Ep 100: Cuídate - Celebrating a Century of Stories
Join us in celebrating a monumental moment - the 100th episode of the Paseo Podcast! Over the past four years, we've embarked on an incredible journey, dedicated to spotlighting stories by, from and about the Puerto Rican community. Since the beginning of our podcast project, it’s been a true honor to be part of our community's narrative.
This episode marks not just a milestone, but a tribute to the resilience, vibrancy, and diversity that define our community. Thank you for being part of our story!
Ep 98: Do Puerto Ricans Play Hockey??? With Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association, Scott Vargas
Jessie Fuentes returns to the show to discuss the impact of Hurricane Fiona on Puerto Rico, the storm exposing a decades-deep issue, and how you can support disaster relief efforts.
Ep 97: Hurricane Fiona Exposes a Larger Issue in Puerto Rico
Jessie Fuentes returns to the show to discuss the impact of Hurricane Fiona on Puerto Rico, the storm exposing a decades-deep issue, and how you can support disaster relief efforts.
Ep 84: Chicago Boricua History: The 1966 Division Street Riots + Princess Nokia Drops PR Music Video, Puerto Rico’s Power Grid, San Juan PRIDE, Puerto Rico Status Act & More!
It's time for some Puerto Rican history! Long time listeners know these are some of our favorite episodes to do because they give us a chance to learn alongside you. This time, we’re focusing on the 1966 Division Street Riots in Chicago - the first riot in the United States attributed to Puerto Ricans.
Ep 83: Connecting Science with Community in Puerto Rico & Experiencing Microaggressions with Dr. Mónica Feliú Mójer from Award-Winning Aquí Nos Cuidamos
Mónica Feliú Mójer, Ph.D. joins the show today. She is a scientist, science communicator & project lead for the Aquí Nos Cuidamos, which is an award-winning community engagement project that promotes COVID-19 prevention and the well-being of vulnerable and marginalized communities in Puerto Rico through culturally relevant multimedia education, community engagement, science and solidarity.
We discuss her work on the Aquí Nos Cuidamos project, the realities communities in Puerto Rico face when trying to gain access to life saving information from the science community, and how she has navigated microaggressions as a Boricua in the science field.
Ep 81: Who Wins & Loses in Puerto Rico’s New Debt Restructuring Plan? + Puerto Rico Blackout, Senate Abortion Bill, & JLo’s Engagement
Puerto Rico's newest debt restructuring plan has been met with harsh criticism, but you would never know it reading most of the mainstream media coverage of its approval. Marisol LeBrón and Sarah Molinari published an opinion piece in Truthout challenging the mainland press narrative that the plan is one of the best things to ever happen to Puerto Rico. In this episode, we take a deep dive into their article to look at who wins and who loses in this new debt plan. We also discuss their work with the Puerto Rican organizations, PR Syllabus and the Puerto Rican Studies Association.
Episode 80: Can Puerto Rico's Economy Survive Independence?
If Puerto Rico became independent, what would happen to its economy? Some fear Puerto Rico would self-destruct, but author Javier A. Hernández has a different take. In this episode, we sit down with Javier to discuss how a sovereign Puerto Rico could potentially be economically sustainable.
Ep 79: Shark Talk with Marine Biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez + Residente vs J Balvin, B.C. Fugitive Caught in Puerto Rico, PR Status News & More!
Puerto Rican marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez has appeared in places like Forbes, Good Morning America & National Geographic. Her next stop? Our podcast! Listen to this episode to learn more about Melissa's work, shark myths, the reasons shark research is lacking in Puerto Rico, obstacles preventing more Latinas from entering the STEM field & more!
BONUS: A Crushing Blow to Puerto Rico: A New Debt Restructuring Plan
For this bonus episode, we’re sharing a Facebook Live panel discussion from our friends at Power 4 Puerto Rico. The topic of discussion is Puerto Rico’s recently approved debt restructuring plan that the US colonial board - La Junta - imposed on Puerto Rico. We talked about the new debt restructuring plan and its faults in our last episode and took a deeper dive on our Instagram page - @paseopodcast - as to why this new plan could lead to devastating effects down the road for la Isla. But what we’re sharing today will provide a more in-depth unpacking of the details of the plan.
Ep 76: Olga Dies Dreaming - Exploring Puerto Rico’s Status Issues, Gentrification & Class Dynamics with Author Xochitl Gonzalez
Author Xochitl Gonzalez stops by the show! She has worn many hats - entrepreneur, wedding planner, tarot card reader. Now, people are loving her work as an author with her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including the ways her novel explores Puerto Rico's status issues, class dynamics, gentrification, and the questioning of the American Dream. We also discuss the cast, which includes actors Aubrey Plaza and Jesse Williams, and a deleted scene from her upcoming HULU pilot based on Olga Dies Dreaming.
Episode 74: Are More Young Puerto Ricans Favoring Puerto Rico Independence?
How are young Puerto Ricans changing in their views on Puerto Rico's status? Are they leaning toward independence, statehood or keeping the current common wealth status? And - across age groups - where do the demographics fall or rise in support for PR's political parties? Insider Senior Reporter Gwen Aviles joins the show to discuss her recent reporting on this topic and researcher/MIT Undergrad Francisco Proskauer Valerio breaks down the available data to give us insight into the ideologic shifts occurring on La Isla.
