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A Puerto Rican Perspective: Cultura, Colonization, and Current Challenges
Episode 176 • 8th October 2024 • TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective • TonyTidbit ™
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Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/A Puerto Rican Perspective: Culture, Colonization, and Current Challenges

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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. In this episode of 'A Black Executive Perspective' Podcast, host Tony Tidbit discusses the complexities of Puerto Rican culture and history with Adrian Alvarado, a Puerto Rican American actor, and author. The episode explores racism within Hispanic culture, the historical colonization of Puerto Rico by Spain, and the United States, and the ongoing political and economic challenges faced by Puerto Ricans. Alvarado sheds light on the often-overlooked narrative of Puerto Rico as an oppressed U.S. colony, the strategic significance of the island, and the racial and cultural dynamics affecting Puerto Ricans today. He also shares his personal experiences and insights from his upcoming memoir 'Flipping My Script'. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding Puerto Rico's status, the island's struggle for autonomy, and the impact of U.S. governance on its people.

▶︎ In This Episode

  1. 00:00: Introduction to Racism in Puerto Rican Culture
  2. 00:40: Welcome to the Black Executive Perspective Podcast
  3. 02:02: Introducing Adrian Alvarado
  4. 04:19: Adrian's Personal Journey and Connection to Puerto Rico
  5. 07:02: Understanding Puerto Rico's Colonial History
  6. 08:09: The Impact of Colonization on Puerto Rico
  7. 12:24: The Struggle for Puerto Rican Independence
  8. 17:09: Charles Herbert Allen and Economic Exploitation
  9. 23:24: Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in Puerto Rico
  10. 29:44: The Pride of Puerto Rico
  11. 30:17: The Gag Law and Cultural Reprogramming
  12. 32:46: Operation Bootstrap and Migration
  13. 33:28: Current Status and Challenges of Puerto Rico
  14. 34:31: Political Representation and Statehood Debate
  15. 39:05: Economic Struggles and External Influences
  16. 43:09: Racism and Cultural Issues in Puerto Rico
  17. 46:46: Personal Reflections and Solutions for Puerto Rico
  18. 50:50: Final Thoughts and Call to Action

🔗 Resources

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

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Transcripts

Tony Tidbit:

And not just Puerto Rico, the Hispanic culture, there's

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:

a lot of racism that goes on and

it's dark skin and light skin, right?

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:

Talk a little bit about that in

terms of Puerto Rican culture.

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:

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, that

exists, yeah, till this day still.

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Um, you know, uh, one of the phrases

that was very common in Puerto Rico

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:

was, uh, Uh, when babies were born, the

grandmothers and the aunts would say,

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:

was the baby con pelo bueno or pelo malo?

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Was he born with good hair or bad hair?

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:

Tony Tidbit: We'll discuss race and

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how it plays a factor and how

we didn't even talk about this

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topic because we were afraid.

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BEP Narrator: A Black

Executive Perspective.

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Tony Tidbit: Welcome to a Black Executive

Perspective podcast, a safe space where

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:

we discuss all matters related to race.

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Especially race in corporate America.

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I'm your host, Tony Tidbit.

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And again, we're at this fabulous

studio at the university of New Haven.

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WNHU 88.

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7.

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We want to give them mad love.

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For hosting a Black Executive Perspective

podcast, talk about another serious topic.

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:

So go charge, chargers and

keep kicking butt this summer.

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:

Also, I'm pretty sure you guys have

been, but if you haven't continued

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:

to check out our partners, CodeM

Magazine, whose mission is to save the

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black family by first saving the black

man, check them out at CodeMMagazine.

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com.

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So let me ask you guys a question.

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Have Have you ever heard of the phrase,

no taxation without representation?

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I'm pretty sure you have.

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It's one of the founding rally cries

of the American revolution that

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led to the American independence.

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To quote the hit Broadway show,

Hamilton written by the great Puerto

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Rican playwright, Lin Manuel Miranda,

the main character, Alexander Hamilton

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says, Why should a tiny country across

the sea regulate the price of tea?

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Today, our guest, Adrian Alvarado,

will discuss the still overlooked

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narrative of Puerto Rico's status

as a pro, uh, oppressed island

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colony of the United States and the

implications it has over a century.

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on the people of Puerto Rico

and the island's ability to

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self govern and to be free.

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Let me tell you a little bit about my man,

Double A, Adrian Alvarado, accomplished

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Puerto Rican American actor and author

with a rich, diverse career spanning

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both print, television, and film.

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His big break came on the

ABC's long running daytime

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soap opera, General Hospital.

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where he portrayed the character of

Detective Cruz Rodriguez for three years.

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Adrian's portrayal of Detective

Rodriguez earned him recognition for

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his exceptional talent and established

him as a working actor with credits

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such as Marvel's The Punisher, Law

Order SVU, Blue Bloods, to name a few.

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Adrian now can add author

to his credentials.

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With his soon to be released memoir,

Flipping My Script, Adrian dives into

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the diaspora of the Puerto Rican and

Latinx experience in America, tying

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in family and a unique and complicated

relationship between Puerto Rico

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and the United States of America.

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Double A, Adrian Alvarado.

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Welcome to a Black Executive

Perspective, my brother.

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Oh, thank you.

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Thank you very much.

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Excited, man.

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Now listen, just so everybody knows.

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People are like, didn't

I understand double A?

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I heard that before.

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Yeah, Adrian's been on the

Black Executive Perspective.

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He's one of our producers.

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He's been a founding member of BEP.

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So this is nothing new for him.

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The only difference is now he's

on this side of the camera, right?

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We got Noelle now, uh, in the

background, pulling all the

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levers and make this look good.

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So we're very excited,

uh, for him to be here.

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Talk about this topic that a

lot of people don't talk about.

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I'm looking forward to, to it as well,

because he's going to educate me on

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my lack of knowledge of the history of

Puerto Rico and what's going on today.

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So buddy.

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Real quick, tell everybody a little

bit about you, and then we want

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to find out why you wanted to

come on BEP to talk about this.

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Well, you

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Adrian Alvarado: know, we love BEP.

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Thank you.

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Thank you very much for having me.

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It's nice to be on the

other side of the glass.

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Thank you, Noelle, our fabulous producer.

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Um, Noelle, you know, I

grew up in Jersey City.

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You know, I was born and raised in

Jersey City, uh, in the two months.

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You know, I was brought to Puerto Rico.

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Uh, you know, my, both

my parents lived there.

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We have a home there.

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Uh, I went to school in Puerto Rico

for two years as well in Jersey City.

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So I enjoy that duality of having,

you know, being able to experience

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both Puerto Rico and Jersey.

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So it brings that uniqueness of

my experience when we talk about

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Puerto Rico and the relationship

with the United States.

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Tony Tidbit: Got you buddy, awesome.

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So, and just so we're clear, you were

born in Puerto Rico and then you came

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to the United States, is that correct?

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No, no, I was born

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Adrian Alvarado: in Jersey City.

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You was born in Jersey City, got it.

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Yeah, yeah, my parents

were born in Puerto Rico.

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Your parents were born in Puerto Rico.

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And then, you know, uh, I would

go every summer and spend summers,

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you know, with my grandmother

until I was twelve years old.

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Got it.

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Uh, but no, I was born in Jersey City.

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That was, that was one of my dad's, uh,

you know, my dad's a man of a few words.

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Yeah, right.

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But he said, one of my main goals

when I asked him, I said, What do

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you want when you came to America?

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I wanted my kids to be

born in the United States.

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That was like his, he didn't want

to be rich, he didn't want to

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Tony Tidbit: be rich, he's one of those

kids born in the United States, right?

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All my kids born in the

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Adrian Alvarado: United States, I

love this country, he's a funny guy.

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Tony Tidbit: So your father, you

still have a lot of family in

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Puerto Rico, on the yards, correct?

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Yeah,

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Adrian Alvarado: yeah, I still have

my roots there, my father's still

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living on the island, uh, cousins, my

uncle's still living on the island,

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and uh, yeah, I have some cousins.

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Tony Tidbit: I can tell you flat out

and I'm at least speaking from my

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knowledge and I would imagine a lot

of other people feel the same way.

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Puerto Rico is a part of the

territory of the United States, but

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a lot of us really don't have a lot

of information about Puerto Rico.

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So why did you want to come

on BEP to talk about this?

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Adrian Alvarado: Well, because I, one,

I love Puerto Rico, you know, and it's,

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uh, and it's my ancestral home, you know,

uh, it's where my parents were from.

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It's where my history starts.

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And, uh, you know, I, I just,

you know, when I was a kid, I, I

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started this self discovery journey.

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So I just always just wanted

to learn more about myself.

