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Season 2 explores Puerto Rico’s most powerful export, its music: from superstar Bad Bunny to salsa classics. Hosted by Alana Casanova-Burgess; a co-production of WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios, available in English and Spanish. La temporada 2 explora la exportación más poderosa de Puerto Rico, su música: desde la superestrella Bad Bunny hasta los clásicos de la salsa. Presentado por Alana Casanova-Burgess; una coproducción de WNYC Studios y Futuro Studios, disponible en inglés y español.
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La Brega Presents: Esmeralda Santiago on Language and History
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The writer Esmeralda Santiago’s latest book, “Las Madres,” is an intergenerational story about Puerto Rico, our history, and what it means to remember it. She recently spoke with The New Yorker’s Vinson Cunningham in an episode for The New Yorker Radio Hour, and we thought La Brega listeners would appreciate hearing this conversation about language…
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Bonus Track — Songs for the Future of Puerto Rico
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Una notita: This episode is in Spanglish. This season, we explored songs that tell the complicated, beautiful story of Puerto Rico. We wanted to bring that exploration into the present moment, so we called up some of the most innovative Puerto Rican artists making music today and we gave them a challenge: what would you do with these classic anthem…
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8. “Olas y Arenas” — The Beaches Belong to the People
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Puerto Rico’s beautiful beaches are an integral part of Puerto Rican life. They form a ring of pleasure that encircles the whole island — an escape valve. And they’re one of the few places that are truly public. At least, that’s what the law says. Yet in practice, that stretch of land where the water meets the shore is the most contested space in a…
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8. “Olas y arenas” — las playas son del pueblo
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Las hermosas playas de Puerto Rico son una parte integral de la vida puertorriqueña. Las costas forman un anillo de placer que rodea toda la isla, una válvula de escape. Y son uno de los pocos espacios que son verdaderamente públicos. Al menos, eso es lo que dice la ley. En la práctica, sin embargo, esa franja de tierra donde el agua se encuentra c…
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7. "Vamos Pa’ Plaza" — The Center of Everything
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Plaza Las Americas is not any mall — going there, “Pa Plaza,” is a quintessential boricua experience. Young people experience first dates; old people gather and enjoy the air conditioning; you can renew your passport, get vaccinated, and buy an electric car in a single visit. The Pope even gave mass in the parking lot! This mall that has Columbus’ …
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Plaza Las Américas no es un centro comercial cualquiera: ir allí, "pa’ Plaza", es una experiencia muy boricua l. Los jóvenes viven sus primeras citas; las personas mayores se reúnen y disfrutan del aire acondicionado; puedes renovar tu pasaporte, vacunarte y comprar un automóvil eléctrico en una sola visita. ¡El Papa incluso dio misa en el estacion…
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6. “Boricua en la Luna” — The Moon’s Distance
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“Boricua En La Luna” is a classic anthem about a young man born outside Puerto Rico, who dreams of going back to his parents’ home but never does. Based on a poem written by Juan Antonio Corretjer, the song vividly evokes themes of displacement and connection. And it asserts that Puertoricanness exists no matter where one lives, declaring, “yo seri…
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6. “Boricua en la luna” — la distancia de la luna
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“Boricua en la luna” es un himno clásico sobre un joven nacido fuera de Puerto Rico, que sueña con volver a la casa de sus padres pero nunca lo hace. La canción, que está basada en un poema escrito por Juan Antonio Corretjer, evoca vívidamente temas de desplazamiento y conexión. Y afirma que la puertorriqueñidad existe sin importar dónde se viva, d…
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5. “Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra)” — An Ode to Blackness
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Catalino Curet Alonso (known as Don Tite) penned some 2,000 songs during his life — and around 200 were massive hits across Latin America. “Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra)” is undeniably personal. Tite, who passed away in 2003, was proud to be an “Antillano of visibly African heritage.” While songs by other writers demean dark skin — or even e…
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5. “Las caras lindas (de mi gente negra)” — una oda a la negrura
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Catalino Curet Alonso (a menudo llamado Don Tite) escribió unas 2000 canciones durante su vida, y alrededor de 200 fueron grandes éxitos en Latinoamérica. “Las caras lindas (de mi gente negra)” es innegablemente personal. Tite, que falleció en 2003, estaba orgulloso de ser un “Antillano de visibles raíces africanas.” Mientras que las canciones de o…
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4. "I Wonder if I Take You Home" — Freedom in Freestyle
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Created on the streets by young Nuyoricans in the mid-1980s, freestyle music became the soundtrack for the lives of second-generation Puerto Ricans. Hip-hop and pop, Latin Caribbean rhythms and instruments — it all came together in freestyle. The sound was ubiquitous in New York, and later in Orlando, Florida, where many of these Boricuas were char…
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4. “I Wonder if I Take You Home” — La libertad en el freestyle
