Victor Vegas Shows the Real Ridgewood, Queens
Primer Rebelde De America is dedicated to Canarsie Land, Munsee-speaking Lenape, who inhabited western Long Island.
Primer Rebelde De America by Maxwell Vice
To honor Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 9, Victor Vegas, founder of Primer Rebelde De America, premiered his newest collection. The high-energy event occurred at Guadalajara De Dia II in Ridgewood, Queens, a prominent Indigenous community in New York City.
People celebrated the holiday as they flooded the streets of the venue with free food and a special performance from Grupo Wayno. The New York City Migrant Solidarity also held a coat drive to assist displaced migrants at Randall Island’s encampment. Vegas handed out free graphic t-shirts of event relics as illustrations in exchange for donations to the Migrant Solidarity.
Vegas and Primer Rebelde De America partnered with Dr. Martens to create Indigenous heritage symbols and designs on the staple 1461 Dr. Martens shoe in tan and black colorways. Also at the event, Vegas’ signature shirt reads “Guerra por La Tierra” in large letters, directly translating to “War for The Land.”
Primer Rebelde De America, America’s First Rebel, is Vegas’ brainchild. The brand is dedicated to Canarsie Land, Munsee-speaking Lenape, who inhabited western Long Island. The Dutch colonized this land between the 1620s and 1630s when they bought Manhattan from the Lenape People. At the time, part of Westchester County, Wecquaesgeek and Wappinger, was supposed to belong to the Lenape People, but the Dutch did not abide by that agreement.
