Spanish food in San Juan

The Washington Post had an article this weekend about Spanish food in San Juan. Glance it over perhaps? It's a little too much octopus for my taste I think...

A couple of observations

Being here, as opposed to relying on accounts from friends, is forcing me to take note of things that have changed since I was last here about a year ago. A few thoughts:

1. Elections are coming up. I mean, not that I didn't know that before; even from afar it was pretty obvious. But the intensity of these elections contrasts with the as-of-yet lackluster American elections--or rather, maybe they seem that way because I've been here a bit over a day and it's already rubbed off on me. Anyways, there are political ads (several of them pretty funny) on the television every couple of commercials, the signs are everywhere, and yelling names of candidates at random strangers is perfectly okay.
2. Puerto Rico is starting to catch onto the whole "green" trend. Every couple of news items includes something about it. But of course, the island still has a very far way to go and it'll be a long time before things really change.
3. This is a bit more personal but man did I miss the food! Coming to a home and getting fresh food with all the flavor I haven't had in forever has just been great. I'm really going to miss this.

In other news, Aníbal is being charged with 5 additional crimes, bringing him up from 20 to 25. I have nothing to say about this, it's that pathetic.

Puerto Rican Coffee, or why you've never had any

Before the Spanish-American War, coffee was one of the strongest industries of Puerto Rico. Along with sugar and tobacco, it dominated exports. So why is it today nearly unheard of?

One of the most abrupt changes that the war brought was the devastation of the industry. This can be blamed on a few factors: 1, the U.S. had already entered in a deal with Brazil for their coffee, 2, the taste of Puerto Rican coffee was too strong for most Americans (most of its success was in Europe), and 3, American interests in the Caribbean laid mostly in the sugar industry, as seen with Cuba. Sure enough, the sugar industry exploded overnight, causing ruin for most coffee-growing families who could no longer export to Europe or the U.S.

Despite this, the coffee companies have hung on. On the island, there are a few companies that keep their products on local shelves. Sadly, however, quite a few of these include coffee from outside the island. Both output and demand aren't high enough to change this.

Yauco Selecto has previously been reputated to be an excellent coffee, equal to Jamaican Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona (some of the most consistently high rated coffees in the world), although apparently quality has been hard to maintain lately. Right now, according to Coffee Review, the best coffee Puerto Rico has to offer at the moment is something called CaféBello, which I've never heard of before. Sounds good though.

Coffee, by the way, is definitely one way to Puerto Rico differs from the U.S. It's usually enjoyed in small cups with milk (and sugar, if you want), making a perfect café con leche, common throughout Latin America. Extremely bitter black coffee is called café puya (in comparison to café prieto, which is sweetened) and is also popular. Starbucks and the entire idea of fancy coffee drinks is really unpopular, kind of startling considering Puerto Rico's incredible sweet tooth. Cold coffee is a no-no and milk will often be heated up on the oven as well. Apparently warm coffee is seen as rude gesture in restaurants. So if you have guests over, don't give them cold coffee! Not that anyone would do that on purpose...

Generally whenever I get read to leave I make sure to pick up a little coffee to take with me. It's difficult to get it away from the island otherwise.

More on Milk, which would hit the minimum hourly wage except...

As suspected, the price of milk is increasing tomorrow, 8 cents.

Also, minimum wage might be increasing from $6.55 to $7.25. I am going to take a bet and say this is heading towards disaster, seeing as the increase isn't high enough to satisfy the people who need it, while being high enough to discourage American companies (particularly with factories on the island) that Puerto Rico is too expensive, something that is already happening with devastating results.

No freaking way

Apparently there is a very high possibility of the price of milk rising even more.

If you haven't been keeping up with the island in the last year or so, you'd probably have no way of knowing that the price of milk has risen exponentially, making it out of reach for most Puerto Rican budgets. Right now, according to the article, a gallon of milk costs on average $5.30. In comparison, in the states it's at an average of $4.00, with prices around $5.00 in some areas. Factoring in the huge difference of incomes, clearly the prices are ridiculously high. That's why most families have stopped buying milk.

So I find it shocking they can even consider rising the prices more than what they already are. At those prices, you may as well buy your own damn cow and raise it in your cramped backyard (or at least a goat, if I'm going to pretend to be halfway realistic).

