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Showing posts from December, 2017

Music Helps Many Puerto Ricans Deal With Hurricane Maria's Aftermath

DAVID GREENE, HOST: Many Puerto Ricans are still without electricity and even basic services three months after Hurricane Maria. But that has not dampened everyone's mood. Some are still finding time to sing, dance - even celebrate. Jeff Cohen, from member station WNPR, recently visited a nonprofit in the town of Cayey that opens its doors on weekend nights for musicians and music lovers. JEFF COHEN, BYLINE: After the storm blew out her windows, Maria Enid Rodriguez lost water, internet, power and her entire home office. Her company offered her a one-way ticket to be with family in New Britain, Conn., but she refused. For her, it was round trip or nothing. She wanted to come back. MARIA ENID RODRIGUEZ: I went to New Britain for 10 days - not for me, for them - for my daughters. You know, they have to see me - that I was OK. COHEN: But now she's back in Puerto Rico, and she faces a choice. She works from home, but she can't work without electricity and internet. So

'We Feel Like Home': Displaced Puerto Ricans Celebrate Traditional Christmas Parranda

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Merely Torres-Garcia has been living in a hotel room in Hartford, Conn., with her husband and two kids after losing part of her house in Puerto Rico to Hurricane Maria. She said spending the Christmas season in the northeastern cold has been hard for her family. But on Saturday night, in the noisy atrium of Hartford City Hall, it felt a little bit like Christmas on the island. "My kids are happy. We feel like home in here right now," she said. "It's part of us, what we are," Torres-Garcia said. "We are loud. And we like to dance. We like to sing, we like to do all of that stuff. And that only means — Puerto Rico." Carmen Cotto grew up in Hartford, and had recently moved to the island before the hurricane flooded her house. She said the event started the Christmas season for families who have focused more on recovering from the hurricane. She said that many Puerto Ricans start celebrating right after Thanksgiving. "Christmas hasn't rea