“I grew up here in the LES. I am a child of the CHARAS movement.” — Daso

David Soto, better known in the neighborhood as Daso, grew up in the LES, instilled by family with a sense of community activism and a devotion to the arts. That life-long commitment to community is blossoming anew on E. 10th St.

After decades of sponsoring and supporting a range of community events and activities, Daso opened Piragua Arts Space on 10th between Avenues B and C about a year ago. Since then, Piragua has hosted art shows, performances, and community meetings including one with Mayor Eric Adams.

In his most visible initiative to date, Daso backed the creation of the 10th Street Art Walk, a stunning series of murals painted on the walls of the derelict PS 64, right across the street from Piragua. 

“Every time I left Piragua I’d see this wall basically abandoned and not being taken care of. I thought this would be a great way to beautify the neighborhood and to make something special on the block,” Daso said.

The vacant school building is the former home to the greatly missed community asset the CHARAS El Bohio Community and Cultural Center, where Daso spent many hours and where his mother, Angie Hernandez and her Groupo Cemi engaged neighborhood youth through cultural dance.

So it is fitting that the art walk features a portrait of Daso’s mom by artist Danielle Mastrion. Also among the many noteworthy pieces: La Nena, a striking silhouette of a little girl planting the Puerto Rican Flag by Paged, and work by graffiti legend Al Diaz, who attended school at the old St. Brigid School a couple blocks south on The B before teaming up Jean-Michel Basquiat on the graffiti team @SAMO. Other works were contributed  by @tekstthc, @daniellebknyc, @minhafofa, @armordtribe91, @miki__mu, @eloburnz and others.

Like any project of this size, it wasn’t a one man job. Joining the cause were Chris Penn of Thrive Collective, Loisaida Inc., La Plaza Cultural, the Muse Gallery, Loisaida Realty and others. 

“I grew up here in the LES. I am a child of the CHARAS movement,” Daso said reflecting on his many years in the neighborhood. He credited CHARAS with keeping him out of trouble as a youth and with giving him the drive and dedication that led to the opening of Piragua.

“I heard about the space and I did not know if I could even afford it. So it was basically by faith that I opened it,” he said. “It’s been growing organically ever since with one thing leading to the other with all of these amazing artists and musicians and all of the people in the community,” he added.

Piragua has hosted numerous musical performances, including by his own band Daso y el  Groupo Cemi, which he calls Afro-caribbean soul music fusing salsa, reggae, hip-hop and traditional roots music from Puerto Rico. Daso has a lot of experience in putting on music performances, having coordinated the New Village Music Festival in Tompkins Square Park every year since 2007.

The art exhibits also have been successful at the space. Most recently, Piragua hosted a show called Send Nudes, an exhibition of work by NYC street artists and others produced by @drecks___, curated by @elisse_geb, produced by @themusegalleryny and promoted by @up_mag.

In May, Piragua was host to a neighborhood meeting with Mayor Adams to discuss the importance of supporting small businesses. Daso told Hizzoner about the importance of spaces like Piragua that link art and community activism.

Coming up, Piragua will host Calles De Resistencia in collaboration with The Muse Gallery July 8-9. The exhibition will showcase the work of Paged, the creator of the Banksy-like piece that has been referred to variously as La Nena and Resistance Girl.

Moving forward, Daso said he hopes to increase his outreach to the youth of the neighborhood. “I’m interested in the  kind of engagement that helps youth deal with violence and other things we all deal with on a daily basis, approaching it from an artistic perspective. I’m alive todays because of this kind of cultural arts outlet,” he said.