S10.E06: Puerto Rico

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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When Bourdain heads to Puerto Rico to check out the reality behind the piña coladas and fancy resorts, he finds natural splendor, delicious food and warm people, all against the background of a seemingly insurmountable economic crisis. Bourdain also learns why Puerto Ricans are so devoted to their homeland, and so determined to stay there. He samples ‘grandma food' at a restaurant that evokes a simple traditional Puerto Rican home, cracks open the freshest crabs at a rustic spot on the beach, joins singer Tito Auger for a meal with friends and enjoys some of the best lechon (roast pork) around. A trip to the small island of Vieques rounds out his experience, with a meal at a sustainable farm and an optimistic discussion about strategies for a better future for the region and its people.

[biakbiak]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

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A trip to the small island of Vieques rounds out his experience, with a meal at a sustainable farm and an optimistic discussion about strategies for a better future for the region and its people.

Oh this is going to be hard, I love Vieques but it was absolutely devastated by Maria. It was only a week or two ago that Jose Andres was able to set up kitchens to feed people. 

I wonder if they will do an update since the entire episode will seem dated.

[Snarklepuss]

I'm going to have a hard time with this one myself.  A close friend of my Dad's lives in PR and of course is still without power.  We've only heard from her a handful of times on someone else's cell phone.  She says she's OK but I can't imagine what she's going through.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Bourdain's blog on Puerto Rico

Parts Unknown Puerto Rico links

[AAEBoiler]

So, did the episode actually air last night or did the church shooting coverage preempt it?

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, AAEBoiler said:

So, did the episode actually air last night or did the church shooting coverage preempt it?

I haven' watched it yet but it aired where I live which is the West Coast but I think it picks up the east coast feed.

[Snarklepuss]

It aired here on the East Coast.  I was actually surprised that it did.  I couldn't help but wonder how all the people in this episode were doing now.  When they went out on that guy's yacht I wondered if he lost the yacht in the storm.  I thought this episode could have been better.  This show isn't so great this season IMO.  I feel like Tony's phoning it in.  I did relate to it when he said something to the effect of feeling like he knew PR culture already pretty well from having lived in NY.  Having grown up and lived in the Bronx for the first 33 years of my life, I always feel at home when I see travel TV on PR.  I am just sick at heart thinking of what is going on there right now.  We heard from our Puerto Rican friend that lives there recently and she says that now some public buildings have electricity in her area and are offering free recharging for people's cell phones and laptops.  I just cannot fathom what her life is like right now without electricity for so long, although she is made of some pretty tough stuff and is taking it better than I would!

[Snarklepuss]

Update:  We just heard from our Puerto Rican friend and she says that she now has power, internet and running water.  She also says they've had literally TONS of help from many sources, including the Germans, who came with solar generators!  We needed to hear some good news!  I hope this is an sign of more positive things to come.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I know there are a lot of organizations trying to send help, but one to check out is Luminaid. Two design students founded this company after the Haiti earthquake when they saw how many people were without electricity. They designed a solar light that is inflatable (so it can be packed flat). They recently flew to Puerto Rico to distribute their newest design which also has a cell phone charger. They said they just packed suitcases full of these lights, flew to Puerto Rico, and started handing them out. You can donate a light by going to the Luminaid website and contributing $10.