City Limits Managing Editor Jeanmarie Evelly talks with Spanish-language reporter Daniel Parra about his recent profile of Jose Serrano, who retired at the end of 2020 after representing the South Bronx in Congress for 30 years.

Flickr/Congressman Serrano’s office

Rep. Serrano marching in the Puerto Rican Day Parade in 2011.

Earlier this month, Congressman José Serrano—who represented the South Bronx for 30 years, making him the longest-serving Latino representative in Washington—retired from his seat, following his earlier decision not to run for re-election for health reasons.

In this week’s episode of The Check In, City Limits’ Spanish-language reporter Daniel Parra talks about Serrano’s legacy in politics, where he was known as a measured lawmaker who worked behind-the-scenes to broker deals and build relationships (civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton described him as a “thermometer leader,” who “takes the temperature of the room.”)

Hear the full conversation — which includes a discussion of Serrano’s love for Frank Sinatra, and the Bronx River beaver named after him — below.

The Check In: Jose Serrano’s Legacy in The Bronx