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Creada en las calles por jóvenes nuyoricans en la mitad de los ochenta, la música freestyle se convirtió en el sonido y la historia de los puertorriqueños de segunda generación. La fusión entre el hip-hop y el pop con los ritmos e instrumentos latino-caribeños dieron como resultado la música freestyle. El sonido era omnipresente en Nueva York — y m…
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At the end of the 1990s merengue ruled supreme on the radio and television in Puerto Rico. Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente” is perhaps the most famous example — a bonafide hit that helped popularize the genre all over the world. But how did this Puerto Rican hit become the most recognizable merengue song in a genre pioneered by Dominican musicians? The …
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En Puerto Rico, a finales de los noventa el merengue reinaba en la radio y en la televisión. "Suavemente" de Elvis Crespo es quizás el ejemplo más famoso de ese momento — un verdadero éxito que ayudó a popularizar el género en todo el mundo. Pero, ¿cómo esta canción puertorriqueña se convirtió en el merengue más reconocido de un género iniciado por…
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Gabby Rivera was 7 or 8 years old when Willie Colón released “El Gran Varón” in 1989. She remembers her father playing it while she sat in the backseat of their white minivan in the Bronx. The cinematic arc of the song would stick with her: the lyrics describe how a character referred to as Simón, depicted as a queer person who appears dressed as a…
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En 1989, Gabby Rivera tenía 7 o 8 años cuando Willie Colón lanzó "El gran varón". Recuerda a su padre poniendo el tema mientras ella estaba sentada en su minivan blanca en el Bronx. El argumento casi cinematográfico de la canción se quedaría con ella: Simón, es representada como una persona cuir (queer) que se viste como mujer, que recibe el rechaz…
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For over a century, Puerto Rican musicians have been influential across the hemisphere. From the Harlem Hellfighters of WWI who helped develop jazz to the reggaetoneros who dominate today’s charts, Puerto Rican music is everywhere. We start the season with the island’s most celebrated composer Rafael Hernandez, who wrote beloved songs like “Lamento…
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Durante más de un siglo, los músicos puertorriqueños han sido influyentes en todo el hemisferio. Desde el regimiento de los Harlem Hellfighters de la Primera Guerra Mundial, que ayudaron a desarrollar el jazz, hasta los reguetoneros que dominan las listas de los éxitos actuales, la música boricua está en todas partes. Empezamos la temporada con el …
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Season 2: The Puerto Rican Experience in 8 Songs
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As the island donde hasta la piedras cantan — “where even the rocks sing” — Puerto Rico is home to a dizzying breadth of musical expression. From the lyrical boleristas of the 1930s, to the electric salseros of the ’70s, to the reggaetoneros of today who have taken music from the margins and made it a global sensation, this season takes listeners o…
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2da Temporada: La experiencia boricua en 8 canciones
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Conocida como la isla donde hasta las piedras cantan, Puerto Rico alberga una vertiginosa amplitud de expresión musical. Desde los boleristas líricos de la década de 1930 hasta los salseros eléctricos de los '70 y los reggaetoneros de hoy que han tomado la música de los espacios marginales y la han convertido en una sensación mundial, esta temporad…
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La Brega introduces The Last Cup, a limited series about soccer and the immigrant experience — from NPR and Futuro Studios. Lionel Messi is known as the best soccer player of his generation, but there’s one dream he’s never achieved: winning a World Cup for Argentina, the country he left decades ago. Reporter Jasmine Garsd asks, what does home mean…
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During the early 1950s, the children of Puerto Rico were invited to an icy winter spectacle. Mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier, the charismatic mayor of San Juan, arranged for Eastern Airlines to bring a plane-load of snow for a snowball fight in the city. It was a feat that has become legend for a whole generation. But while this winter wonderland ca…
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A principios de la década de los 50, los niños de Puerto Rico fueron invitados a un espectáculo invernal. Felisa Rincón de Gautier, la alcaldesa de San Juan, hizo arreglos para que Eastern Airlines trajera un avión cargado de nieve para formar una pelea de bolas de nieve en la ciudad capital. Esta hazaña se ha convertido en leyenda para toda una ge…
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Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States has long been a subject of intense debate. In 1952, Puerto Rico adopted a new status that was meant to decolonize the island. In English, we call it a “Commonwealth.” In Spanish, it’s called “Estado Libre Asociado”, or ELA. Puerto Ricans were promised for decades that this unique status meant they h…
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La relación que tiene Puerto Rico con los Estados Unidos siempre ha sido un tema de debate intenso. En 1952, Puerto Rico adoptó un nuevo status que prometía descolonizar la isla. En inglés le llama “Commonwealth”. En español, lo llamamos Estado Libre Asociado, o ELA. Por décadas se le prometió a los boricuas que este estatus era único porque les br…