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And the more I learn about myself, uh, the

more I want to share about Puerto Rico.

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Because I run into a lot of, a

lot of Puerto Ricans who are here.

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Who don't know the history, you know,

and then there are a lot of people,

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you know, I lived in California for

12 years and, you know, predominantly,

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you know, Mexican Americans out there.

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So, you know, when they would run, run

into me and say, Oh, you're Puerto Rican,

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you know, you guys, you know, reggaeton,

you know, just, uh, so it was different.

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They don't, they don't know anything

about, you know, that we were citizens,

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for example, you know, that, you

know, uh, every Puerto Rican is a

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United States citizen automatically.

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So we'll get into that though, too.

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Tony Tidbit: Well, listen, bro.

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Let's, let's start the history lesson.

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Let's start learning the

knowledge, the enlightenment.

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So double A, you ready to

talk about it, my brother?

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Let's talk about it.

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All right, bro.

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So when I was going through the

description, we talked about.

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Puerto Rico being a colony, right?

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So can you define just for everybody,

let's start off on letter A.

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So everybody is on the same page.

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What, what's the definition of a colony?

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Talk a little bit about

the history of Puerto Rico.

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All right.

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Well, I'm going to just

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Adrian Alvarado: read

it, just read it out.

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Not going to be my definition.

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Okay.

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But colony is a territory

that is under the political

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control of a distant country.

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Right.

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Known as the colonizing or Imperial power.

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Sounds like star Wars, right?

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Tony Tidbit: I mean, yeah,

a place far, far away.

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Far, far away.

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Adrian Alvarado: My boss is far, far away.

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Uh, so typically colonies are established

through conquest, settlement, uh, or

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annexation, and they are subject to

the laws, governance, and economic

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policies of the colonizing nation.

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Okay.

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In a nutshell.

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All right.

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Tony Tidbit: So, so, now that's,

we got the definition of colony.

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Now let's, let's, let's

go all the way back.

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Talk about Puerto Rico, its history.

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How it was established, give us

some, give us some education.

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Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know, long

story short, you know, a lot of folks know

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this, but for those who don't know, Puerto

ico was colonized by Spain in:

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Uh, and leading to the decimation

of the indigenous Taino population.

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And then establishing an

agricultural economy based on

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coffee, sugar, and tobacco.

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Uh, after over 400 years of Spanish

rule, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United

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States after the Spanish American War.

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Right?

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Uh, it became, in 1898, it became

an unincorporated territory.

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subject to sovereignty, uh, uh, but,

but not fully integrated in the nation.

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Right.

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So it was just a status that continues

to influence, you know, the political

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and economic relationship with

the United States today, you know.

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Tony Tidbit: Okay, buddy.

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And then, so, and just when you say 1493,

I start thinking Christopher Columbus.

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Yep.

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So was, was Christopher Columbus

the one that And I hate to

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use the word founded, but

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Adrian Alvarado: he was, he's credited

for discovering, you know, America, you

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know, but he landed in his second voyage.

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He landed in Puerto Rico.

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Okay.

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In his first voyage, he

landed in the, in Haiti.

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That was his first, uh, uh,

and he named it Espanola.

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And then once they made a settlement

there, he wrote back to Isabella

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and then they started, you know,

navigating the whole, the whole

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Caribbean and started discovering Cuba,

uh, you know, Puerto Rico and such.

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Tony Tidbit: Got it.

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And then, so obviously.

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when you come on somebody's

territory, right?

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Even though you want to call it

another name, even though there's

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people already there, right?

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Um, and they most likely were friendly.

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Hey, come on in.

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We'd love to meet you.

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Right.

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But when you read the definition of

colony or colonization, that means

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you're coming in and you're taking over.

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All right.

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And then now you're, you're making these

people, uh, more subjects than friends.

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So talk a little bit about the

colonization and the oppressed,

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the oppressment, the, excuse

me, how people were oppressed.

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Um, from their conquerors,

uh, back from:

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Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know,

long story short, you know,

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Taino actually means peace.

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Um, so that's the first word that

they said to Columbus when he landed.

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Uh, and he named them Taino Indians.

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Uh, but they're, they're

actually called Arawak Indians.

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So that's their real native name.

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Uh, but you know, it started there.

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You know, they brought them, you

know, Gold and beads and parrots

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and all of these things and I

mean his eyes went like this

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We found it right, you know,

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Tony Tidbit: so they were being friendly

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Adrian Alvarado: They were

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Tony Tidbit: sharing some of the

wealth and minerals and stuff of

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that nature of the land with their

new friend and then all of a sudden,

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you know, it became Jekyll Hyde

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Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, Jekyll Hyde,

you know, you know, they grabbed one

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of the swords and cut themselves You

could see right away that they had no

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weapons and didn't know of weapons.

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He's like, Oh yeah, we can easily take

over these people with 50, 50 men.

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And that's what they did.

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Tony Tidbit: Wow.

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Wow.

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And then so people have been oppressed.

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Yeah.

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Talk a little bit about the history

of the people from that time frame

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up to before it became a, uh,

excuse me, a territory in:

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Adrian Alvarado: Well, yeah,

I want to define oppressed.

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Oppressed really means, you know, when

somebody has control of you, right?

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So, you know, when somebody's in control

of you, You know, that's oppression.

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And then you can add to that with,

you know, physical oppression,

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mental oppression, stuff like that.

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But you know, uh, Puerto Rico means

rich port, so it became a rich port,

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right, of people coming to the island,

the Spaniards, you know, uh, you know,

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and then they started bringing, you

know, The slave trade, that's when

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it started opening up and you started

getting a mix and those are the

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people that I'm really talking about.

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I'm not talking about the Spanish

elite who ran the island and still do

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run the island to be honest with you.

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Right, right.

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Um, so those people did fine.

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Right.

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I'm talking about the modernization since

the United States has taken over, right?

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Because, you know, you had, you had,

you know, you had Spain, you know, you

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had some oppression and I'll speak into,

uh, you know, In a little bit, I'll

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speak into, you know, when the revolts

first started, right, uh, because what

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happens naturally, you know, you start

making the peasants work the fields, you

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know, and you don't pay them nothing.

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I'm tired of this.

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Stuff like that.

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There's no hospitals.

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People start pushing.

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They have no hygiene, you

know, and stuff like that.

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And we had, you know, these great

doctors like Emeritus Batanzas.

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Let me, I'll get into that.

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I don't want to mess up his name.

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Tony Tidbit: So thanks for that, man.

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So can you do us a favor and talk

a little bit about, you know, we

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were talking about oppression.

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Talk a little bit about, you know,

how the colony in the United States,

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how it impacted the people and its

ability to really govern itself.

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Adrian Alvarado: So you know, uh,

according to the history books, right,

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the United States liberated Puerto

ico from Spain, right, uh, in:

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Right.

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So right after that happened, we're

going to go back to why, you know,

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Spain had its foot on our throat.

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You know, we had two major revolts, El

ito del Ares, and at some, in:

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And, and shortly after that, Spain

promised to give us independence,

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that we were going to run our

own island, our own country.

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And shortly after that, The

Spanish American War happened.

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Right?

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So then those plans went out of the way.

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Like, what Spain promised, the

United States was like, And, uh,

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we, we didn't promise you nothing.

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Tony Tidbit: Well, yeah, because

the United States won they won

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Adrian Alvarado: and they

ceded Puerto Rico to us, right?

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So, then right after that, there was

a big hurricane that happened, right?

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San Cediaco destroyed thousands

of the island's farms, right?

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It's like nearly an, the entire

year's coffee crop, right?

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So right away we start the

relationship with, because we

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have hurricanes, unfortunately,

it's a beautiful place, but in the

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Caribbean, there's always a hurricane.

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And this was the beginning of

the non responses that we get.

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You know, we recently experienced this

with Maria, you know, and it was modern

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times, you know, where my people were

in the dark for six months, right?

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And we had, you know, we had our president

throwing paper towels at everybody.

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Right, right, right.

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Um, so this goes back to this, right?

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So after that hurricane, you know,

everything's decimated, uh, and

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all the crops are lost, and the U.

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S.

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sends no money, right?

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So, okay, you don't send any money.

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So instead, the following

year, they pass the law, right?

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They actually, the following year, they

outlawed Puerto Rican currency, right, and

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then declared that the island's peso, you

know, they didn't recognize it anymore,

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and it lost 40 percent of its value.

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Right?

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So, right after the hurricane, Then they,

they devalue our currency, so now we can

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be dependent on their currency, right?

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And then every Puerto Rican

lost 40 percent of, of their

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money overnight, right?

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So then the very next year, in 1901,

I'm going to read this here, they

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passed the Hollander Act, right?

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Which raised taxes on every farmer, right?

