La Brega Podcast: Champions of Puerto Rico and the Diaspora

La Brega Podcast Season Focus

• 🎙️ The new season of the podcast La Brega spotlights Puerto Rico's champions and their impact on the island and the diaspora.
• 🌟 These champions use their platforms to celebrate and advocate for their home, Puerto Rico.

Episode One: The Statue of Juan Ponce de León

• 🏛️ The first episode revisits January 24th, 2022, when the statue of Juan Ponce de León, a Spanish conquistador and former governor, was found toppled in Old San Juan.
• 👑 This occurred on the day the King of Spain was scheduled to visit, leading to a surreal effort to quickly restore the statue.
• 🧐 The episode questions the priorities of the mayor of San Juan and explores alternative figures who could be honored.
• 📹 A municipal employee's video of slapping the statue is highlighted as a powerful expression of disdain for the colonizer.
• ⚠️ The incident is contrasted with the government's perceived inaction on fixing potholes, revealing a skewed declaration of priorities.

Episode Two: Bad Bunny and the Cuatro

• 🎶 Episode two delves into the Bad Bunny song "El Paso por Hawaii," focusing on the Puerto Rican cuatro, the island's national instrument.
• 🎻 The cuatro, a guitar-mandolin hybrid, is presented as a symbol of cultural pride, especially remarkable for a colony to have a national instrument.
• 🩸 Bad Bunny instructed the cuatro player, Luis Sans, to play the solo as if it were "bleeding out" or "dying," emphasizing themes of cultural identity loss and gentrification.
• 🏝️ The song serves as a warning against assimilation, urging listeners not to let unique cultural expressions like the cuatro fade away.

Bad Bunny's Global Impact

• 🎤 Bad Bunny's upcoming headline performance at the Super Bowl halftime show is noted as a historic moment for Latino and Spanish-language artists.
• 🏆 His Grammy win for Album of the Year generated immense palpable pride, likened to watching a cousin succeed.
• 🗣️ There's curiosity about any political messaging Bad Bunny might convey during his performance, though he is primarily seen as a musician focused on performing.
• 🧊 He has previously spoken out against ICE raids targeting Dominicans in Puerto Rico, indicating important social concerns.

Champion Isabelle Gonzalez

• 🚢 The podcast also features the story of Isabelle Gonzalez, who in 1902, at age 21 and pregnant, was denied entry at Ellis Island.
• ⚖️ Despite Puerto Rico being a U.S. colony, she was deemed a "public charge" and turned away.
• ✊ Gonzalez took her case to the Supreme Court, highlighting the U.S.'s historical practice of keeping Puerto Rico at an arm's length.

Where to Listen

• 🎧 The La Brega podcast is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and YouTube.
• 📺 It will also be featured on On the Media and Latino USA.
• 📻 In Puerto Rico, the podcast is being broadcast on four radio stations for eight weeks.