Lifestyle
A look at the Aztec Rebels, a family-oriented motorcycle club based in the Bronx
Jossiel Estefes, known as “Onex,” stands next to his bike at a gas station in Connecticut during a ride on March 17, 2024.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
“Look at what you built, we started with four men and now check this out,” Sergio Garcia, the sergeant at arms of the Aztec Rebels club, told Andrés Lucero as he pointed at the packed party, while their kids ran around the space and women chatted at one of the tables. Andrés didn’t say anything, but his eyes said it all — the pride of seeing his dream become a reality, surrounded by friends who had become family.
Thanksgiving night. The South Bronx.
A small opening reveals concrete stairs that go down to the basement in a quiet New York City street. But the silence doesn’t last too long. The smell of lime and oregano mixes with the faint aroma of beer as the sound of banda music fills the basement space. Tables are filled to the brim with steaming bowls of pozole, and a soft murmur of conversations weaves through the room like an invisible thread.
Andrés Morales, the club’s founder and former president, stands with club members during their Thanksgiving party in the South Bronx.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
The Aztec Rebels start their motors before departing on a night ride in the Bronx.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Sergio Garcia, known as “Toluco,” jokes with his son outside of “Mama Puebla,” a Mexican restaurant in the Bronx owned by one of the Aztec Rebels.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
All the leather-vested men look to the staircase. As Andrés removed his beanie, a bald eagle tattoo was revealed, glistening under the dim lights. He walked down the steps like an old Hollywood movie star entering a bar, eyes fixed on the gathering.
The November wind blew in from the East River on to Intervale Avenue. But here, Andrés’ gaze softened as he watched his people together, sharing stories and laughter.
Jossiel Estefes and daughter pose for a portrait during a Thanksgiving party in the Bronx. He had recently became an official in the club.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
The festivities that night were a testament to how far the club had come, and also spoke of how Latino communities tend to integrate into American culture: While they were celebrating Thanksgiving, there was no turkey or gravy, but rather pozole, chicken and black mole, traditional of Puebla, where most of the Mexican population in New York is from. But to truly understand the Aztec Rebels, you have to look back at how Andrés and his brother, Eddie Lucero, started their journey in a very different South Bronx.
Aztec Rebels dance cumbia with their loved ones at the Thanksgiving party.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Children sleep during the Aztec Rebel’s Thanksgiving dinner in the South Bronx.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Andrés founded the Aztec Rebels with Eddie after learning the culture and politics in a Bronx motorcycling club called The Roadrunners. They dreamt of creating a space where they could hear their own music, speak their language, and be understood. “I started hanging out with The Roadrunners when I was 19. Eddie was 12, and he would tag along everywhere we went. My brother grew up in that club. He has always lived the life of a biker, so, in a way, we learned what a motorcycle club was. That’s why we were able to start our own club on the basis of what an actual club is.”
After deciding on brown to be the club’s color and designing the Aztec eagle insignia, the Aztec Rebels MC was officially founded in 2016 with five founding members. They’ve since expanded to over 20 full members and five prospects from every borough of NYC. Most of them live in the Bronx and Staten Island — “La Isla,” as they colloquially call it.
Sergio Garcia, known as Toluco, the Aztec Rebels’ Sergeant at Arms, smokes his cigar during a Thanksgiving party.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Every full member goes through a sometimes years-long process that begins with an invite, becoming a prospect and learning the rules of the club through a current member before gaining their three distinctive vest patches. A flier for the club reads: “We accept every nationality. You don’t need a motorcycle to enter, but we do expect you to get one eventually.” The Aztecs, nonetheless, are primarily Mexican, speckled by a few Ecuadorians and a Honduran member.
Each has a different story and connection to Mexico.
“For me, the journey here was more of a game, an adventure through the desert,” Andrés says when recalling his migratory journey. “I came in ’86 and have always been looking for the opportunity to improve my situation, even when I was a kid. I was 12, and for me, it was just normal. I didn’t see the danger back then, but if I had to do it again, I would be very scared, because I’ve heard a lot of horror stories from recent migrants.”
