When you enter the Caribbean Social Club, or Toñita’s, it feels like you could be in your grandmother’s living room. And that’s exactly what its owner, Maria Antonia Cay, —better known as Toñita— was aiming for when she opened the club in the 1970s as a gathering place for the local baseball team. 50 years later, Toñita’s is still standing in Los Sures, the south side of Williamsburg—the most gentrified neighborhood in New York City. Yet over the years, Toñita has faced ever greater challenges to keep her club open. In this episode of Latino USA, we follow Toñita through her latest hurdle, a court battle, and we learn about how the Puerto Rican community in Los Sures has kept culture alive.

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This episode originally aired in 2024.

When you enter the Caribbean Social Club, or Toñita’s, it feels like you could be in your grandmother’s living room. And that’s exactly what its owner, Maria Antonia Cay, —better known as Toñita— was aiming for when she opened the club in the 1970s as a gathering place for the local baseball team. 50 years later, Toñita’s is still standing in Los Sures, the south side of Williamsburg—the most gentrified neighborhood in New York City. Yet over the years, Toñita has faced ever greater challenges to keep her club open. In this episode of Latino USA, we follow Toñita through her latest hurdle, a court battle, and we learn about how the Puerto Rican community in Los Sures has kept culture alive.Follow us on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@futuromedia">TikTok</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@LatinoUSA">YouTube</a>. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to <a href="https://www.latinousa.org/">the top of our homepage</a>. This episode originally aired in 2024.

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S. centering Latino stories, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa  Every week, the Peabody winning team brings you revealing, in-depth stories about what’s in the hearts and minds of Latinos and their impact on the world.

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Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S. centering Latino stories, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa&nbsp; Every week, the Peabody winning team brings you revealing, in-depth stories about what&rsquo;s in the hearts and minds of Latinos and their impact on the world.
Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus

Latino USA offers insight into the lived experiences of Latino communities and is a window on the current and merging cultural, political and social ideas impacting Latinos and the nation.

Latino USA

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S. centering Latino stories, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa  Every week, the Peabody winning team brings you revealing, in-depth stories about what’s in the hearts and minds of Latinos and their impact on the world.  


Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus

How Toñita’s, the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn, is fighting erasure with free food, dance and building community.

Toñita’s Club Fights Erasure

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