La Brega
There’s no direct translation of “la brega” in English, but for Puerto Ricans, it’s a way of life. To bregar means to struggle, to hustle, to find a way to get by and get around an imbalance of power. It’s got a creative edge, a bit of swagger; as Puerto Rican scholar Arcadio Diaz has observed, it’s a word that belongs to the underdog. Hosted by New York-born Puerto Rican journalist Alana Casanova-Burgess, La Brega tells stories of an island and a people trying to cope with too many challenges, and who deserve and demand better. Season 1: “Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience” Season 1 uses narrative storytelling, investigative journalism, and first-person reflections to reveal how la brega has defined so many aspects of life in Puerto Rico during its 120-year history as a colony of the United States. A persistent state of crisis, longstanding neglect by national leaders, and corruption in local politics have made recent events — including a 15-year recession, devastating storms and earthquakes, and deep cuts to basic services — even more arduous. What does it say about life in Puerto Rico that la brega is such a defining experience? Temporada 1: “Historias de la experiencia boricua” La temporada 1 utiliza elementos narrativos del storytelling, periodismo de investigación y reflexiones en primera persona para revelar cómo la brega ha definido muchos aspectos de la vida en Puerto Rico durante sus 120 años de historia como colonia de los Estados Unidos. Un estado de crisis persistente, el abandono prolongado por parte de los líderes nacionales y la corrupción en la política local han hecho que los eventos recientes — que incluyen una recesión de 15 años, tormentas y terremotos devastadores y profundos recortes en los servicios básicos — sean aún más arduos. ¿Qué es lo que dice sobre la vida en Puerto Rico que la brega sea una experiencia tan definitoria? Season 2: “The Puerto Rican Experience in Eight Songs” Known 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 on an exciting, richly-reported, cross-genre adventure that captures the ceaseless creativity, emotional resonance, and yes, la brega that are hallmarks of Puerto Rican music across eras and formats. Temporada 2: “La experiencia boricua en ocho canciones” 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 temporada lleva a los oyentes a una emocionante aventura rica en reportajes y cruce de géneros musicales que captura la creatividad incesante, la resonancia emocional y, sí, la brega, que son sellos distintivos de la música puertorriqueña en todas las épocas y formatos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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 On the Media.
Una coproducción de WNYC Studios y Futuro Studios.
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, productores, músicos y artistas boricuas; presentado por Alana Casanova-Burgess.
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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 ensayo muy influyente, “De Cómo y Cuándo Bregar”, donde usa...
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 problem of potholes by painting their edges white and posting photographs of craters to th...
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 las promesas de vivir “el sueño americano” en Puerto Rico.
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 Levittown in Puerto Rico tells us about the promises of the American Dream in Puerto Rico.
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 un misterio revelador. ¿Qué pasa cuando no bregamos con nuestra historia?
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, and the betrayal that holds more mystery than they realize.
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 acuerdo? El único hospital en la isla municipio de Vieques. Al sol de hoy, más de tres a...
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 supposed to rebuild its only hospital, destroyed by the hurricane in 2017. Now, a young...
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 nacional le tocó un juego donde las fichas no estaban a su favor: enfrentar al Dream Tea...
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 with players like Lebron James and Allen Iverson. Futuro Media’s Julio Ricardo Varela te...
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 episodio cuestiona: ¿Cómo el Gobierno está atendiendo las deudas que tiene, no solo las mo...
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 decision on whether they’ll get paid, this episode asks: how can the government settle its ...
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 brindaba una autonomía especial junto al beneficio de mantener lazos profundos con Esta...
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 had a special kind of sovereignty while maintaining ties to the US. Now, a series of r...
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 generación. Pero, aunque esta maravilla helada fue gratis, no vino libre de costo.
En e...
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 came to San Juan free of charge, it wasn't without a cost.
In this special holiday episo...
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 temporada lleva a los oyentes a una emocionante aventura rica en reportajes y cruce de género...
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 on an exciting, richly-reported, cross-genre adventure that captures the cea...
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