This week, Peter Greenberg Worldwide comes from the La Concha Resort in Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico — with a special report on this U.S. territory. We’re approaching the one year anniversary of the worst storm to hit Puerto Rico in 80 years and one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes. While power has finally been restored to the entire island, Peter reports on the continuing rebuilding efforts post-Maria, and how Puerto Rico is now returning and open to visitors. Peter talks with San Juan news reporters, national park service officials, local business owners and historians about the current state of affairs. He’ll also report on Puerto Rico’s food explosion and how the gastronomic scene has changed for the better. And even an update on the port of Puerto Rico — the cruise ships are back. All this and more as Peter Greenberg Worldwide broadcasts from the La Concha resort in San Juan.
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Click here to listen to the show streaming live from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 18, 2018.
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Joanisabel Gonzalez, Reporter at El Nuevo Dia, joins Peter to discuss how Hurricane Maria was the worst disaster Puerto Rico has experienced in a century and the aftermath of how some communities are still without power. With the poverty level, she says it will take $125 billion to recover and rebuild, which means budget deficits for decades. As for Puerto Rico’s tourism, according to Joanisabel, the good news is that tourists are coming back.
Jon Bergeron, Superintendent of the San Juan National Historic Site, speaks about the hurricane damage to the San Juan National Historic Site fortress that was cosmetic and the damage to the trams. He also speaks about the El Yunque Trail and how it’s being fixed–slowly but surely. With any recovery efforts of this scale, he notes that private and public partnerships are necessary. There are still a lot of volunteer opportunities such as helping with lighting and clean-ups. His biggest challenge is getting staff on board to gear up for recovery. He says the money is there to get projects done, but he needs the support to implement the projects, which means people.
Carlos J. Mergel, Vice President of the Puerto Rico Historic Building Drawings Society, discusses Puerto Rico’s heritage and why you should be looking up in Puerto Rico. He explains how in San Juan, 78 municipalities were made from artisans not builders. He also talks about how houses suffered during Hurricane Maria, post-hurricane housing and the lessons learned from Maria regarding building codes.
Elaine Shehab, Founder and Owner of Chocobar and Casa Cortes, shares her family’s tradition of making chocolate in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, there’s a lot of research that goes into chocolate because you can study 400 varieties of coco. She also shares why chocolate is a superfood and why dark chocolate, in particular, seems more healthy. When food wasn’t available during Hurricane Maria, Elaine helped out with big pots of rice and beans for people with coffee and chocolate for just $5 for four weeks.
Adelisa Gonzalez, Director of Casa Cortes Foundation, joins Elaine Shehab and Peter to speak more about Casa Cortes, an arts-based nonprofit organization that houses the Chocolate Cortes Art Collection, and the foundation’s mission to educate and inspire by offering free educational programs, primarily to children. When children were without school for three months as a result of Hurricane Maria, the foundation helped teach kids during this time.
Professor Luis Agrait, History Department Chair at the University of Puerto Rico, explains how Puerto Rico has to work hard to get past the catastrophic paradigm and how recovery is far from over. He further elaborates on lessons learned from Hurricane Maria including how now, Puerto Rico will be much more in tune with reality. He also brings up Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s generous impact on Puerto Rico and how he’s brought a great sense of pride to Puerto Rico.
Yaira Solis, Food and Travel Editor of El Vocero Newspaper, reports on how the food scene has changed in Puerto Rico and also discusses how chefs there start traditions after training in Europe. Yaira then reveals where she goes for lobster on the East side and a restaurant that has a test menu with local flavors.