His parents had arrived five years earlier from Piaxtla, a town of 15,000 in the mountains of Puebla. They started a fabric factory in uptown Manhattan and rented an apartment on Southern Boulevard in the Bronx. “I come from a pueblo — I was never from the city — so it was a really drastic change to arrive here and see all the people. Especially in that time — the Bronx was in the middle of the drug pandemic. Crack.”
Children crack open a piñata during a birthday party in Staten Island on May 24, 2024.
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The Aztec Rebels’ children jump to gather candies dropped after breaking open a piñata.
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Alfredo Ramirez, known as “Mad Max,” receives a birthday cake during a party in Staten Island.
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In the ’80s, the South Bronx still bore the scars of fires that burned entire neighborhoods to the ground the prior decade. “There were a lot of burnt buildings. It looked like a war zone. A lot of people are using drugs in the streets. I adapt quickly, nonetheless. In the end, it didn’t scare me; I just had to get used to everything. After a couple of years, it was just normal to see what was going on,” Andrés recalls from his youth.
Mexican immigration to the United States dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, with undocumented agricultural laborers traveling to work in the Californian fields. In the 1940’s, the Bracero program formalized the employment of many of these workers, who were needed to fill the gap created by the demand for men during World War II. Throughout the century, the practice of young men migrating to work in the United States grew more and more common.
In 1980, there were 39,000 people of Mexican origin in New York state, while 10 years later, the census registered an yearly increase of 8.8%. It is in this landscape that so many Mexicans have built a home in the United States, finding themselves and creating communities that make them feel safe and with a sense of identity.
Andrés Lucero poses for a portrait beside his Volkswagen Beetle on Aug. 21, 2024.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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In 2020, Andrés handed the president’s badge to his brother and now spends most of his time running a deli on Third Avenue. The back of the store, adorned with a Virgen de Guadalupe sprayed in gritty black graffiti, doubles as his tattoo parlor. His home is still the apartment building where his parents settled in the ’80s. One of the doors belongs to Eddie.
Stern and serious, Eddie carries an almost military posture in his shoulders — gained by private security training and a lifetime living among the club — along with five commanding officers, they keep the Aztecs riding. Eddie is not only the club president and a commanding presence amongst the Aztecs; he is also father to twin teenagers that often spend time with the club, when they are not playing soccer with the FC Harlem. Eddie, as part of a sort of training, tells his kids of the tough decisions he sometimes has to make as president, and asks them what they would do. Explaining and passing on the most important value of the club: the value of family. He is also the friendliest of the group when playing with the other members’ kids. He is loved and respected by everyone.
Christian Pérez, the club’s treasurer, is reflected in a motorcycle mirror before a ride to Long Island on Feb. 25, 2024.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Some of the Aztec Rebels look out toward a lake in Long Island during a ride.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Riders hold a lot of stigma and stereotypes of machismo and misogyny, sometimes supported by long-held traditions and questionable practices. To illustrate, in most motorcycle clubs, wives and girlfriends of the group wear vests that read “Property of X M.C.” As president, Eddie broke that tradition by writing “Protected by Aztec Rebels M.C.” on the women’s vests.
When looking at one of the Aztecs’ gatherings, one must see beyond the vests and the stereotypes surrounding motorcycle culture. Although they might look tough on the outside, the men that form this community are responsible family men. The club also provides a family to those who, in some cases, left their families behind and started a life completely on their own in the United States.
“People are always looking for a family, and that’s why sometimes they get into gangs. We want to be that place where Mexicans can come and be in a safe environment, without violence, but with a family,” Eddie says.
“Diablo” poses for a portrait during a ride to Long Island.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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At 19, ‘Diablo,’ is the youngest full member in the Aztecs. He asked us not to use his full name because of his immigration status. Most, or rather none, of the members know his actual name; they refer to him by the nickname he earned from his love of speed on his motorbike.
“I went straight into middle school and had a lot of fights. People tried to bully me because I didn’t speak English, so I just defended myself, and only then did they respect me and start hanging out with me,” Diablo recalls.
He sticks out from the other Aztecs only for his skinny build and the noticeable age difference. But he is just one of them when it comes to the brotherly rowdiness and banter.
