitless narratives, and alluring architecture, all set to the soundtrack of an artsy yet brutalistic urban landscape. This admiration […]
In my recent article, “Foreign Flavor,” I got to explore some of the major immigrant groups of PVD, and where they hailed from. This gave me a vehicle where I could explore my own heritage a bit and give proper homage to my DominicanAmerican mother. For this French American heritage month, I want to shift […]
In the shadow of the concrete chaos that is the Washington Bridge closure, along our city’s Route 195, is a pristine park that we all know and love. I won’t pretend that India Point is under the radar, as it is the only conduit that the creative capital has to the ocean via the Providence […]
The capital city of Providence is as “bustling” as it gets in tiny RI, and while far from a major metropolis, it does have a longstanding tradition of playing host to a melodious melting pot of varied cultures. Immigrant communities have molded PVD over the years, defining entire neighborhoods, while leaving their respective footprints for […]
In the shadow of the concrete chaos that is the Washington Bridge closure, along our city’s Route 195, is a pristine park that we all know and love. I won’t pretend that India Point is under the radar, as it is the only conduit that the creative capital has to the ocean via the Providence […]
For those unfamiliar with the Choose Your Own Adventure book series, DO NOT read the following in order. Start with paragraph 1, then see where it goes. While mostly fiction, the locations here are real and highly recommended! Enjoy! Paragraph 1 You awaken sprawled across the ornate stairs leading up to the sealed-off gates of […]
When Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album Enter the 36 Chambers was released in 1993, I was thirteen years old. I remember it vividly because Theodora, my longtime friend/ crush, had gifted me a bootleg copy of the LP on cassette tape. For those too young to remember, pirated copies of tapes and CDs were the only […]
Naomi sought a bruja to cast a spell; her name was Flor and she was a neighborhood witch who served the locals with Santeria. Naomi was there for a standard service, on behalf of jilted lovers everywhere. She wanted her ex to remember her, forever. He had broken up with her abruptly just two months […]