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So not only you took this island,

you let the hurricane just reset

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everything, oh, you know what?

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Let them, let them see how they're

going to need our money, right?

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for a little bit.

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Then you're going to

devalue the currency, right?

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Right?

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You're not going to help, right?

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Then you're going to pass and

raise taxes on the farmer.

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So what happens?

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The farmers, you know, uh,

less cash, you know, 40 percent

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less income that they had.

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They had to borrow money, right?

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From who?

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The US banks, right?

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There was no usury.

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What's the word?

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Usury law restrictions.

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Uh, so interest rates were so high,

you know, that within a decade,

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Farmers were defaulting on their

loans and guess what happened?

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The banks foreclosed on their land.

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Tony Tidbit: Let me ask you this.

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I think I know the answer, but

I'd love to hear it from you.

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So, the United States wins the

war, the Spanish and American war.

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They gain these territories, Cuba,

Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and San

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Domingo in the Philippines, right?

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:

Adrian Alvarado: Not sure about

Jamaica, but it's a British territory.

349

:

Tony Tidbit: Okay, and, um, and,

uh, So they gain these territories.

350

:

Why would they, if they gain in land, and

the people that are there, um, and they,

351

:

and the people, and, and all the resources

that are there are probably great for

352

:

the United States, why would they devalue

the currency, and then more importantly,

353

:

try to get everybody to foreclose?

354

:

Tell me a little bit about that.

355

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, I mean, the

why is, you know, is a good question.

356

:

It's just control, right?

357

:

I mean, if you take, you know,

you're colonizing a country,

358

:

now you want to assimilate.

359

:

Right.

360

:

That would be my main thing.

361

:

Right.

362

:

And there's also a racial factor to it.

363

:

I think.

364

:

Right.

365

:

You know, I mean, there were

peasants, you know, my, my ancestors

366

:

were cane cutters, you know,

they were, they were poor people.

367

:

Right.

368

:

You know, so there's that aspect too.

369

:

It was like, I'm going to get

into how they looked at us when

370

:

we get into our next segment.

371

:

I'll tell you, maybe this is one of the

reasons, and it'll, it'll explain to

372

:

you exactly why, how they look at us.

373

:

Tony Tidbit: Right.

374

:

Yeah.

375

:

Right.

376

:

So, so that, that's, that's a So,

right off the bat, as you be, as

377

:

Puerto Rico becomes a part of the

United States, the people there are

378

:

already behind the eight ball, okay?

379

:

They were behind the eight

ball when Spanish ruled.

380

:

And then when they came here to the

United States, not even when they

381

:

came, when the United States took

over the territories, they even pushed

382

:

them further behind the eight ball.

383

:

Is that correct?

384

:

That's correct.

385

:

Okay.

386

:

So tell us, man, who was

Charles Herbert Allen?

387

:

Adrian Alvarado: So I'm gonna, some

of the information I just gave you, I

388

:

grabbed from the specific book, right?

389

:

All this information is around in

the archives of the United States.

390

:

Uh, but I'm gonna reference a

book by, uh, Nelson Dennis, right?

391

:

Who is the author of a book called

War Against All Puerto Ricans.

392

:

Um, Nelson Dennis is just real quick,

he's a former, uh, Uh, representative

393

:

in New York State Assembly, you know,

,:

394

:

68, uh, Assembly, just to give you

a little bit about his background.

395

:

And his district included East Harlem,

Spanish Harlem neighborhoods, which

396

:

were highly populated by Latinos.

397

:

Uh, and he's half Cuban,

half Puerto Rican.

398

:

But in his book, he goes into detail

on, on this topic and many, and

399

:

presents a valid argument on how the U.

400

:

S.

401

:

declared war against Puerto Ricans.

402

:

So Charles Herbert

Allen, he was the first.

403

:

Civilian US governor

of Puerto Rico, right?

404

:

And he was appointed by 1900 and he

was appointed by then president William

405

:

McKinley and in my opinion He was he was

the greatest pirate of the Caribbean.

406

:

I mean he had nothing on Jack

Sparrow, man He's got this guy

407

:

raided Raided the island, right?

408

:

So okay.

409

:

He was appointed by McKinley He was

only their governor for 17 months, but

410

:

in that time he single handedly stole

And wired the whole entire economy of

411

:

Puerto Rico to the United States, right?

412

:

And he built himself a nice

empire in the meantime, right?

413

:

And that empire is still very

prominent and profitable to this day.

414

:

And

415

:

Tony Tidbit: it's Just to be

clear, he was the first governor.

416

:

He was the first Because they

allowed them to be able to vote for

417

:

governorship and stuff like that.

418

:

Adrian Alvarado: No, not at all.

419

:

Not at all.

420

:

So, you know, you had When Spain

controlled the island, they had

421

:

their own governors, Ponce de

Leon, but they were all Spanish,

422

:

they were appointed by the crown.

423

:

Nobody voted.

424

:

It wasn't a democracy, it was,

we were ruled by the king, Queen

425

:

Elizabeth in Spain, you know,

the kings and queens from Spain.

426

:

Almost a similar thing to American

Revolution, you know, we were

427

:

ruled by, you know, King Henry

over there, you know, it's like

428

:

whoever was the king at the time.

429

:

He wasn't here.

430

:

Right.

431

:

Right.

432

:

So, um, I lost my train

of thought there, wait.

433

:

Tony Tidbit: No, no, no, we were

talking about them, the governor.

434

:

Yeah,

435

:

Adrian Alvarado: so the

first appointed governor.

436

:

So basically before that, it was all

Spanish governors that were appointed.

437

:

And then, when the United

States took over, they appointed

438

:

their own governor, from here.

439

:

And his name was Charles Herbert Allen,

and he was only there for 17 months.

440

:

But then he raided Oh yeah, so I'm

gonna read an excerpt here, uh, from Mr.

441

:

Nelson's book, War Against

Puerto Ricans, right?

442

:

Uh, but the company that he started, I'm

just gonna say it, it's Domino Sugar.

443

:

Okay?

444

:

So, you know, everybody's

got it in their house.

445

:

So that's my, that's our inheritance.

446

:

Tony Tidbit: And, and,

before you go there,

447

:

Adrian Alvarado: why is sugar important?

448

:

Well, you know, we were

agriculture, right?

449

:

It was sugar, tobacco, and coffee.

450

:

We produced the most sugar in the world.

451

:

And at that time, there

was a law that passed.

452

:

Uh, we're gonna get deeper into this,

because that's a whole other subject,

453

:

but there was a law specifically passed

that they started adding sugar to

454

:

all the food products in, in America.

455

:

So sugar became a prominent, and

that's why Puerto Rico became very,

456

:

and Guam, and all these, all of a

sudden, the United States were like,

457

:

we're very interested in their sugar.

458

:

Because everything was gonna change.

459

:

Right?

460

:

Food wise.

461

:

Uh, look at that, we're a

sugar based eating country.

462

:

Right?

463

:

It's just sugar and everything.

464

:

Everything, yeah.

465

:

Okay.

466

:

But before that, people ate pretty good.

467

:

Pretty clean.

468

:

So, that coincided with this.

469

:

Mr, Mr.

470

:

Allen was there and, uh, I'll read an

excerpt from War Against Puerto Ricans.

471

:

And he wrote in his first annual

report to President McKinley, and

472

:

I'm going to quote, The year, the

yield of sugar is greater than

473

:

any other country in the world.

474

:

Molasses and rum, the incidental

products of sugarcane, are themselves

475

:

sufficient to pay all expenses of

the sugar planters and leave the

476

:

returns from his sugar as pure gain.

477

:

Okay.

478

:

The introduction of fresh blood is needed.

479

:

The island population is unfit

to assume management of their own

480

:

affairs, and labor of the natives

can be used to benefit all parties.

481

:

Thrift and industry have always

marked the pathway of the Anglo Saxon.

482

:

End quote.

483

:

All right.

484

:

So Domino Sugar continues today to

generate a billion dollars minimum a year.

485

:

Tony Tidbit: So that's Domino Sugar.

486

:

So, so sugar, they use

sugar as exportation.

487

:

Any other material, how, how

else did they raid the island?

488

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know,

uh, By destroying, eventually

489

:

controlling the sugar industry, right?

490

:

And what started happening, you know,

they would start paying, you know, the

491

:

peasants, you know, a dollar a day.

492

:

And then come back, refine the

sugar, and try to sell them

493

:

the sugar for two dollars.

494

:

Right?

495

:

Right.

496

:

So this started happening.

497

:

Right?

498

:

And then a few things started happening

where, you know, uh, you had leaders come

499

:

up that were, you know, fighting for these

rights and that, that's, that's been,

500

:

that's just the beginning of the fight

when, when, when we were being taken over.