How to Beat the Heat, or, Words of the Week: Manteca(d)o and Piragua

It's not really that much hotter in Puerto Rico now as it is the rest of the year, but it's summer here, hence I'm reminded of these things. And it still is pretty hot right now on the island anyways.

Air conditioning is something confined to public spaces rather than private, generally speaking, which basically means the best way to get some is to head to the mall rather than hide in the house. Unless, you know, you're in a hotel, but then why are you staying in your room on vacation? If it's too hot to hit the streets of Old San Juan, there are plenty of museums around to check out. Or you can get a free ride to the beach (until the end of August, anyways).

The vast majority of houses, however, do not have air conditioning. Most do have those window air conditioners (although many times in the wall rather than in a window) or fans. Side note: if you stop using those a/c units, they fill up with cockroaches. You've been warned.

Anyways, if you do decide to go out, there are a couple good ways to handle the heat. Which brings us to the words of this week, which are mantecado and piragua.

Unlike most Spanish-speaking countries, Puerto Rico doesn't use the word helado for ice cream. It's mantecado. They'd figure out you wanted ice cream if you asked for helado, I suppose, but go with mantecado.

Piraguas are basically tropical snow cones. I'm not sure how to explain them more than that. They have them all over Old San Juan in little carts and they are great--my favorite flavor is coconut. The word supposedly comes from the Taíno word for some kind of long boat, but now they're snow cones.

So enjoy your vacation, and keep cool!

Café Salsa

Que le pongan salsa, Que le pongan salsa, Pa' mojar pa' mojar Que le pongan salsa...

This weekend I went to old town Alexandria to celebrate the 4th. And of course, what do I run into but a whole bunch of Puerto Ricans... including a Puerto Rican restaurant! I could have sworn there weren't any around DC at all.

Of course we had to go. Even if my friend is returning to the island in less than a week.

Café Salsa technically calls itself "Nuevo Latino" cuisine but it mostly draws from Puerto Rican food, plenty of Cuban and a couple other things as well. It's a pretty small place but the food isn't bad. Here come the pictures...





Yum!

Yes! Yes! God, Yes! What I've been thinking forever but in better wording

I happened across this moments ago on El Nuevo Día and I really have no choice but to post the entire thing. A most likely shoddy English translation follows, along with my comments.

26-Junio-2008 | Ángel Collado Scharwz -Fundación Voz del Centro

Un país agrícola sin agricultura

En la década del cuarenta, el último gobernador extranjero en Puerto Rico, Rexford G. Tugwell, exclamó con asombro: “Imagínense, la comida es importada. Han perdido el arte del trópico. Nadie bajo ese sol, con buen terreno y con cuarenta pulgadas de lluvia, debe pasar hambre”. Puerto Rico goza del escenario perfecto para ser autosuficiente en lo que respecta a su capacidad terrestre y marina de satisfacer las necesidades alimentarias de sus ciudadanos.

Hace muchos años la agricultura desempeñó un rol protagónico en nuestra sociedad y nuestra economía. En 1935, el secretario del Interior, Harold Ickes responsabilizó a los Estados Unidos de destruir nuestra agricultura: “Puerto Rico… ha sido víctima de una economía de 'laissez faire' que ha originado el crecimiento rápido de grandes corporaciones azucareras absentistas, las que han acaparado mucha tierra que antes pertenecía a pequeños agricultores independientes, quienes, en consecuencia, se han visto reducidos prácticamente a la servidumbre económica. Si bien es cierto que la inclusión de Puerto Rico dentro de nuestras barreras arancelarias ha sido sumamente beneficiosa para los accionistas de esas corporaciones, los beneficios no han pasado a manos de la masa de puertorriqueños. Éstos, por el contrario, han visto que las tierras en las que antes sembraban cultivos de subsistencia, se han dedicado a la producción de azúcar, mientras ellos han sido empujados gradualmente a importar todos sus alimentos básicos, pagando por éstos los altos precios producidos por el arancel. Hoy día hay más miseria e indigencia y mucho más desempleo en Puerto Rico que en cualquier época previa de su historia”.

Años después, la situación empeoró con la operación Manos a la Obra, la cuál continuó debilitando a la industria agrícola. Se asignó prioridad al programa de industrialización basado en inversiones extranjeras. Se buscaba resultados inmediatos, aunque fuesen temporeros. El propio Teodoro Moscoso me comentó en sus últimos años de vida sobre el grave error que fue abandonar la agricultura.