“My mother told me that the fights in high school were not irrelevant, but they meant knives and weapons. All my friends went to the same high school, but I didn’t tell them and went to a different one. Most of them are now in gangs and some of them are no longer around,” he says, while hanging out next to a food truck selling birria and tacos on a highway in Connecticut.
Andrés Lucero, the club’s founder and former president, draws the outline of the club’s logo on the wall of their first clubhouse in Hunts Point on May 26, 2024.
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Members of the Aztec Rebels play pool in their newly opened clubhouse.
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Christian Perez holds his newborn at the Aztec Rebels recently opened clubhouse in Hunts Point, in the Bronx.
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Since 2016, the Rebels have been gathering in their personal apartments, garages and basements, from Yonkers to Staten Island, or “La Isla,” as they call it. But they’ve always wanted to have a permanent home.
As their numbers increased, the commanding officers started looking for potential places to rent, primarily in the South Bronx. They visited more than 20 lots that they could use, but were always turned down.
Eddie Lucero, the club’s president, poses for a portrait with his twins, Eddie and Ethan, during an Easter egg hunt on Randall’s Island for the Aztec Rebels and their families.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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This year, their efforts finally came to fruition. A remote street next to the Hunts Point “marketa,” as the Latino community calls it, finally accepted the Aztec Rebels as tenants. Eddie called an emergency meeting at the new location without giving away the surprise. All the men answered the call. They came thinking that their president was in danger. They climbed up the stairs without removing their helmets, ready for anything. And there stood Eddie: he said. “Welcome to your new house.”
In the next couple weeks, they remodeled the space with their bare hands. Most have worked in construction, so it wasn’t hard for them. They added a classic pool and foosball table, and a TV, where they watched the Mexican soccer league’s final between Club América and Cruz Azul.
“There’s a different way to do things. You don’t have to follow a straight path. We broke the mold by being Mexican bikers in New York. You can be wholesome and be a family man. And you can be more than just a biker. You can be a leader in your community and help everybody out by being part of something big,” Eddie concluded.
Sergio Garcia and Carlos Villatoro look at the skyline from the rooftop of the Aztec Rebels recently opened clubhouse in Hunts Point, in the Bronx.
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The Aztec Rebels stand outside their newly opened clubhouse in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx on May 26, 2024.
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Skid marks left behind in a parking lot during a ride to Long Island.
Mayolo López Gutiérrez
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Mayolo López Gutiérrez
Mayolo López Gutiérrez is a photojournalist based in Mexico City. You can see more of Mayolo’s work on his website, mayolopezgutierrez.com, or on Instagram at @fotomayo.
Photo edited by Virginia Lozano. Copy edited by Zach Thompson.
Online prediction market platforms allow people to place bets on wide-ranging subjects such as sports, finance, politics and currents events.
Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images
The rise of prediction markets means you can now bet on just about anything, right from your phone. Apps like Kalshi and Polymarket have grown exponentially in President Trump’s second term, as his administration has rolled back regulations designed to keep the industry in check. Billions of dollars have flooded in, and users are placing bets on everything from whether it will rain in Seattle today to whether the US will take over control of Greenland. Who’s winning big on these apps? And who is losing? NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn joins The Sunday Story to explain how these markets came to be and where they are going.
This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Liana Simstrom and Brett Neely. Fact-checking by Barclay Walsh and Susie Cummings. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez.
We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.
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Now you can pair your big show with dinner and a more intimate listening experience. The Hollywood Palladium, an Art Deco music venue graced by performers like Frank Sinatra, Richard Pryor, Jimi Hendrix, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z since 1940, has debuted a swanky lounge known as Vinyl Room.
Inspired by 1970s Japanese high-fidelity (hi-fi for short) listening rooms and operated by entertainment company Live Nation, it’s a space where concertgoers can have dinner, grab drinks and catch a vinyl DJ set before, during or after their ticketed event in the same venue.
With a name like Vinyl Room, you can expect to see vinyl records everywhere.
“You’re in [for] a whole night of music,” says Geni Lincoln, president of the California region for Live Nation, adding that her team put “so much thought” into the sound and design of the space, which was in development for more than two years.
“I’ve been coming to the Palladium since I was a teenager, so it’s really special to see,” she says.
