I met a group of young women as they discovered one of New York City’s most iconic sites: a park completely covered in graffiti that occupies the space between the Manhattan Bridge’s arches and colonnades. The women wore pollera while skating, multi-layered skirts traditionally worn by Indigenous women that stand for a complex cultural heritage.

The presence of Imilla Skate in one of my favourite playgrounds felt like an apparition. To my eyes, they seemed like korai, the young girls of Greek mythology. Their surprise and enthusiasm as they explored the place reminded me of my own long expeditions through the city that began nearly three decades ago. Their voices and laughter took me back to my school days, translating Book VI of the Odyssey and reading about Nausicaa and her companions playing on the river’s banks.

On that summer day near the East River, my path crossed with theirs and the threads of our experiences, memories, and personal stories intertwined in the bright afternoon sun.

– Francesca Magnani

The series is part of an ongoing project about the Manhattan Bridge, Il ponte blu.