Even thought I make my home in Hollywood California my heart does belong to my birthplace, Puerto Rico. Every time I have a chance to visit the place where I was born and where my Father's family comes from it overwhelms me.
So what does this have to do with Television? Well recently you have been seeing ads from the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (You're not dreaming... You're in Puerto Rico.) They show the island's beauty, but with all due respect to the people who produce the ads, they don't do the island justice. The ads do not capture the people on the island. The ad's show them as very attractive people and, that’s true but there is a hospitality that I have never seen anywhere else.
I took a long weekend to Puerto Rico and so I could celebrate my sister's major milestone birthday with my family. The night before the big party, I was with my father who wanted to watch the Cotto fight on HBO. We did not have HBO where we were staying so we went to a neighborhood sports bar, and they did not have HBO either. While walking back home we saw some guys who had just set up a TV in the parking lot of their apartment complex. They had fed extension cords and a coaxial cable from the upstairs apartment window to the parking lot below. The fight was just starting and my dad asked if we could watch the fight with them. They not only invited us in to watch the fight, they poured us a drink, gave us some snacks, and gave us the best seats in the parking lot. That's the part of my Puerto Rico that I want you to know about. These are the nicest people that you could ever meet. You will receive that same treatment whether you are Boricua like me returning home or, visiting there for the first time.
To quote the ad "You're not dreaming... You're in Puerto Rico."
PS: The next day we had a blast celebrating my sister’s birthday.
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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Article comments
1 - Suzie Fordyce McCray
I too remember the amazing hospitality shown by my Puertorrican neighbors. I grew up on the island, fell in love with the people, and count myself Boricua of the heart, if not nationality. One of the times I went back to the island to visit, an old friend told me he and his wife would travel out to the countryside, knock on anyone's door, and have coffee with them! No strangers there. You must know the saying, "Puerto Rico nunca se despide", translated, Puerto Rico never says farewell. It stays in your soul.
2 - TBJ
Hey, I agree completly in some things you said.
Puerto Rico is lovely, great beaches, warm people. Basically, it works for Tourists, and the best thing is that any american that goes there will be treated as an equal no matter what, we share the same rights and privileges(mostly) as any american on the mainland and that is conforting for many peple.
But, you forget to mention the sad truth that is our current Government situation. I am a born and bred Puertorican, though I recently moved to the States thanks to the horrible state of employment down there...
I just feel sad and angry when I see my "tierra" falling to pieces thanks to a Government that acts like a "kid in a candy store with no parents around".
I do not want to seem like a sourpuss but this is a reality and I feel people do not want to do or say anything about it.
3 - Suzie
So what's the answer? Statehood?