501

:

Uh, the political movements started,

there was a big independent movement that

502

:

started in 1868, you know, just like Cuba

had a revolution, you know, we tried in

503

:

1868 and another time after that, twice.

504

:

So it wasn't like we were never

trying to get our independence.

505

:

Always, it was always just

independent group there.

506

:

Um, so, and it's also

a very strategic place.

507

:

It isn't just sugar.

508

:

You know, uh, Puerto Rico, besides being

a resort island, is a military base.

509

:

So that was the beginning of

the transcontinental, you know,

510

:

where the, they were starting

to build the Panama Canal.

511

:

Right?

512

:

So they, where did they pass through?

513

:

They got to go to Puerto Rico.

514

:

So having strategic military

point that protected shipping.

515

:

Think about it, right?

516

:

Because I had British Islands, you

have Okinawa Islands, and you know,

517

:

if we're there, right, then at least

we could, then that's what they do.

518

:

Right.

519

:

I literally was in vacation.

520

:

I go there every year, and before we

go, we always stay somewhere, and we

521

:

were near the airport, and every 25

minutes there were F 18s taking off.

522

:

Okay.

523

:

From the international airport.

524

:

Right.

525

:

And people were wondering

why, and we figured it out.

526

:

At the time, the president was vacationing

in a nearby island, somewhere else.

527

:

I forget the name of the island.

528

:

And they were just patrolling.

529

:

Tony Tidbit: Right.

530

:

So tell us a little bit

about the people, right?

531

:

So, Puerto Rican people, you

know, uh, you know, you had span,

532

:

Spanish people, you know, obviously

it was a slave trade as well.

533

:

So slaves were, came over.

534

:

So there's a, uh, Afro Spanish level.

535

:

So talk a little bit about the people,

you know, in terms of their ethnicity.

536

:

And then, like you were saying earlier,

Hey, some, a few times we were trying to

537

:

become independent, but it didn't happen.

538

:

So talk a little bit about that.

539

:

Adrian Alvarado: Okay.

540

:

Well, you know, we're, we're

a melting pot, you know, like

541

:

I said, we're a rich port.

542

:

You know, starting with, you know,

obviously we still have, uh, you know,

543

:

in my DNA, I still have indigenous blood.

544

:

I have 18 percent DNA from

Puerto Rico, Caribbean area.

545

:

It says so.

546

:

We're still, we're still here.

547

:

Um, and then you had the fusion,

obviously, of the Spanish.

548

:

You know, the Spaniards, uh, and the

Conquistadores who came to the island

549

:

and then, you know, shortly after that,

you know, they brought in, you know, the

550

:

African slaves, you know, and then there

was a mixture between, you know, the

551

:

peasant Puerto Ricans and the Africans.

552

:

So there's also that melting

pot, you know, with the Afro

553

:

Latinos, which is my grandmother.

554

:

Um, and you know, we are, you know, we,

we come in all shapes and colors, you

555

:

know, uh, my, my grandmother comes from

the mountains of Cuamo and they moved to

556

:

Salinas and they were just simple people,

you know, just living off the land, you

557

:

know, uh, chickens, you know, she had her

own chickens, she had her own pig pen,

558

:

you know, I grew up in the eighties doing

all that stuff with her, you know, she

559

:

was just, you know, feeding the chickens

in the morning in the late afternoon.

560

:

She had this canal that would

run past the house and I So

561

:

to me, that was Puerto Rico.

562

:

That gives you a sense of the people.

563

:

That's who I was then.

564

:

You know, as a kid, just playing.

565

:

You know, climbing the mango trees.

566

:

You know, the canepa trees,

this fruit that we have there.

567

:

Uh, so it was just like, it was like

an Eden for me when I was a kid.

568

:

You know, so my experience of

being in Puerto Rico was very rich.

569

:

And everything changed when we would

come to the States, which is stuff

570

:

that I would, that I talk about in

my upcoming book, where it's like,

571

:

I, I felt rich in Puerto Rico.

572

:

And even though we were here in

the United States, we would go

573

:

hungry, you know, and my grandmother

always had her own chickens.

574

:

So she never went hungry.

575

:

You know what I mean?

576

:

So there's that.

577

:

So we lived off the land, man.

578

:

Most, most of the population

lived off the land.

579

:

Tony Tidbit: Was, so let me ask you this.

580

:

Was, Some of the people, were they

open to being Americans or being

581

:

American territorial with some

people like, we don't want this.

582

:

So talk a little bit about the

political ramifications, you

583

:

know, in terms of now becoming the

territory of the United States.

584

:

And then to your point, you know, um,

people coming over here now in the United

585

:

States, because I believe it's Chicago,

Philadelphia, New York city, uh, you don't

586

:

have the biggest Puerto Rican populations.

587

:

Adrian Alvarado: Actually

Hartford does now.

588

:

They used to.

589

:

Hartford here in Connecticut

has the biggest Puerto Rican

590

:

population in the United States.

591

:

Unbelievable.

592

:

Um, but yes, it's, it's changed, you

know, throughout the, the century.

593

:

Right.

594

:

You know, because you know, you're

first taking over your agricultural,

595

:

you have no infrastructure.

596

:

Right.

597

:

Because it's totally destroyed.

598

:

Right.

599

:

So now you are really

dependent on the United States.

600

:

Right.

601

:

And in that time, you gotta remember it

was the twenties, thirties, and forties.

602

:

Yeah.

603

:

World War I.

604

:

Yeah, World War II.

605

:

There was a lot going on in the world.

606

:

So there was a very important reason that

the United States wanted to be there.

607

:

Right?

608

:

And they also needed soldiers.

609

:

Tony Tidbit: Correct.

610

:

Adrian Alvarado: Okay?

611

:

They needed soldiers.

612

:

So they, they, they, they passed an act

that immediately, you know, enlisted

613

:

twenty You know, you know, uh, millions

of, you know, Port, Port, 20, 000 Puerto

614

:

Ricans into the, into the minimum.

615

:

Where they send them?

616

:

They send them to the Panama

Canal because they speak Spanish.

617

:

So there was, there's all

these layered reasons, right?

618

:

And then, you know, you, you had

guys, you had gentlemen like, uh,

619

:

Pedro Albizu Campos, who, who was

one of the main leaders at the time.

620

:

Um, he was a, Harvard educated individual.

621

:

His father was a Spanish merchant

and his mother was mulata, right?

622

:

Oh, well, sorry, she was Afro Latina, but

they were called mulata on the island.

623

:

Um, so he was shunned.

624

:

Long story short, this guy

was the smartest person.

625

:

He spoke many languages.

626

:

He, he, they wanted him to be, uh,

you know, a clerk for the, in the,

627

:

in Washington for the Supreme, you

know, he was going to be a judge,

628

:

you know, like a judge, big time.

629

:

Um, and.

630

:

He joined the military.

631

:

I'm going to tell you his story, because

this tells you a lot about the movement.

632

:

It's not really about the

independence movement.

633

:

I don't want to get too caught up in it.

634

:

I'm just going to touch on it.

635

:

Where, you know, Albus

Ducampos went to the military.

636

:

And he was an officer.

637

:

And he enlisted.

638

:

And they stationed him

with the black people.

639

:

with the black battalion because he

was, he was sort of brown skin, you

640

:

know, he was in between, kind of a

little dark, a little darker than me.

641

:

I'm a light Puerto Rican,

you know, considered.

642

:

Um, so his experience when

he was stationed down in the

643

:

south and how he was treated.

644

:

And how, you know, he saw he was

treated, and the blacks were treated,

645

:

and he was always the smartest person

in the room, changed his perspective.

646

:

He wanted independence from that moment.

647

:

He wanted nothing to do

with being a clerk here.

648

:

He went to Puerto Rico

and defended the farmers.

649

:

You know, he was their lawyer.

650

:

Right.

651

:

Right.

652

:

Um, but, you know, he got really radical.

653

:

So the United States were

like, eh, we don't like you.

654

:

They turned on him.

655

:

Yeah, they turned on him.

656

:

And we can, that's a whole nother,

that's a whole nother podcast about Mr.

657

:

Aldo Sucampos.

658

:

Right.

659

:

But he was, uh, uh, you know,

uh, at that time the leader

660

:

of the independent movement.

661

:

And they're still there.

662

:

They're still there.

663

:

That, that group is still there.

664

:

Still wanting independence.

665

:

Uh, the, the island currently

has voted to become a state.

666

:

You know, so there's, there's a,

people feel a lot of certain ways.

667

:

Guys like my, my dad, you

know, he loves America.

668

:

You know, he's like, it gave

me every opportunity I want.