Es lamentable que hoy día el único alimento cultivado en nuestra tierra que supera el renglón de las plantas ornamentales sean los plátanos. La venta de estas plantas es cuatro veces mayor que la venta de los mangós.

Más lamentable aún es que los mangós cosechados en la Isla sean desplazados por guineos de Costa Rica y piñas de la República Dominicana en los barcos que llevan los productos a Europa. Recientemente se reseñó en la prensa que los barcos llegaban sin cupo para nuestros furgones de mangós. Esta industria produce 700 empleos y genera $18 millones anuales. Pero las leyes de cabotaje federales, al obligarnos a utilizar los transportes marítimos estadounidenses considerados los más costosos e ineficaces, no sólo perjudican la exportación de nuestra producción agrícola: también aumentan el costo de los alimentos que importamos

La calidad de nuestros productos agrícolas es insuperable. Tres ejemplos de reconocimiento internacional son la piña, la cual es considerada por los expertos como superior a la de Hawai; el café, el cual se ofrece en restaurantes de alta cocina en Europa como un delicatessen; y el mangó, el cual recibe en Europa una aceptación formidable. Experimentos como la siembra de arroz en la década del setenta fueron abandonados ante la incapacidad de los gobiernos de turno para incentivar a empresarios locales.Debemos ver a Israel como nuestro principal modelo de desarrollo agrícola. Han conseguido cultivar en el desierto. Satisfacen toda la demanda alimentaria de sus ciudadanos, más exportan su producto agrícola a Europa. Sin embargo, su economía no se limita a la agricultura: ésta complementa una moderna industria de alta tecnología.En Israel, la agricultura representa un 2% del producto bruto mientras que en Puerto Rico es menos de 1%. Israel tiene el doble de la población de Puerto Rico pero cuatro veces el número de empleados en la industria manufacturera.

Israel, al igual que otras colonias antiguas, ha alcanzado estos éxitos económicos desde una plataforma soberana.

En Puerto Rico, aunque el escenario actual permite mejoras a la industria agrícola, el status político limita su desarrollo y potencial. Las leyes de cabotaje federales y la falta de poder para negociar tratados internacionales constituyen una camisa de fuerza para este desarrollo.

El otro aspecto importante es la mano de obra, la cual es muy limitada, pues es mucho más cómodo depender del mantengo federal. Lo irónico de la situación es que tampoco tenemos el poder para importar mano de obra que cultive nuestras tierras.

26-Junio-2008 | Ángel Collado Scharwz -Fundación Voz del Centro

An Agricultural Country without Agriculture

In the 40's, the last foreign governor in Puerto Rico, Rexford G. Tugwell, exclaimed with astonishment: "Imagine, the food is imported. They've lost the art of the tropic. No one under this sun, with good terrain and 40 inches of rain, should suffer hunger". Puerto Rico enjoys the perfect scenario to be self-sufficient in respect to its terrestrial and marine capacity to satisfy the gastronomical needs of its citizens.

Many years ago agriculture occupied a lead roll in our society and our economy. In 1935, the secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes blamed the United States for destroying our agriculture: "Puerto Rico... has been victim of a 'laissez faire' economy that has given rise to rapid growth of huge sugar corporations run by absentee business owners, which have seized great quantities of land that belonged to small independent farmers before, who, in consequence, have practically been reduced to economic servitude. If it's true that the inclusion of Puerto Rico in our national boundaries has been extremely beneficial for the shareholders of these corporations, the benefits have not been passed down to the hands of the Puerto Rican masses. They, on the contrary, have seen that the lands in which before they planted subsistence crops have been dedicated to sugar production, while they have been gradually pushed to import all of their basic food, paying for these the high prices produced by customs. Today there is more misery and poverty, and much more unemployment, in Puerto Rico than in any other previous era in its history."

Years later, the situation worsened with the Manos a la Obra operation ("Operation Bootstrap", the nickname for it--and not translation per se--commonly used), which continued debilitating the agricultural industry. It assigned priority to the industrialization program based on foreign investments. It sought out immediate results, even if they were temporary. Teodoro Moscoso himself (the man for whom the large and famous bridge in San Juan, with the Puerto Rican and American flags in pairs, is named) commented to me in the last years of his life on the grave error that was abandoning agriculture.