Entering Vinyl Room feels like you’re stepping into a secret speakeasy for music lovers, one with iconic music memorabilia, a thoughtful food menu and premium sound quality. Want to check it out? Here are five things to know.
Everything inside of Vinyl Room is inspired by the sounds and the musicians who’ve played at the Hollywood Palladium since 1940.
1. Vinyl Room is exclusively open to members and concertgoers with an upgraded ticket
Vinyl Room is open only on Hollywood Palladium show nights, starting 90 minutes before doors open, and remains open one hour after the concert. Admission is limited to concertgoers who purchase a ticket upgrade, which starts at $35. Early reservations are recommended.
Vinyl Room also offers annual membership packages, which start at $2,000 and come with various benefits such as complimentary guest passes to Vinyl Room, access to an exclusive menu, valet parking, table reservations inside the lounge, a dedicated private entry, complimentary coat check and concert ticket credits.
Tip Dunn, also known as DJ tenSpeed, played records during opening night at Vinyl Room at the Hollywood Palladium.
2. Hi-fi is having a moment in Los Angeles — and Vinyl Room delivers on sound quality
From Common Wave Hi-Fi in Boyle Heights to Slow Jamz Gallery in the Arts District and Gold Line bar in Highland Park, hi-fi — a 1950s term used to describe the high-quality reproduction of sound — venues and experiences have been slowly popping up around L.A. over the last few years. Vinyl Room joins a short list of places where audiophiles can go to listen to music on hi-fi equipment, which many argue is the best way to experience it.
Much like the Hollywood Palladium, which is known for its top-tier sound, Vinyl Room also makes sound a priority. The lounge utilizes hi-fi sound equipment including Master Sounds Clarity-M speakers to ensure that the records sound as crisp as possible. Live DJs spin records on a set of turntables, which helps to create a richer and more analog sound that is closer to the original track than compressed versions such as MP3s.
Ruthie Embry, vice president of architecture and design at Live Nation, says the records and other memorabilia inside the space “connects you directly to the venue’s history the second you walk in the door.”
3. All of the decor ties back to music and the Hollywood Palladium’s rich history
With a name like Vinyl Room, you can expect to see vinyls everywhere. Records line most of the walls and shelves, drinks are served on vinyl-shaped coasters and tables and light fixtures are designed to the theme. There’s even vinyl wallpaper in the photo booth. In one corner of the lounge, you can dig through records under a neon sign that reads, “But have you heard it on vinyl?”
Ruthie Embry, vice president of architecture and design at Live Nation, says the records and other memorabilia inside the space “connects you directly to the venue’s history the second you walk in the door.”
Some standout items include a Red Hot Chili Peppers show flier, a Hollywood Palladium postcard signed by late musician and host Lawrence Welk and a photo of late singers Bonnie Baker and Orrin Tucker at the venue. Even the bathroom creates a memorable photo moment: The stalls are filled with photos of musicians and an “on air” studio sign lights up when a stall is occupied.
Vinyl Room’s menu, created by Chef Ryan DeRieux, is inspired by Asian flavors and includes items like the “Vinyl Roll,” which is made with spicy tuna.
4. Don’t worry about dinner plans before or after the show. Vinyl Room has got you covered
Eliminating the need to find a pre- or post-show restaurant, Vinyl Room has a full Asian-inspired menu created by Chef Ryan DeRieux.
Think sushi tots (like crispy tuna but with tater tots instead of rice), tuna poke nachos, chili crunch chicken wings and shiitake tempura burgers. There’s also a mouth-watering 10-ounce American wagyu skirt steak served with shishito peppers, pickles and charred carrots. For dessert, try the taiyaki, a popular fish-shaped Japanese street food, which is served with a delicious passion fruit cream that I wanted to take to go because I liked it so much.
Signature cocktails at Vinyl Room, inspired by popular songs, include the Superfly, Escape (if you like piña coladas) and Smoke on the Water.
5. The craft cocktails aren’t just delicious — they each have a story
Vinyl Room’s old-fashioned is made with Nikka Yoichi whisky, which is made in Japan.