669

:

He, he, you can't say nothing

bad about America to my dad.

670

:

Right.

671

:

He's old school like that.

672

:

He's 78 years old.

673

:

He's like, Oh, I love America.

674

:

I love, you know, it's like, well,

you know, the best, you know.

675

:

Um, so you, you know, guys

like my dad love this country.

676

:

Right.

677

:

You know, and there are some who hate it.

678

:

You know, not hate it, but like,

just wanna be their own person.

679

:

They wanna be their own country,

or, you know, hate, I didn't

680

:

mean you, but they just wanna be

their, can we run our own stuff?

681

:

Right.

682

:

You know what I mean?

683

:

What's, what the heck?

684

:

You know?

685

:

So there, there's always that

faction, they're still there.

686

:

Right.

687

:

Um, and that's, uh, you know, the

politics, the politic, the politics of

688

:

Puerto Rico, you know, , they, they're,

they're, they're, they're feisty.

689

:

Yeah.

690

:

I love 'em.

691

:

It's a little more feisty over

here now, but they, they've

692

:

always been feisty over there,

693

:

Tony Tidbit: so.

694

:

Just recently there was a Puerto Rican Day

Parade in New York City, right, you know,

695

:

hundreds of thousands of people came out

Um, people wave in their flags, right?

696

:

So, talk to a little bit about the pride

of Puerto Rico for people who still,

697

:

who now live in the United States.

698

:

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, uh, yeah, I

mean, you know, I get that a lot, too.

699

:

They say, why, why, Puerto

Ricans, you guys love your flag.

700

:

You know, you dress

yourself, you make it a cape.

701

:

You know, you, you, you, you, you.

702

:

Seriously, you know, people walk around,

my sister was walking around with a

703

:

cape in the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

704

:

Uh, you know, it's, it's such a pride.

705

:

It's a prideful thing because,

you know, under the U.

706

:

S.

707

:

rule, there was a, there was a strong push

to Americanize Puerto Rico at the time,

708

:

you know, and they were imposing, you

know, English in schools, uh, promoting

709

:

American culture, you know, aiming to

just assimilate Puerto Ricans and just

710

:

erase their cultural, our cultural

identity, you know, uh, By also passing

711

:

a law in 1948 called the gag law, right?

712

:

We call, you know, la ley de

la mordasa, as we call it.

713

:

And basically it prevented you, it

forbade you from owning the flag,

714

:

displaying the flag in your home,

speaking against independence, saying

715

:

anything bad against the United States.

716

:

Like you couldn't say a speech and say,

Hey, these tyrants, you go to jail.

717

:

Tony Tidbit: So it was basically all

about reprogramming, reprogramming, right?

718

:

So forget your history, forget

your flag, you, and then if

719

:

you did it, you went to jail.

720

:

If you promoted the flag

or you spoke against it.

721

:

So we talk about democracy, right?

722

:

We talk about, you know, non

dictatorship rule, right?

723

:

And everybody, but then, you know, But

in this situation they incorporated that

724

:

you got to do this and and be this way.

725

:

So it's part of that Reprogramming

re I don't we saw a repatriate,

726

:

but it's just really trying to

brainwash people to forget who they

727

:

are and assimilate Into the U.S.

728

:

Culture

729

:

Adrian Alvarado: and mr.

730

:

Albus who couples went to jail for

that Like he was arrested like, you

731

:

know, they released the FBI files.

732

:

This is all all out there You know

where he was arrested many times

733

:

right after a speech right him in

jail for 10 years You Ten years.

734

:

All right?

735

:

And he's our hero.

736

:

He's a, he's a, to the island, Mr.

737

:

Campos is, you know,

he's our, he's our MLK.

738

:

He's, he's our Mandela.

739

:

Like he was, he was that guy at the time,

you know, and he sacrificed his life, you

740

:

know, for, for independence, you know?

741

:

Um, so yeah, you know, the gag law.

742

:

I mean, that, that, that was

a real, that was a real thing.

743

:

You know, you couldn't

sing a patriotic song.

744

:

Right?

745

:

You couldn't sing a patriotic song.

746

:

How

747

:

Tony Tidbit: long was that for?

748

:

Adrian Alvarado: Uh,

749

:

Tony Tidbit: You said 1948?

750

:

It was in

751

:

Adrian Alvarado: 1948 and shortly after

that, uh, you had guys like Luis Munoz,

752

:

uh, Marin, who became the first Puerto

Rican voted governor of the island.

753

:

Uh, who, he was more, he's

the guy who made the deal.

754

:

Right?

755

:

With America.

756

:

And it was his Operation Bootstrap that

happened to change the whole economy.

757

:

of the island from agriculture

to, you know, uh, you know,

758

:

where there was manufacturing.

759

:

Tony Tidbit: So talk

about Operation Bootstrap.

760

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, um, Operation

Bootstrap basically, uh, you know,

761

:

I wasn't prepared to, but Operation

Bootstrap is, you know, was, was passed

762

:

with, uh, Luis Munoz Marin and it

basically started, that's what, that

763

:

was the big migration that led to the

migration in New York City, you know,

764

:

and everywhere in America, you know.

765

:

Tony Tidbit: I think I

read from:

766

:

Like 25 percent of the

population came to the U.

767

:

S.

768

:

Yeah, my

769

:

Adrian Alvarado: grandparents were

770

:

Tony Tidbit: one of them.

771

:

Yeah, and they called

it the big migration.

772

:

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, my grandfather,

uh, after World War II, uh, you

773

:

know, he was on a, he was discharged.

774

:

I'm not sure why, but he was serving.

775

:

And shortly after that, you

know, he, he moved to Jersey.

776

:

Jersey City, with my grandma.

777

:

And I had my dad.

778

:

Tony Tidbit: So, talk to us about the

current status of Puerto Rico, my friend.

779

:

Because I know, you know, You know,

um, you talked about hurricane

780

:

before, you had the major hurricane

in:

781

:

It was a direct hit, pretty much

wiped out a lot of the island.

782

:

Um, so talk, tell us a little

bit about what's going on today.

783

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, today, you

know, it's, you're going to, you

784

:

know, we're still, so throughout

the 20th century, Puerto Ricans have

785

:

pushed for more, you know, autonomy,

you know, self determination, you

786

:

know, while the establishment of

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

787

:

which happened in 1952, granted it.

788

:

self government, right?

789

:

So that's when, you know, you had guys

like Luis Munoz Marin and Nabi Sucampos.

790

:

They were there.

791

:

They were, they were both

partners at the time.

792

:

And eventually, you know,

Marin went on his own.

793

:

Um, but, you know, Now we have,

despite, despite having this, we

794

:

have a, we have no representation.

795

:

Basically we go back to no

taxation without representation.

796

:

Tony Tidbit: So speak on that

because that was the key.

797

:

We talked about no taxation,

which the founding fathers,

798

:

that was a rallying cry, right?

799

:

So speak to that right here

from a Puerto Rican standpoint.

800

:

Adrian Alvarado: So what we, what we

mean by that is that, you know, Puerto

801

:

Ricans on the island cannot vote

for president of the United States.

802

:

So they have no, no

right, no voting rights.

803

:

Tony Tidbit: So they keep women.

804

:

So let's stop right there for a second.

805

:

And again, educate me

because I don't know.

806

:

I thought, even though they're

a commonwealth, they're all U.

807

:

S.

808

:

citizens, but they don't

have voting rights?

809

:

Adrian Alvarado: On the island, if

you live on the island, if you're a

810

:

resident of Puerto Rico, you cannot

vote for the President of the United

811

:

States, because you're a commonwealth.

812

:

Tony Tidbit: And then, I think

the other thing I read, there's

813

:

not, they're not part of the

electoral college, is that correct?

814

:

No, no, no, not at all.

815

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, not a state.

816

:

Yeah.

817

:

Right?

818

:

Uh, I can vote.

819

:

Yeah, because you, you're, yeah, yeah.

820

:

But the ones on the island

have no representation, and in

821

:

Congress, we have what's called a

resident commissioner in Congress.

822

:

So there's a, there's a Congress

person that we vote for on

823

:

the island to represent us in

Congress, to advocate for us.

824

:

But that Congress woman, who is currently,

um, Jennifer Gonzalez, who I predict

825

:

to be the next governor of Puerto

Rico, that's gonna happen in November.

826

:

Um, but she's there, but she has no vote.

827

:

So, she can't vote for politics,

she can't vote for anything.

828

:

She's just there.

829

:

Hey, Puerto Rico.

830

:

Just as a figurehead, right?

831

:

Yeah, yeah, Puerto Rico needs this.

832

:

Hey, how about, you know, like,

just, just there, representing us.