It's regrettable that the only food cultivated in our land that exceeds ornamental plants in count is the plantain. The sale of these plants is four times greater than the same of mangos.

Even more regrettable is that the mangos harvested in the Island are displaced by bananas from Costa Rica and pinapples from the Dominican Republic in the ships that carry the products to Europe. Recently it was reviewed in the press that the ships arrived without space for our tons of mangos. This industry produces 700 employees and generates $18 million annually. But the federal coastal shipping laws, by obliging us to use the American maritime transportation considered the most costly and ineffective, not only damage the export of our agricultural production; they also increase the cost of the food we import.

The quality of our agricultural products is unsurpassable. Three examples of international recognition include the pineapple, which is considered by experts to be superior to that of Hawaii; coffee, which is offered in gourmet restaurants in Europe as a delicacy; and the mango, which has had formidable levels of success in Europe. Experiments like the planting of rice in the 70's were abandoned thanks to the incapacity of the governments to provide incentives to local businesses.

We should look to Israel as our lead model for agricultural development. They've figured out how to grow food in the desert. They satisfy all the demand of their citizens, plus they export their agricultural products to Europe. Nevertheless, their economy is not limited to agriculture; it compliments a modern industry with advanced technology.

In Israel, agriculture represents 2% of the gross product while in Puerto Rico it's less than 1%. Israel has double the population of Puerto Rico but four times the number of employees in the manufacturing industry.

Israel, like other old colonies, has reached these economic successes from a superb platform.

In Puerto Rico, although the current scenario permits improvements to the agricultural industry, the political status limits its development and potential. The federal coastal trade laws and the lack of power to negotiate international treaties are a straight jacket for this development.

The other aspect is labor, which is very limited, seeing as it's much more comfortable depending on federal welfare. The irony here is that we don't have the power to import labor to cultivate our lands, either.

Did I ever mention how much I love La voz del centro? I do. I think I have over 100 of their podcasts on my iPod, all interviewing fantastic people about fantastic topics. Thank you, Mr. Collado Schwarz!

Anyways, I want to reiterate the message in this article: Puerto Rico, you can do it!

I sincerely believe that one of the most empowering things Puerto Rico could do for itself to shake the chain of dependence it is now living is to turn to its own resources. Food is a huge part of this. As we are asked in the beginning of this article, why is a tropical island with the ideal natural conditions, practically mistakeable for Eden itself at times, importing food? It can't be that processed, old, preservative-loaded Kraft cheese packages are tastier than fresh (and free) avocado from the backyard.

I think Collado Schwarz doesn't quite show the truly devasting effects the American corporations intially had on Puerto Rico. While he does touch on it, it is one of those big deals, a monumental and decisive moment in history that even today still dictates what you find in each grocery store today. Having done my own minimal research on that period, I can promise that the period from the American invasion through the 30's was one of the most tragic moments Puerto Rico lived, only following slavery and the explosive results of the initial Spanish arrival.

Industry changed overnight from coffee (and tobacco to a certain extent) to sugar (Puerto Rican coffee was too strong for American tastes). The conversion from peso to dollar was very poorly managed, seeing as most merchants just changed the currency symbol and not the number next to it, in essence increasing prices by up to 40%, particularly in markets for the poorer sectors of the population. The owners of small farms, due to the change in industry and rising prices, soon had to sell their land and become migrant farmers. The land was bought up by the aforementioned absentee businessmen, who sped up Puerto Rico's path to monoculture with giant sugar cane plantations, all while making the island poorer by funneling the money into the United States rather than Puerto Rico. Within a short time period of this, 75% of all food was imported (practically all from the United States), and rural families, often previous land-owners, spent a whopping 94% of their income on food. Coupled with skyrocketing unemployment and an education that insisted on English even though both the students and the teachers didn't speak the language, opportunities to improve quality of life were few.

I don't really think I need to even say that many of the protests at the time were met with official censorship and state-sponsored violence. It should be obvious.

Now obviously things have improved in Puerto Rico, but looking back in history, we can also see that many haven't. Old habits and impracticalities are about to reach their centennial. It's just sad to see these idiocies that have obviously been harmful survive long past their expiration date.

