The music has been edited out of this podcast version (available on iTunes) for copyright purposes.
In 1493, Columbus stopped off in Puerto Rico and 15 years later Juan Ponce de Leon invaded it. The Spanish colonized Puerto Rico for 400 years until the Spanish lost to the United States in 1898 in the Spanish-American War. For 12 hours, Puerto Ricans had independence from Spain only to find that they became the colony of the United States. This show explores the current debt crisis and the ensuing austerity measures that affect Puerto Ricans on the island and here. Roman Nelson, City Council member of Ward 2 of Holyoke and Executive Director of Nuestra Esperanza, talks about the Puerto Rican diaspora, debt, resistance and hope.