833

:

So, there's no vote.

834

:

Wow.

835

:

There's no vote.

836

:

So, that's what we mean.

837

:

No taxation.

838

:

So, we're being taxed.

839

:

Tony Tidbit: But you're being taxed.

840

:

Wait a minute.

841

:

If I remember correctly, what you were

saying, You know, back in:

842

:

under McKinley, taxes went up 40%.

843

:

Oh

844

:

Adrian Alvarado: no, they

took our money, the 40%.

845

:

Tony Tidbit: So now,

they're still taxing you.

846

:

But you don't have no representation

from a political standpoint.

847

:

Adrian Alvarado: Not at all.

848

:

Not at all.

849

:

Yeah, and you know, the debate persists

whether, you know, Puerto Rico should

850

:

become a state and independence, you

know, a lot of people want it to become

851

:

a state, but you know, if you really

look at this political landscape, there's

852

:

no way you're going to, you're going

to want this, either political parties

853

:

are going to want, you know, almost 2

million Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico

854

:

voting for president of the United States.

855

:

Tony Tidbit: Let me ask you this though,

because I think I read something and it

856

:

said that, um, you know, they, they put

it up to vote for a couple of times.

857

:

And it came close to passing,

but they didn't get a big, they

858

:

didn't get no, yeah, it died out.

859

:

Right.

860

:

So, and that's the people.

861

:

So what, you know, what's their

mindset are, you know, because if,

862

:

if to your point, if some people are

like, Hey, this is probably better

863

:

for us economically, if we become if

statehood and let's be fair, Hawaii

864

:

became a state, Alaska became a state.

865

:

And let's be fair.

866

:

We both know they became states

more strategic military situations.

867

:

Right.

868

:

Um, because Hawaii is 5, 000

miles away from mainland right?

869

:

At least from the East Coast.

870

:

From L.

871

:

A.

872

:

to California is a

little closer, but still.

873

:

Um, so why did it die out?

874

:

Is it just

875

:

Adrian Alvarado: Well, it's the

divide and conquer strategy, right?

876

:

Because we're so Now, a lot of us

have assimilated to the United States.

877

:

You know, um, guys like my stepdad.

878

:

You know, my late stepdad, you know,

he was born in Puerto Rico and came

879

:

here and worked and lived and I

didn't want to go back to Puerto Rico.

880

:

You know, I talk about that in my book

where, you know, you know, how it was

881

:

tough on my on their relationship,

him and my mom's relationship.

882

:

You know how, you know, we went when

I lived in Puerto Rico, was with

883

:

him and my mom, you know, when I

was in the first and second grade.

884

:

And his experience out there, he

was Americanized already, you know,

885

:

so he didn't want to live there.

886

:

Tony Tidbit: You know, buddy,

it's, it's, it's, you know, a lot

887

:

of times people think that Anybody

outside of, uh, white people,

888

:

they're, they're a monolith, right?

889

:

All black people vote,

they think this way.

890

:

All Asian people vote,

and they think this way.

891

:

All, you know, Puerto Rican

people, Hispanic people, they vote.

892

:

And that's just not true, right?

893

:

It's not true.

894

:

And that, and to your point, that, that

divide and conquer strategy is one of

895

:

the reasons why we, we've to ourselves

have ripped our own power away, right?

896

:

Because at the end of the day, if you can

divide them, you can control them, right?

897

:

And so it's interesting that you

sharing that today about that same

898

:

strategy has been incorporated

in the island of Puerto Rico.

899

:

And let's be fair all across, right?

900

:

And so, which makes it hard for a people

to come together and do the right thing.

901

:

for their own base, for their own, you

know, viable, you know, situations.

902

:

So from an economic standpoint,

talk to us a little bit about,

903

:

you know, where they are today.

904

:

What's some of the struggles the

island of Puerto Rico is going through?

905

:

Adrian Alvarado: Uh, you know, I

mean, you know, like I said, we're

906

:

behind the eight ball, right?

907

:

So, um, when you can't govern

for yourself, you can't, you

908

:

don't really control your money.

909

:

That's number one, right?

910

:

So, you know, I, I've had, I've had

conversations with people, you know,

911

:

when it's, I tell them I'm Puerto Rican,

this gentleman told me, he said, hey,

912

:

what's up with your politics over there?

913

:

Everybody's, you know, like,

they're stealing, they got

914

:

governors, they're stealing, and

this and that, and setting mayors.

915

:

I'm like, hey, man.

916

:

Before you talk about my kitchen,

make sure that your house is clean.

917

:

Okay.

918

:

What's up with your politics?

919

:

I'm like, I'm like, are you kidding me?

920

:

I'm like, do you, are you watching?

921

:

What about the

922

:

Tony Tidbit: politics here?

923

:

If it's a,

924

:

Adrian Alvarado: if it's a, if it's

a, whatchamacallit, shit show here,

925

:

what do you think it is over there?

926

:

I mean, we can't even govern ourselves.

927

:

You think these, you know what I mean?

928

:

Like, people have no

understanding of what's happening.

929

:

Right.

930

:

Now, economically, obviously,

you know, the island, you

931

:

know, it's a tourist island.

932

:

You know, we're not, we don't, we don't

make any, you know, many things like

933

:

that that people are ordering, you

know, like besides some food, still

934

:

agriculture, uh, but even we import

more food than we export, right?

935

:

Um, the grid, you know, so

economically, you know, uh,

936

:

electricity prices are ridiculous now.

937

:

And like what's happening right

now, uh, the island's been

938

:

for sale for quite some time.

939

:

So when you

940

:

Tony Tidbit: say the island's been

for sale, like what do you mean?

941

:

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, I mean,

look, Puerto Ricans are leaving.

942

:

You know, selling.

943

:

I went to, I went to Vieques, which is,

there's two little virgin islands that

944

:

are off the coast of the northeast side.

945

:

And, you know, I've been to both

of them, Culebra and Vieques.

946

:

And, you know, my disappointment

was that every business was

947

:

not owned by a Puerto Rican.

948

:

On the beach, everywhere,

everything was just taken over.

949

:

And that's what I mean.

950

:

Uh, so all the luxury, all

the nice places, we don't own.

951

:

We're, we're losing them, right?

952

:

So that's, that's what, there's a fire

sale going on, and that's part of what

953

:

our government, you know, the guys

in charge there are allowing, right?

954

:

It's a bit, it's a, currently

a Bitcoin haven, right?

955

:

So they're advocating now for

young, for everybody who's in

956

:

Bitcoin to just move to Puerto Rico.

957

:

So, right now what's going on in Puerto

Rico, just to put it in a nutshell,

958

:

there's a thing called Act 22, right?

959

:

Basically, any, you know, any

American citizen can move to Puerto

960

:

Rico, establish citizenship, right?

961

:

Which takes six months or something,

I'm not, you know, sure on the facts.

962

:

You, Tony, you want to go

establish your business over there.

963

:

Once you establish a residency, you

pay zero, zero on your gains tax.

964

:

Whatever you make through your

corporation, you get to keep.

965

:

And, uh, I, I, I hear conversations

of people in West, oh, my friend just,

966

:

my friend just moved to Puerto Rico.

967

:

Oh yeah, he moved to Puerto Rico.

968

:

He goes there.

969

:

They buy these condos.

970

:

They buy these empty buildings.

971

:

They leave them abandoned.

972

:

You go to Puerto Rico, you see

so many abandoned buildings in

973

:

San Juan all over the place.

974

:

And people from the United States

are buying them, establishing

975

:

residency, they're not fixing them.

976

:

They go there, pass through the airport,

buy a cup of coffee, wash their money.

977

:

So that's happening right now.

978

:

How can, how can you economically

ever, ever get to a point?

979

:

When our own government is allowing

for rich people, elite people,

980

:

to go there and wash their money.

981

:

Right, right.

982

:

It's like, uh, what was it, the place

that everybody washed their money in,

983

:

the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas?

984

:

We're America's Bahamas.

985

:

That's where we are right now.

986

:

Right.

987

:

You know, you got guys like, what,

Jake Paul, YouTuber, he's over

988

:

there, you know, bitcoining it,

you know, not paying any taxes.

989

:

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, it's, you

know, listen, when you create safe

990

:

havens, when you see them as safe

havens, that's what they become.

991

:

So that's, you know,

economically, that's tough.

992

:

Let me ask you this.

993

:

I remember when I was in the

army, um, a good friend of mine,

994

:

um, he was, he was from Chicago.

995

:

He was Puerto Rican.

996

:

And, you know, at that time in my

life, I thought when it came to

997

:

race, everything was black and white.

998

:

Right?

999

:

And me and him, we started chatting.

