In this milestone 100th episode, the host reflects on four years of highlighting diverse Puerto Rican stories from La Isla to the diaspora. He shares the reasons behind the decision to end the podcast project after reaching the 100-story goal. The episode expresses deep gratitude to listeners and collaborators who supported the journey and encourages continued support for emerging Puerto Rican creators.
Today we’re sharing Josh’s recent appearance on City Cast Chicago, a daily podcast hosted by Jacoby Cochran. City Cast Chicago is fresh each weekday at 6 a.m. and features timely conversations with news and culture makers; activists and artists; and every day people who love this city, but who are always working to make it better. Josh and, City Cast Chicago lead producer, Carrie Shepherd took a tour of the Humboldt Park and Hermosa neighborhoods and discuss the significant ties to Chicago’s Pue...
Political activist, José Cha Cha Jiménez, who also held the positions of President & Chairman of the Young Lords, joins us for this episode along with Young Lords Scholar, Jacqueline Lazú, PhD. In this episode, we sit down for a rare, uninterrupted long-form interview about the The Young Lords, also known as the Young Lords Organization. The civil and human rights organization was founded on September 23, 1968, and fought for neighborhood empowerment and self-determination for Puerto Rico, L...
Today we’re sharing Josh’s recent appearance on It's All Trash, a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Sabrina Alicea. It's All Trash is a podcast diving into the trash world of education. It welcomes guests on to talk about their own education journey, and highlight traditional and nontraditional career pathways. Josh stopped by to play Puerto Rican trivia, discuss his experience in higher education, and share some details on Catholicism and church life that Sabrina did NOT see coming. To learn more abo...
Scott Vargas, the Founder and President of the Puerto Rico Ice Hockey Association (PRIHA), stops by the show to discuss the importance of Puerto Rico's international representation in sports, what the ice hockey scene looks like on la Isla, founding PRIHA and the barriers many Puerto Ricans face when trying to play ice hockey professionally today. Guest: Scott Vargas, President and Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Ice Hockey Association (PRIHA). Host: Joshua ★ https://twitter.com/jsdeleon ...
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. Guest: Jessie Fuentes, Co-Chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda (Chicago) & Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center of Chicago. Host: Joshua ★ https://twitter.com/jsdeleon ★ How to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona ★ https://wgntv.com/news/how-to-help-puerto-rico-after-hurricane...
Today we’re sharing Josh’s recent appearance on City Cast Chicago, a daily podcast hosted by Jacoby Cochran. City Cast Chicago is fresh each weekday at 6 a.m. and features timely conversations with news and culture makers; activists and artists; and every day people who love this city, but who are always working to make it better. Josh told Jacoby about growing up Puerto Rican in Chicago, how the Humboldt Park neighborhood has changed, and what he loves about Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas, ...
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. In the second half of the show, we break down the latest Puerto Rican News Headlines, including: Princess Nokia's new music video set in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico's first power grid reconstruction p...
In this bonus episode, we’re sharing a press conference from the House Committee on Natural Resources, which oversees insular affairs for the United States, including the affairs of Puerto Rico. What you'll hear in this press conference is a historic announcement from congressional members, who have supported two opposing bills that address Puerto Rico’s status. The press conference will tell you more, but to give you a high level view, US House lawmakers announced today that they have come to a...
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 whe...
Happy Earth Day! In this episode, we show love to Puerto Rico’s ecology with a ton of fun facts that show just how naturally amazing la Isla is. Press play to learn about PR’s national flower, how wet El Yunque can get, the way Taíno’s used Ceiba Trees, native and not-so-native animals, and a whole bunch more. Host: Joshua ★ https://twitter.com/jsdeleon ★ Follow & Support the Show ★ Support This Podcast ★ https://www.savechicagomedia.org Website ★ https://www.paseomedia.org YouTube ★ https:/...
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...
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. In the second half of the show, we break down the latest Puerto Rican News Headlines, including: Marking the anniversaries of The Ponce Massacre & the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico's new...
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! In the second half of the show, we break down the latest Puerto Rican News Headlines, including: The Residente & J Balvin beef L...
For this bonus episode, we’re sharing a Facebook Live panel discussion from Power 4 Puerto Rico. The topic of discussion is on the State of the U.S. Colonies. Listen in to hear from leaders, scholars, and activists from American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands on the major challenges these colonies face and how to be an ally in struggles for land rights, food sovereignty and more. The panelists you’ll hear from in this episode include: John Gonz...
