Why Robin Arzón Showed Up for SOMOS: A Bronx Homecoming Rooted in Resilience

Robin Arzón joined SOMOS Social Care Network on Tuesday, July 7, as the organization turned a Bronx college campus into a block party for public health, bringing a lineup of athletes and content creators to Fordham University’s Lombardi Center for a free community event called Summer Mercado.

The SOMOS Summer Mercado (“Market”)

Held from 5 to 8 PM, the event brought together SOMOS and partner organization Inhisname United Inc. to offer wellness activities, music, healthy food, a kid zone, prizes, and free healthcare screenings to Bronx families. The promotional flyer listed Baseball Hall of Famers David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Mariano Rivera alongside Robin Arzón, credited there simply as a “Fitness Influencer,” and content creator Michelle Disla.

In an Instagram story posted around the event, Robin wrote “France to the Bronx,” a nod to her whirlwind travel schedule in the days leading up to Summer Mercado. She and Ortiz had both been in Cannes, France, in late June for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Robin took part in athlete advocacy and corporate wellness conversations, including a stop at the Women’s Sports House and a discussion on mental health and journaling. From Cannes, both she and Ortiz flew back to the United States in time to appear at the Mercado just days later.

Once in the Bronx, Robin led a community fitness workout for attendees, according to Bronx Times coverage of the event. Rivera and Ortiz played games with local families before speaking about SOMOS’s mission. Rivera, who spent his career with the Yankees, told the crowd the organization exists to “bless others” and encouraged families to seek out programs many didn’t know were available to them. Fordham president Tania Tetlow also spoke, tying the university’s nearly 200 year history in the Bronx to its work with first generation and immigrant students.

SOMOS Social Care Network – The Organization

SOMOS Social Care Network is a Bronx-based organization founded by Dr. Ramon Tallaj that connects New Yorkers, particularly Medicaid members, with services addressing food insecurity, housing instability, transportation barriers, and other social needs that affect health. Its mission centers on the idea that “food is medicine” and that social care, not just clinical care, is essential to improving health outcomes in underserved communities like the Bronx.

Summer Mercado connects directly it’s ongoing Food Is Medicine Marketplace initiative, which delivers clinically tailored meals to address food insecurity and diet related disease across the Bronx. Ortiz has been personally involved with that work, in part because of his own father’s history with diabetes. SOMOS founder Dr. Ramon Tallaj said he hopes Bronx residents leave the event with two ideas: that food is medicine, and that help is available close to home. The Mercado also doubled as outreach for a newer SOMOS program that connects Medicaid members with housing assistance, transportation, food, and case management under New York’s expanded health related social needs services.

Robin: A Perfect Match for SOMOS

Robin’s appearance carries more weight than her Peloton title suggests. Her father was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx, where he worked as a janitor at a CUNY campus while auditing classes after being denied admission, eventually earning his degree and becoming an attorney. Robin has spoken about that history publicly, along with her own Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, as part of her broader advocacy work. A Bronx event built around food insecurity and community health overlaps with several causes she’s already vocal about, separate from any corporate tie-in.

That distinction is worth noting. The flyer never credits Robin by her Peloton title, listing her only as a fitness influencer, which suggests this was a personal appearance rather than an official Peloton branded event. For SOMOS, pairing recognizable names with a hyperlocal health initiative gave families a reason to show up, and a chance to connect with real resources once they were there.

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