:

00:43:05,195 --> 00:43:08,550

Um, And then he started telling

me about, he said, Tony, you

:

00:43:08,550 --> 00:43:09,570

don't know, he said, look bro.

:

00:43:09,910 --> 00:43:14,190

He said, and not just Puerto Rico,

he said the Hispanic culture, there's

:

00:43:14,190 --> 00:43:18,330

a lot of racism that goes on, and

it's dark skin and light skin, right?

:

00:43:18,700 --> 00:43:21,200

Talk a little bit about that in

terms of the Puerto Rican culture.

:

00:43:21,660 --> 00:43:24,010

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, that

exists, yeah, to this day still.

:

00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:28,980

Um, you know, uh, one of the phrases

that, uh, was very common in Puerto

:

00:43:29,020 --> 00:43:34,470

Rico, uh, when babies were born, the

grandmothers and the aunts would say,

:

00:43:34,470 --> 00:43:37,214

Was the baby con pelo bueno o pelo malo?

:

00:43:37,495 --> 00:43:39,465

Was he born with good hair or bad hair?

:

00:43:40,105 --> 00:43:41,095

So, that was a thing.

:

00:43:42,315 --> 00:43:42,675

Right?

:

00:43:42,955 --> 00:43:44,385

So, yeah, it still exists.

:

00:43:44,585 --> 00:43:50,295

Um, and, you know, like, in Puerto

Rico, if I was to pull a driver's

:

00:43:50,295 --> 00:43:52,585

license, my race would say white.

:

00:43:52,995 --> 00:43:53,265

Tony Tidbit: Right.

:

00:43:53,695 --> 00:43:54,125

Okay.

:

00:43:54,685 --> 00:43:55,815

Adrian Alvarado: Here, I'm not white.

:

00:43:55,885 --> 00:43:56,025

Right.

:

00:43:56,065 --> 00:43:56,475

There, I'm white.

:

00:43:57,350 --> 00:43:58,650

That's how they classify me.

:

00:43:59,100 --> 00:44:00,600

And then so forth and so on.

:

00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:02,310

And it's very prominent.

:

00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:05,940

You see it in the hotels, you

know, in the banks, the people

:

00:44:05,940 --> 00:44:07,020

who are behind the tellers.

:

00:44:07,090 --> 00:44:08,260

They all are light skinned.

:

00:44:08,260 --> 00:44:08,899

They all are light skinned.

:

00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:11,529

You know, a majority.

:

00:44:11,530 --> 00:44:12,480

My dad made a point of this.

:

00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:16,000

Like, you walk into a place, you don't

see not one person brown collar in there.

:

00:44:16,415 --> 00:44:20,005

He's all, you know, he's an old

grumpy guy now, so he just says

:

00:44:20,005 --> 00:44:21,115

all kinds of things, you know.

:

00:44:21,115 --> 00:44:21,790

But he's saying the truth.

:

00:44:21,790 --> 00:44:22,465

But he's saying the truth.

:

00:44:22,465 --> 00:44:23,004

He's saying the truth.

:

00:44:23,005 --> 00:44:23,865

He just says the truth.

:

00:44:23,875 --> 00:44:25,805

He's like, these are all,

you know, whatchamacallits.

:

00:44:25,945 --> 00:44:27,405

So yeah, that's, that's still there.

:

00:44:27,745 --> 00:44:29,035

Tony Tidbit: That's the

thing though, buddy.

:

00:44:29,045 --> 00:44:31,205

So, and we talk economics.

:

00:44:31,275 --> 00:44:33,145

We talk, you know, political.

:

00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:37,310

We talked all these other things and

we talked about divide and conquer.

:

00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:39,770

That's part of the divide

and conquer, right?

:

00:44:39,770 --> 00:44:46,040

If we can get them to divide themselves

based on this group is light, this group

:

00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:50,060

is dark, and we'll get them fighting

over jobs and all that type stuff.

:

00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,360

Then all of a sudden, again,

we can control them, right?

:

00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:59,820

So those are the things that unfortunately

are permanent and across all cultures

:

00:44:59,820 --> 00:45:01,530

when it comes to race, right?

:

00:45:01,530 --> 00:45:03,090

In terms of how people look.

:

00:45:03,610 --> 00:45:06,980

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, going back to,

uh, going back to Pedro Albizu Campos,

:

00:45:07,020 --> 00:45:08,560

you know, you know, he was mixed, right?

:

00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:11,100

He was, his mom was,

you know, Afro Latina.

:

00:45:11,540 --> 00:45:13,320

His dad was this white Spanish merchant.

:

00:45:13,340 --> 00:45:16,940

His father didn't recognize

him till he graduated Harvard.

:

00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:19,590

He didn't recognize him.

:

00:45:20,070 --> 00:45:20,720

Tony Tidbit: That's insane.

:

00:45:20,740 --> 00:45:22,940

Adrian Alvarado: So this, this

is, that was the culture then.

:

00:45:22,990 --> 00:45:23,440

Right.

:

00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:24,170

Right.

:

00:45:24,180 --> 00:45:27,350

So if it, that's not that

far removed, you know.

:

00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,680

So yeah, that was a, that was a

huge thing and it still is shameful

:

00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:31,760

and there's also, you know.

:

00:45:32,425 --> 00:45:39,945

A lot of what we call, um, machismo, you

know, and I, you know, I'm gonna, I'm

:

00:45:39,945 --> 00:45:45,545

gonna, I get into that, uh, in my writings

where, you know, it's, you know, these

:

00:45:45,545 --> 00:45:50,265

men, you know, who, you know, multiple

wives, you know, I grew up with a lot of

:

00:45:50,265 --> 00:45:55,985

Puerto Rican men having multiple wives,

you know, my father, one of them, right?

:

00:45:56,545 --> 00:45:58,245

Uh, my father had eight kids.

:

00:45:59,285 --> 00:46:00,935

Okay, uh, seven.

:

00:46:00,935 --> 00:46:01,355

I don't even know.

:

00:46:01,355 --> 00:46:02,485

I might, I might be off one.

:

00:46:04,845 --> 00:46:08,345

So, you know, that's prominent, right?

:

00:46:08,385 --> 00:46:12,525

And, and, and it, and it goes, and for

me, this is my personal thoughts about it.

:

00:46:12,525 --> 00:46:15,465

Cause it's, it's, it's, it

comes from a deepest source of,

:

00:46:15,915 --> 00:46:17,854

of not really having control.

:

00:46:18,715 --> 00:46:19,035

Right?

:

00:46:19,285 --> 00:46:21,505

When, as a Puerto Rican,

think about the psyche, right?

:

00:46:21,695 --> 00:46:23,945

You're an island, you've been

governed by Spain, now you're

:

00:46:23,945 --> 00:46:24,855

governed by United States.

:

00:46:24,855 --> 00:46:28,375

The only thing you can control is

maybe your wife in your, in your home.

:

00:46:28,635 --> 00:46:33,665

And some guys do that radically

where it's a problem, it's a domestic

:

00:46:33,665 --> 00:46:39,855

problem in Puerto Rico where women, you

know, get killed and abused monthly.

:

00:46:39,955 --> 00:46:41,225

You know, like, it's a big deal.

:

00:46:41,325 --> 00:46:41,715

Wow.

:

00:46:41,725 --> 00:46:42,315

Big epidemic.

:

00:46:42,905 --> 00:46:42,925

Wow.

:

00:46:42,935 --> 00:46:45,455

And that's, that's

ingrained in the culture.

:

00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:50,650

You know, so, uh, you know, there's

a lot of layers, you know, um, that,

:

00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:55,130

unfortunately, you know, we hold ourselves

back with some of that stuff, you know,

:

00:46:55,150 --> 00:47:00,340

and, uh, you know, in my book, uh, that's

a big part of it, you know, uh, domestic

:

00:47:00,340 --> 00:47:04,420

violence, you know, my mom, you know,

experienced a lot of that, I saw a lot of

:

00:47:04,420 --> 00:47:08,880

it, and it changed me, it changed who I

am and how, you know, I view myself as a

:

00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:13,030

man and what I think a man should be, you

know, uh, so as a Puerto Rican male, I, I,

:

00:47:13,030 --> 00:47:17,555

I, I made sure Never to follow that path.

:

00:47:17,645 --> 00:47:18,075

Right.

:

00:47:18,315 --> 00:47:21,275

Uh, and, you know, I'm

still in the path, you know.

:

00:47:21,545 --> 00:47:22,735

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, that is awesome.

:

00:47:22,755 --> 00:47:25,405

And, and, number one, thank

you for sharing that, right?

:

00:47:25,405 --> 00:47:27,695

Because, you know, that's tough to share.

:

00:47:28,045 --> 00:47:32,175

And listen, you've been

blessed, you know, in your life.

