East Village Community Spotlight: Carlo the Gardener of La Plaza Cultural

"If I tell you about myself, you're gonna cry."

Carlo Rastildo is sitting in a chair in La Plaza Cultural, a park and sustainable garden and community center on Ninth Street between Avenue B and C. Rastildo is a Brazilian, a former Vietnam war veteran and a gardener at La Plaza Cultural. He was drafted in Brazil to go over to the war zone and advise American soldiers, and he talks of seeing several people get their bodies blown apart. He's been coming to the plaza for at least four years. He sits in an area covered with trees among hanging leaves and intently draws celebrity portraits for hours.

"It's my therapy," he says about the garden, making the final touches to a detailed drawing of Robin Williams' face.

Rastildo, an art therapist, prefers La Plaza Cultural to other local parks because they allow dogs, bicycles, food and other activities that allow people to be people, he says. Some other surrounding parks have banned bicycles and dogs. He became a gardener of the center because he wanted to "gain a voice in the politics of the garden."

The East Village is home to several community gardens that provide havens for people who prefer calm environments that are filled with nature. La Plaza Cultural attracts old and new members of the community alike and gives them a space in which to mingle with each other and brainstorm new methods of sustainability.