The blame falls both ways. For one, Puerto Ricans earn some for complacency and an undeserved satisfaction with things how they are. Puerto Rico should be constantly striving for improvement... and no, I don't mean new SUV or widescreen improvement, but a better life for everyone regardless of what they can buy. This can only come about through breaking the chain of dependence. No, I am not calling for the independence movement to suddenly take over the country (although if that's what Puerto Rico wants, so be it). I am talking about a Puerto Rico that concerns itself with Puerto Rico over the United States. Less imports. In regards to this article, I think that the biggest step that Puerto Rico could take would be limiting imports, or, even better, putting tariffs on them (even though it would never be allowed by the U.S. government), and then pumping the money made from tariffs or not wasted on jacked-up import costs into agriculture. Puerto Rico can sustain itself. With the rising costs of both food and gas, hopefully soon it will realize the value of that message.

An equal part of the blame, however, also lands on the United States. The only surviving pretext for the current status is that corporations make a killing importing all that food and other consumer goods. They completely manipulate the market, making it nearly impossible for Puerto Ricans to compete. Do we really continue mantaining colonialism just to make the extra buck?

I am not necessarily against capitalism... it'd be a bit hypocritical, seeing as it's a part of my daily life and the lives of others. I don't want to say that Puerto Ricans don't have a right to want the same things I want, frivolous though they may be. But when the process for acquiring it becomes harmful and inescapable, I think we must find a solution. Clearly colonialism and capitalism are a deadly combination. How many years would it take to resolve this... if an effort is ever made?

Mayoketchup

If you have ever had tostones, fries, whatever in Puerto Rico, you will have experienced mayoketchup, which is basically a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, and a bit of garlic. A great example of fine Puerto Rican cuisine. Anyways, Renee in all her fabulousness has a great explanation of mayoketchup and all the associated horrors, which I suggest you read here. Definitely worth it. Well, I laughed anyways.

Word(s) of the Week: Fruits

And now for something completely different (I'm sick of this elections stuff).

I wrote a post earlier about bananas on the island (and how they're called guineos rather than plátanos amarillos or bananos or what-have-you from other countries). I've been meaning to follow that up with some more (emphasis on "meaning to"; I'm a bit forgetful I suppose). Anyways... fruit!

• Bananas are guineos. Like I mentioned before.
  
• Mango is mangó. For some reason Puerto Rico is (I'm pretty sure) the only Spanish-speaking country to throw an accent on that o. Something to do with confusing it with "mango" (handle) I'd assume. I... don't know.
  
• Naranja (orange) is china. From "naranja china". You can get around with using naranja, of course, but you'll stick out. Naranja does show up on occasions. But even things like Fanta are marketed as china-flavored.
  
• Passionfruit is parcha. For some reason I have it stuck in my head that the name is different from the regular Spanish name (which is a literal translation I think).
  
• Strawberry is ejtroberi. No joke. You hear a Spanish-version of the English word much more than you hear the real Spanish word (fresa). Other berries tend to follow the same pattern (rajberi, for example), as well as cherry (which is often a sexual euphemism too). If you want an example, here's a video of Wisin y Yandel's song "Hey Mami", which starts using those words (and a couple others) in the chorus, conveniently transcribed in the comments.
  
• Watermelon is just melón. The real name for it in Spanish is sandía, of course, but most of the island will look at you a little funny if you say it.
  
• Quenepas are awesome! So is guayaba (guava). Acerola too. Other delicious fruits available on the island include piña (pineapple), papaya, coco (coconut), toronja (grapefruit), and more. Some of these, like acerola* and quenepas, are nearly impossible to sample in the States or Europe. Be sure to get some while you're there, or you'll be missing out!
  

There are even more vegetables to get to, so look out for that.

*I just wanted to add that nutritionally acerola cherries are fascinating. A single cherry has only 2 Calories, no sugar, and yet has 133% of your daily need for Vitamin C. 20 of them only ends up being 32 Calories, 7 grams of sugar, and about 2800% of your Vitamin C. The same amount of orange, in comparison, has only 75% of your daily need with more Calories and more sugar. Interesting, isn't it?

Whoops... we missed it

What with the heat, thunderstorms, and lack of technology (I broke free of my chains for the weekend, in case you didn't notice), I didn't even realize that NYC's world-famous Puerto Rican Parade came and left. Then again, I can't imagine it was that much fun, seeing as it was blazing outside. Anyone reading this go to it? How was it? Any stories?