Author J.L. Torres discusses his latest book Migrations, Roberto Clemente being confronted with racism & writing about the Puerto Rican diaspora. Migrations is a collection of stories focused on selected moments in Puerto Rican history & their impact on everyday people. In the second half of the show, we break down the latest Puerto Rican News, including Sofia Jirau becoming the first Victoria's Secret model with Down Syndrome and the continuation of the worker protests on la Isla. Guest...
Have you ever heard of the Black Code policy that passed in the 19th century in Puerto Rico? Educator Nina Vázquez has studied this topic extensively & stops by the show to give us a little history lesson on this awful racist law. You won't want to miss out on the deep dive into a moment of Puerto Rico's history. Stay tuned for the end of the show when Joshua & Kim break down the latest Puerto Rico news, including the massive worker strikes happening on la Isla right now, the anti- priva...
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 w...
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...
Sonia Manzano has gone from teaching us our ABCs & 123s on Sesame Street to highlighting #PuertoRican culture in her new children's show on PBS, Alma's Way. We sit down with the 15x Emmy winner and accomplished author to discuss Alma's Way, her early experiences as one of the first Latinas on TV, Willie Colón visiting her home as a kid, and what being Puerto Rican means to her. Guest: Sonia Manzano ★ Actor, Author, Creator/Executive Producer of Alma's Way, and formerly Maria on Sesame Street...
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 shi...
Considering all of the stories coming out of Puerto Rico & by Puerto Ricans, why a remake of West Side Story now? In this episode, we sit down with 3 Latina academics to reflect on & analyze the impact of the production over the past 60+ years. Guests: Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta, Professor of English, Bronx Community College Dr. Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Filmmaker, Writer, Scholar & Professor, Columbia University Blanca Vázquez, CENTRO Journal Founding Editor, Center for Puerto Rican Studie...
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 el...
It's a packed episode today! First, we welcome Denise Ruiz and Cristina Gutierrez to the show. They are the founders of The Honeycomb Network - a holistic co-working and co-creating collective care sanctuary centered and focused on the BIPOC community. We recorded this back in September and it was a lot of fun because it was only our second in-person interview since quarantine here on Paseo Boricua in Chicago. We invited them on to learn more about their organization, and we cover a lot of groun...
In a historic leak, the Pandora Papers revealed that wealthy people have billions of dollars hidden beyond reach in tax havens around the world - AND Puerto Rico banks, celebrities & more are involved. Journalist Luis Valentín has been doing some great reporting on this story for Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, so we invited him on the show to help us make sense of it all. Host, Joshua Smyser-DeLeon's Twitter ★ https://twitter.com/jsdeleon Donate ★ https://www.savechicagomedia.org Podcas...
Puerto Rico residents are PISSED over consistent power outages happening in Puerto Rico since LUMA Energy - a private Canadian-American company - took over la Isla's electricity on June 1, 2021. We welcome Nicole Acevedo, NBC News and NBC Latino reporter, and Carlos Berríos Polanco, a freelance independent journalist focused on covering extremism, political corruption and civil unrest in Puerto Rico, to the show to discuss what the heck is going on. Host, Joshua Smyser-DeLeon's Twitter ★ https:/...
The Puerto Rican Festival begins today through September 26! It’s been going strong for 39 years, but was once at risk of not happening in 2019 due to the unethical stewardship of the committee in charge at the time that ended in the organization filing bankruptcy. The group of community leaders we have on today’s show actually stepped up during that time to organize the fest successfully within less than 2 months. They had to be scrappy then and they needed to be scrappy this year, not just bec...
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 ba...
What’s up everyone! It’s good to be back in action. In today’s episode we get the Paseo Podcast team together to talk about a ton of Puerto Rico news that we either missed or wanted to talk about while we were on break. We’re going to talk about Puerto Rican athletes, Jessica Camacho-Quinn and Amanda Serrano, Puerto Rico as a tax haven through the lens of Jake and Logan Paul, climate change and Puerto Rico, and Lin-Manuel Miranda and our responsibility as BIPOC folks to tell our stories. Host, J...
On today’s show we welcome Nicole Alvarez. She's the Co-Founder & Coordinator of Actívate PR, which is a collective dedicated to bringing awareness to the importance of Puerto Rican independence from a present day lens. We’re going to discuss predatory gentrification in Puerto Rico today. There’s been a number of news stories over the years bringing attention to the policies contributing to the pushing out of Boricuas on the island in favor of affluent individuals, mostly white, to move to P...