Episode 72: What Does Elevating Puerto Rican Cuisine Look Like in Practice? - with Executive Chef Yari Vargas
We’re going to talk about Puerto Rican food in this episode. The underlying theme in our conversation surrounds the question - Is Puerto Rican food healthy? And by that we mean...how do we think about our food? Do we only look at it as fast food? Why do we eat the food we eat today? Are we ignoring other parts of our ancestral history in trying to maintain what we feel is the “right way” to make Puerto Rican food today? And - are we challenging ourselves enough to think of different ways that elevate the way Puerto Rican cuisine is presented without losing that same great flavor?
Today we welcome Yari Vargas - executive chef and owner of Casa Yari in Chicago - to discuss these questions and more. We’re also going to hear about her journey to becoming a small business owner, what being Puerto Rican and Honduran means to her, and her Puerto Rican food recommendations for people who want to be a bit more health conscious ahead of the holiday dinner season.
Episode 67: Puerto Rican Desserts, the Baking Industry & Starting a Small Business with the Owner of Borinken Cakes
Being a small business owner can be tough, and the pandemic has only made things harder, especially for BIPOC owners. On today's episode, we welcome Boricua small business owner, Rachel Diaz, to the show. She is the owner of a Puerto Rican Bakeshop called Borinken Cakes. She’s a working mother of two, who - before getting into the baking business - had a career in product design with products appearing on the shelves of retailers like Target, Michael's, and Joann Fabrics. When she entered the baking industry, she went from baking at home, to operating out of a mall kiosk to now owning two storefronts. We’re going to talk with Rachel about what it took for her to start her own business, the challenges she faced as a small business owner, and of course, the wonderful world of Puerto Rican desserts!
Episode 64: Puerto Rican & Palestinian Solidarity w/ Dr. Sara Awartani
On today’s show we welcome Dr. Sara Awartani. We're going to talk about settler colonialism and armed struggle within the context of Puerto Rico and Palestine, examples of Puerto Rican and Palestinian solidarity, and hear some of her literary suggestions on where people can begin to educate themselves on Puerto Rico and Palestine independence. She is a Global American Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. An interdisciplinary U.S. social movement historian, her research, publications, and teaching interrogate twentieth century Latinx and Arab American radicalism, interracial solidarities, policing, and American global power.
Episode 63: Multi-Medium Artist, Ali Six
On today’s show, we welcome Ali Six. He is a multi-medium artist from Chicago. Among other things, in today’s episode we’re going to discuss the role Aladdin & Michael Jordan played in his name, his 3 key takeaways for aspiring artists he’s learned in his career, what getting arrested meant for his trajectory in the Chicago art scene and where in the diaspora the Jibarito was first created.
Episode 62: 8 Actions the Executive Branch Should Take to Aid Puerto Rico
We’re going to discuss a recent essay from the Center for American Progress, titled An Urgent Rescue Plan for Puerto Rico. In the piece, one section was dedicated to the 8 actions the executive branch should take to aid Puerto Rico. We’re focusing on that part of the article in this episode. Make sure you stay tuned till the end when we discuss obsessions and favorite PR food spots. We don’t know how we managed to do it, but we got a Bennifer mention in there.
Episode 61: 50 years of Promoting Afro-Latin Arts & Culture in Chicago
On today’s show we welcome the Executive Director of the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, Omar Torres Kortright. The cultural center is the longest serving Latinx cultural center in Chicago and this year they are celebrating their 50th Anniversary, so we invited Omar on the show to talk about the center’s namesake, what initiated its founding in the 1970s - hint the Young Lords played a role - and how they plan to celebrate and serve Chicago for another 50 years.
We also welcome author and poet, Luis Tubens, as well as dancer and choreographer, María Luisa-Torres. Maria and Luis are the creators of a production called Raíces to Roots, which will have a number of showings in the coming weeks at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. We’re going to talk about their production, what they want people to take away after experiencing it and what partnering with the cultural center today means for them.
Episode 60: Why Go Mainstream When You Can Breakthrough?
We welcome Monica Cruz. She's a labor reporter with BreakThrough News and host of the weekly podcast, On the Picket Line. She's a 3rd generation Afro-Boricua raised in New Jersey and an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. We discuss the PRO Act, a major labor legislation that could transform the lives of working class people and labor organizing, and what that means for Puerto Ricans, the wider BIPOC community and the working class as a whole.
We also talk about why it’s so hard to make a good Mofongo, where mainstream media is lacking in their reporting on labor and her labor reporting for BreakThrough news, especially what she experienced during the Amazon Warehouse unionization efforts in Alabama.
Episode 59: I'm A F***ing Intellectual: Being Puerto Rican in Higher Ed
We welcome Dr. Lisa Calvente to the show. She is a Communications and Black studies scholar. We’re going to discuss her connection to the Notorius BIG, her work and research, her connection to Puerto Rican culture after her father’s passing, a lawsuit she’s filled against DePaul University stemming from her tenure process and a whole lot more.
Plus, we share details on the Paseo Podcast and 42 other independent media outlets coming together to save Chicago media.
Episode 58: The Murder of Keishla Rodríguez & The University of PR's Budget Cuts
We welcome Victoria Leandra to the show. She's the Editorial Director for The Americano and Floricua, a news outlet for and by Latinas in the US. We’re going to talk about her work at Floricua, the fiscal oversight board's proposed cuts to the University of Puerto Rico’s budget and how that is affecting the student population, and the murder of Keishla Rodríguez and her unborn child at the hands of Puerto Rican Boxer, Félix Verdejo, who was charged with her murder by a federal grand jury.