The cocktail program, developed by third-generation bartender Sean Kenyon, is inspired by the songs created by musicians who’ve graced the Hollywood Palladium stage. A nod to the 1970s, the Superfly is a fizzy, citrus-forward play on Curtis Mayfield’s 1972 track and is made with Roku Gin and yuzu and sencha syrup. Other signature drinks include the rum-based Escape (if you like piña coladas) with coconut oolong syrup, pineapple juice and miso, and the tart yet sweet Smoke on the Water, which is reminiscent of Deep Purple’s 1972 song. The bar also offers an espresso martini (called the MT Joy), a signature old-fashioned (made with Nikka Yoichi whisky) and a Japanese whiskey highball (made with Hibiki Harmony whisky). The bar offers a number of non-alcoholic options as well.
A screenshot from George Mélière’s Gugusse et l’Automate. The pioneering French filmmaker’s 1897 short, which likely features the first known depiction of a robot on film, was thought lost until it was found among a box of old reels that had belonged to a family in Michigan and restored by the Library of Congress.
The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
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The Frisbee Collection/Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has found and restored a long-lost silent film by Georges Méliès.
The famed 19th century French filmmaker is best known for his groundbreaking 1902 science fiction adventure masterpiece Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon).
The 45-second-long, one-reel short Gugusse et l’Automate – Gugusse and the Automaton – was made nearly 130 years ago. But the subject matter still feels timely. The film, which can be viewed on the Library of Congress’ website, depicts a child-sized robot clown who grows to the size of an adult and then attacks a human clown with a stick. The human then decimates the machine with a hammer.
In an Instagram post, Library of Congress moving image curator Jason Evans Groth said the film represents, “probably the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image.” (The word “robot” didn’t appear until 1921, when Czech dramatist Karel Čapek coined it in his science fiction play R.U.R..)
“Today, many of us are worried about AI and robots,” said archivist and filmmaker Rick Prelinger, in an email to NPR. “Well, people were thinking about robots in 1897. Very little is new.”
A long journey
Groth said the film arrived in a box last September from a donor in Michigan, Bill McFarland. “Bill’s great grandfather, William Frisbee, was a person who loved technology,” Groth said. “And in the late 19th century, must have bought a projector and a bunch of films and decided to drive them around in his buggy to share them with folks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York.”
McFarland didn’t know what was on the 10 rusty reels he dropped off at the Library of Congress’ National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Va. A Library article about the discovery describes the battered, pre-World War I artifacts as having been, “shuttled around from basements to barns to garages,” and that they, “could no longer be safely run through a projector,” owing to their delicate condition. “The nitrate film stock had crumbled to bits on some; other strips were stuck together,” the article said. It was a lab technician in Michigan who suggested McFarland contact the Library of Congress.
“The moment we set our eyes on this box of film, we knew it was something special,” said George Willeman, who heads up the Library’s nitrate film vault, in the article.
Willeman’s team carefully inspected the trove of footage, which also contained another well-known Méliès film, Nouvelles Luttes extravagantes (The Fat and Lean Wrestling Match) and parts of The Burning Stable, an early Thomas Edison work. With the help of an external expert, they identified the reel as having been created by Méliès because it features a star painted on a pedestal in the center of the screen – the logo for Méliès Star Film Company.
A pioneering filmmaker
Méliès was one of the great pioneers of cinema. The scene in which a rocket lands playfully in the eye of Méliès’ anthropomorphic moon in Le Voyage dans la Lune is one of the most famous moments in cinematic history. And he helped to popularize such special effects as multiple exposures and time-lapse photography.
This moment from George Méliès’ Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) is considered to be one of the most famous in cinematic history.
George Méliès/Public Domain
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George Méliès/Public Domain
Presumed lost until the Library of Congress’s discovery, Gugusse et L’Automate loomed large in the imaginations of science fiction and early cinema buffs for more than a century. In their 1977 book Things to Come: An Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film, authors Douglas Menville and R. Reginald described Gugusse as possibly being, “the first true SF [science fiction] film.”
“While it may seem that no more discoveries remain to be made, that’s not the case,” said Prelinger of the work’s reappearance. “Here’s a genuine discovery from the early days of film that no one anticipated.”
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