If you're like me and trying to avoid the weather, here's some reading:

• Apparently during my blackout I also missed Top Chef in Puerto Rico making Puerto Rican food. Check out a pretty funny description of the episode here. Another interesting look at it (along with vegetarian versions of some of the recipes) is right here.
  
• A couple things on tourism--well, one is partly tourism and the rest just migration... yep, I'm talking about Puerto Ricans in Florida. Apparently they've beat New York for flights to and from the state. Hmm. The other one is about JetBlue, who is adding more flights from JFK, Orlando, and adding flights early (starting September) from Boston. Good news after AA's announcement; Puerto Rico needs it.
• And now... politics, that inescapable topic. But this time I have decent reading about it (or at least I enjoyed it!). Check these out:
• An interview with Aníbal about why he's petitioning the UN to review Puerto Rico's status:

Many things have [caused us to change our stance]. Instead of getting more autonomy and powers, we have less than in 1952 because the federal government has grown exponentially and aggressively and now controls things that in the past were left up to the states. . . .

For instance, we have a strong dairy industry in Puerto Rico. For the last 50 or 60 years, the government of Puerto Rico has regulated the industry. Last year, a federal judge decided they were the ones that would regulate prices. This is something that affects the pockets of every Puerto Rican, our farmers, our agricultural sector, a whole industry in Puerto Rico, and from now on we have to go before a federal judge for changes.

Another example is we don't believe in the death penalty. Our constitution, which was approved by Congress, specifically bans it. . . . But under the Bush administration, we have seen the district attorney [in San Juan] very aggressively seeking death-penalty convictions. .

• A slightly less political and more cultural look at some of the same thing, Americanization in Puerto Rico (it's not too well written but is a decent introduction to the issue):
  

In assessing the effects of the “Americanization” of the island of Puerto Rico, it is important to ascertain whether industrial progress is always beneficial to the people’s to which it is brought. Through the American perception of the ideal, one would believe that suburbanization and industrialization is akin to progress and success; however, Puerto Rico proves this to be a fallacy. The people of Puerto Rico, hard working individuals with a strong work and family ethic became so immersed in “Americanization” that no price was too big to pay to achieve that “ideal.” Such prices included the dissolving of the patriarchal society, the sterilization of one-third of the country’s women of child bearing years, and the loss of pride in one’s ability to provide not only for himself but for his family. Now, this society is rapidly becoming matriarchal with 20 percent of the males unemployed and living off of American handouts. But how did this happen?

• A deeper look at why Hillary "swept" Puerto Rico:

Regardless its unexpected exposure to CNN's limelight, the primary event in Puerto Rico failed, once more, to engage in the potent issues that with some frequency rear their heads in the mainland campaigns. If politics is always local, in Puerto Rico, a superpopulated Island (with one of the highest population densities in the world, despite the fact that a full half of Puerto Ricans live in the United States) it is really a bizarre mirror labyrinth in which the colonial status is the overriding issue. Other social, economic and cultural contents revolve around the question of whether Puerto Rico will continue its colonial status (since 1898), or achieve some kind of resolution, any time soon.

• Did racism in Puerto Rico affect the election? A quick glance...

"On the mainland, Obama is black, but not in Puerto Rico," said Juan Manuel Garcia Passalacqua, the island's most distinguished political commentator. "Here, he is a mulatto, and this is a mulatto society. People here are perfectly prepared to vote for someone who looks like them for president of the United States."

This is of course the party line on the island and is used frequently to say why the island does not need a black movement. However, a mulatto ran on Sunday and race was an issue and not in his favor.

I would argue, though, that when the author says that Black island populations are consistently poorer and less educated and White populations are not does not add up to the same wide discrepancies in Puerto Rico that may be found in other Latin America. Undeniably it exists in PR, but to the same extent as in neighboring countries? That is a very strong statement to make for an island that tends to share its poverties with the entire population. Blacks do tend to be poorer on average, but the margin is smaller than it is in other Latin American countries if I'm not mistaken.

• Finally, an article about racism between Puerto Ricans and Nuyoricans, who are seen by islanders as Blacker and therefore are subject to various ugly stereotypes, including overly sexual. Highly recommended.

Photographs in a controversial video feature smiling fair-skinned beauty contest winners and fashion models contrasted with images of scantily dressed, full-bodied, dark-skinned women in public spaces ---"evidence" of the cultural and aesthetic differences between "real" Puerto Ricans and those who make illegitimate claims on that identity.