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Luis J. Valentín Ortiz from the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo tells a hidden story from Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, that of the micro-creditors — thousands of low-income retirees and former public employees with claims that the government may never pay, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. As a federal judge prepares to make a decisio…
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El periodista del Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Luis J. Valentín Ortiz, cuenta la historia de los pequeños acreedores en la quiebra de Puerto Rico — miles de retirados y ex-empleados públicos que reclamaron al Gobierno dinero que quizás nunca recibirán. En momentos en que el tribunal federal se prepara para decidir sobre este tema, este episo…
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Despite being a U.S. colony, Puerto Rico competes in sports as its own country on the world stage. Since the 70s, Puerto Rico’s national basketball team has been a pride of the island, taking home trophy after trophy. But in the 2004 at the Athens Olympics, the team was up against the odds, with an opening game against a U.S. Dream Team stacked wit…
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Aunque Puerto Rico es una colonia de Estados Unidos, la isla compite bajo su propia bandera en eventos deportivos internacionales. Desde la década de los 70 el equipo nacional de baloncesto ha sido fuente de orgullo para todo el archipiélago boricua, ganando torneo tras torneo en su región. Pero en las Olimpiadas del 2004 en Atenas, la escuadra nac…
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4. Vieques and the Promise To Build Back Better
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Weeks after Hurricane Maria, the Government of Puerto Rico accepted an emphatic suggestion from officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), put it in writing as if it were its own decision, and celebrated it would be used to rebuild in a “resilient” way. On the island of Vieques — which has a very high rate of cancer — they were su…
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4. Vieques y la resiliencia que nunca llegó
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Semanas después del huracán María, el Gobierno de Puerto Rico aceptó una sugerencia de parte de la Agencia Federal de Manejo de Emergencias, mejor conocida como FEMA en inglés. La pusieron por escrito y la presentaron al país como un logro y una herramienta para poder reconstruir de manera resiliente. ¿El primer proyecto en beneficiarse de este acu…
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Photographer Chris Gregory-Rivera examines the legacy of the surveillance files known in Puerto Rico as las carpetas — produced from a decades-long secret government program aimed at fracturing the pro-independence movement. Gregory-Rivera looks at las carpetas through the story of one activist family, the traitor they believed was close to them, a…
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El fotógrafo Chris Gregory-Rivera examina el legado de “Las Carpetas” -- los archivos de vigilancia estatal producidos por un programa de gobierno secreto que buscaba fracturar al movimiento pro-independencia en Puerto Rico. Gregory-Rivera enfoca esta mirada a las carpetas en la familia de un activista y la revelación de una traición que encierra u…
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Alana Casanova-Burgess traces back the story of the boom and bust of Levittown, a massive suburb that was founded on the idea of bringing the American middle-class lifestyle to Puerto Rico during a time of great change on the island. Casanova-Burgess (herself the granddaughter of an early Levittown resident) explores what the presence of a Levittow…
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2. Levittown, donde la buena vida comienza
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Alana Casanova-Burgess traza la historia del crecimiento y eventual deterioro de Levittown, Toa Baja, un suburbio masivo que se fundó con la idea de traer el estilo de vida de la clase media estadounidense a Puerto Rico durante una época de gran transformación en la isla. Casanova-Burgess explora lo que el proyecto nos dice sobre nuestra historia y…
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In this kick-off episode, host Alana Casanova-Burgess sets out to define la brega and examine what its ubiquity among boricuas really means. A brega implies a challenge we can’t really solve, so you have to hustle to get around it. In Puerto Rico, Cheo Santiago runs a social media account called Adopta Un Hoyo, where people deal with the huge probl…
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En este primer episodio, Alana Casanova-Burgess nos comparte un ejemplo para explicar que significa para los boricuas “bregar”. Para eso platica con Cheo Santiago, creador y mantenedor de la cuenta de redes sociales “Adopta un Hoyo” y con el escritor y profesor emérito de Princeton Arcadio Díaz Quiñones, quien hace unos veinte años escribió un ensa…
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La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience
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WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios present “La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience”: a seven-part podcast series that uses narrative storytelling and investigative journalism to reflect and reveal how la brega has defined so many aspects of life in Puerto Rico. Available in English and Spanish. Creado por un equipo de periodistas, productore…
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La Brega: historias de la experiencia boricua
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Un podcast de siete episodios que combina elementos narrativos y del periodismo investigativo para revelar y reflexionar sobre cómo “la brega” ha definido muchos aspectos de la vida en Puerto Rico. Creado por un equipo de periodistas, productores, músicos y artistas boricuas en la isla y en la diáspora; es presentado por Alana Casanova-Burgess de O…
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Personal book chat
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