These are the verbal and visual claims of a controversial video making recent rounds on the Internet, explaining the alleged differences between Puerto Ricans on the Island and those in the United States. The two-minute video, which has repeatedly been yanked from YouTube, informs the viewer that “Puerto Ricans come from the island,” are overwhelmingly “blancos” or mestizos of Taíno and European ancestry, and “typically VERY classy and/or preppy or as we say in Puerto Rico ‘fino’.” Island Puerto Ricans are also highly educated, the video asserts. In contrast, Nuyoricans are “3rd or 4th generation Puerto Ricans that are usually mixed with African Americans, CAN NOT speak Spanish or speak it very badly!!! They act very, very trashy and ghetto or as we say in Puerto Rico cafre!!!” Nuyoricans are Afrocentric and one is more likely to find them “in prison than in college.” Indeed, Nuyoricans—a misnomer since it encompasses the entire Puerto Rican diaspora—often seem to be a target in this video and beyond for anti-Afro-Latino sentiment. Nuyoricans come under fire for their apparent obsession with race and racism and, most particularly, their identification with African-Americans and blackness.

Bananas and plantains

So, I found this blog post and thought it would be appropriate to explain the difference between the two. Basically, in Puerto Rico, guineos are bananas and plátanos are plantains. The term guineo comes from Africa, which brought bananas along with slavery. Bananas are usually smaller than the ones found in North America (they're kind of cute, actually). Meanwhile, plátanos are divided into two types: the bland verdes used to make tostones (slices fried and squished then fried again) and mofongo (just mashed, fried, and mixed with spices and usually bacon), and sweet amarillos.

It's kind of interesting how there is no precise word for banana across the Spanish-speaking world, which the blog above explains. Kind of silly, I suppose, but worth knowing about.

Food!!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I'd like to point everyone towards this excellent article on Puerto Rican food in the meanwhile; it covers almost everything. Apparently the government is encouraging restaurants to make more criollo food. Yum!

More lechón!

I swear this is the last time I will write about lechón. Anyways, if you have iTunes, they're offering the contemporary salsero Victor Manuelle's song Lechón, Lechón, Lechón for free. I think it's been free for the last week so it'll probably be gone by tomorrow... go download it while you still can!

Speaking of lechón and navidad...

So, in the same thread as yesterday's post, here's El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico singing "La Fiesta de Pilito", one of their classic songs about Christmas (and its food!).

"One of its most popular older hits, "La Fiesta de Pilito" ("Pilito's Party"), a Christmas party song, sells each holiday as if it were a new release, some record store owners say..."

Word of the Week: Lechón Asao... and other holiday foods!

So, what is lechón asao?

Well, it's pork. Specifically, the whole pig.

Basically, the pig is filled up with spices, put on a spit, and then turned over a fire for hours. Then it's cut up into pieces and everyone digs in!

I haven't had it before, because I'm vegetarian, but I've been assured that it's delicious. Not that I couldn't tell from the looks on everyone's faces anyways.

Other foods eaten for Christmas in Puerto Rico include some that are unique to the island and others that are eaten across the Spanish-speaking world, such as...

Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon beans) -- pigeon beans aren't really eaten much in the U.S. but they taste quite good in this pleasantly-spiced rice.

Pasteles -- I'm not quite sure how to explain what this is... there isn't a word in English. Basically a bunch of cooked starchy vegetables mashed together, then separating them into large wads, filled with ground beef, and then put in plantain leaves, tied up, and boiled. They're quite good, what can I say. Just make sure they're not still in the plantain leaves before you eat them! If you google it you can find recipes and pictures easily.

Morcilla -- blood sausage. I, not surprisingly, haven't tried it, but it's supposed to be good.

Tembleque -- basically coconut pudding. Again, there are a million recipes on google.

Turrón -- sweet nougat filled with nuts.

Okay... I'm going to stop because I'm hungry now! ¡Buen provecho a todos!

¡Pavo!

Today is el día del pavo, or el día de la acción de gracias. Puerto Rico celebrates Thanksgiving just like the U.S., but it's not as big of a deal as it is in the States.

I found this article, it seems a little exaggerated in the Puerto Rican-ness of it (dominoes and güiros are not an every day thing, and everyone eats turkey), but it does describe some other foods that might appear in the menu. So I thought I'd pass it along.

And to everyone else, ¡buen provecho! (have a nice meal).