:

00:47:32,195 --> 00:47:34,875

You know, actor, author, you know.

:

00:47:35,015 --> 00:47:38,035

You've, you've lived over a

lot of places in the country.

:

00:47:38,305 --> 00:47:39,215

Let me ask you this.

:

00:47:39,235 --> 00:47:42,955

If you can, if you could

wave a magic wand, you know.

:

00:47:43,295 --> 00:47:45,985

Based on everything that we

talked about, you know, Adrian

:

00:47:45,985 --> 00:47:47,775

is governor of Puerto Rico.

:

00:47:48,095 --> 00:47:52,305

What, what's some of the solutions

that you, you know, would incorporate

:

00:47:52,315 --> 00:47:56,085

to, to, to build the island back

up and solve some of these issues?

:

00:47:56,980 --> 00:47:59,500

Adrian Alvarado: Um, well, first of

all, you know, I would start with maybe

:

00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:00,730

giving some of that sugar money back.

:

00:48:03,230 --> 00:48:05,230

You know, just, we could

just start with the interest.

:

00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:08,400

Give me some of that sugar money back.

:

00:48:08,670 --> 00:48:11,640

Right, because how else could you

really build an infrastructure, right?

:

00:48:12,150 --> 00:48:13,040

You know, Puerto Rico.

:

00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:13,220

You need

:

00:48:13,220 --> 00:48:14,070

Tony Tidbit: to keep your own money.

:

00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:14,360

Right?

:

00:48:14,750 --> 00:48:15,270

Yeah, right.

:

00:48:15,540 --> 00:48:17,530

Adrian Alvarado: You know, currently,

you know, it's at the, right now

:

00:48:17,530 --> 00:48:18,640

it's at the point of no return.

:

00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:21,550

I kind of see, you know, where it's

like to be able to be independent and

:

00:48:21,550 --> 00:48:23,450

govern yourself would mean that the U.

:

00:48:23,450 --> 00:48:23,580

S.

:

00:48:23,580 --> 00:48:24,990

would have to give us

some money back, right?

:

00:48:25,250 --> 00:48:27,930

You can't move in, take all the

furniture, the plumbing, the electrical,

:

00:48:27,970 --> 00:48:29,670

and then go give you an empty house.

:

00:48:29,720 --> 00:48:31,450

Buddy, we know that story.

:

00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:33,950

Nah, nah, nah, I'm not

an economist, right, but.

:

00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:34,890

We've seen that story.

:

00:48:35,390 --> 00:48:37,870

No, I'm not an economist, but I

would hire some very good economists.

:

00:48:38,210 --> 00:48:40,250

You know, very smart people, I

would hire very smart people.

:

00:48:40,445 --> 00:48:43,615

Very smart people around me,

uh, but you know, I, I, I would

:

00:48:43,615 --> 00:48:46,235

start, I would restructure the,

uh, political system, right?

:

00:48:46,235 --> 00:48:46,885

The culture, right?

:

00:48:46,915 --> 00:48:50,645

I would start, we currently

have, uh, 79 babysitters.

:

00:48:50,695 --> 00:48:52,125

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, excuse me.

:

00:48:52,635 --> 00:48:57,215

We have, I meant, we have one

governor and 78 mayors in the

:

00:48:57,215 --> 00:48:59,045

island of Puerto Rico, right?

:

00:48:59,615 --> 00:49:04,235

So, on an island the size of Rhode

Island, so it's 100 by 35 miles.

:

00:49:04,865 --> 00:49:06,025

Okay, so just think about that.

:

00:49:07,315 --> 00:49:10,865

If 79, not a lot of chiefs,

not a lot of Indians.

:

00:49:11,315 --> 00:49:12,891

They're already divided within tribes.

:

00:49:12,891 --> 00:49:13,844

So everybody's trying to

fight for their own tribe.

:

00:49:13,845 --> 00:49:14,605

Everybody's tribal.

:

00:49:14,775 --> 00:49:14,795

Yeah.

:

00:49:15,415 --> 00:49:15,835

Okay.

:

00:49:16,405 --> 00:49:17,715

So that's, that's the first one, right?

:

00:49:17,715 --> 00:49:20,055

With 78 mayors populating 3.

:

00:49:20,105 --> 00:49:22,195

2 million people, or 2 million people.

:

00:49:22,465 --> 00:49:24,505

New York City has 8 million people.

:

00:49:24,765 --> 00:49:25,275

One mayor.

:

00:49:26,105 --> 00:49:27,005

Just to give you perspective.

:

00:49:27,175 --> 00:49:27,455

Tony Tidbit: Right.

:

00:49:27,495 --> 00:49:28,435

Adrian Alvarado: Okay,

so let's start there.

:

00:49:28,905 --> 00:49:30,515

Because that would

eliminate a lot of money.

:

00:49:30,535 --> 00:49:31,495

People put their hand in there.

:

00:49:31,495 --> 00:49:32,435

I need money getting paid.

:

00:49:32,605 --> 00:49:34,585

Mayors houses, all these

things, all these things.

:

00:49:34,585 --> 00:49:35,205

You don't need that many people.

:

00:49:35,485 --> 00:49:35,745

Right.

:

00:49:36,005 --> 00:49:41,595

So I would start there, you know, um, now,

if you want to see the strategy of divide

:

00:49:41,595 --> 00:49:44,205

and conquer working now, here it is.

:

00:49:44,215 --> 00:49:47,075

It's live, 78 Mayors.

:

00:49:47,465 --> 00:49:48,275

I mean, there it is.

:

00:49:48,295 --> 00:49:49,015

Every person

:

00:49:49,015 --> 00:49:51,435

Tony Tidbit: fighting for themselves,

carving out their own stuff.

:

00:49:51,525 --> 00:49:53,525

Adrian Alvarado: And all the

funding comes from Uncle Sam.

:

00:49:53,545 --> 00:49:55,135

So, you know, hard to

:

00:49:55,145 --> 00:49:56,025

Tony Tidbit: come together when you have

:

00:49:56,055 --> 00:49:57,085

Adrian Alvarado: hard to come together.

:

00:49:57,115 --> 00:49:58,235

So that's, that's number one.

:

00:49:58,245 --> 00:49:59,155

That's I would start there.

:

00:49:59,755 --> 00:50:00,165

Tony Tidbit: Got it.

:

00:50:00,715 --> 00:50:03,685

So listen, my man, I mean,

this has been very insightful.

:

00:50:04,090 --> 00:50:06,080

You've educated me a lot.

:

00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:07,230

I mean, a ton of stuff.

:

00:50:07,230 --> 00:50:07,750

I didn't know.

:

00:50:07,750 --> 00:50:10,990

I'm, matter of fact, um,

I'm thirsty to learn more.

:

00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:11,420

Right.

:

00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:13,500

And I, and I got a million questions too.

:

00:50:13,500 --> 00:50:13,840

Right.

:

00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:18,410

But I think one of the major things

in terms of going back to the last

:

00:50:18,410 --> 00:50:20,050

phrase, you said divide and conquer.

:

00:50:20,390 --> 00:50:27,370

Um, when you conquer, when you take over

territory and, um, the first thing you

:

00:50:27,370 --> 00:50:29,600

want to do is conquer the people, right.

:

00:50:29,800 --> 00:50:31,840

You want to, you want to spread them out.

:

00:50:32,200 --> 00:50:36,060

Where they don't, they're not all

thinking of doing the same thing,

:

00:50:36,060 --> 00:50:39,200

or they, they're not thinking

of getting together and banding

:

00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:41,170

together to take back what's theirs.

:

00:50:41,490 --> 00:50:45,850

So, I can definitely understand that, and

that's something that's been implemented

:

00:50:45,860 --> 00:50:48,140

in, like I said, in a lot of places.

:

00:50:48,830 --> 00:50:49,810

Final thoughts.

:

00:50:50,110 --> 00:50:53,220

Give us a final thought, man, on, on what

you want everybody to walk away from.

:

00:50:54,025 --> 00:50:56,205

Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know, first

and foremost, you know, to all the

:

00:50:56,205 --> 00:51:00,575

viewers, you know, uh, who, who joined

BEP, uh, uh, you know, I want to express

:

00:51:00,575 --> 00:51:05,965

my sincere gratitude, you know, um,

embracing this podcast, you know, it

:

00:51:05,975 --> 00:51:11,005

truly means a lot, uh, you know, uh,

it's just, it's just been an amazing

:

00:51:11,015 --> 00:51:12,385

journey, you know, doing this with you.

:

00:51:13,230 --> 00:51:16,060

Um, you know, we get our ups and

we get our downs, but that's the

:

00:51:16,060 --> 00:51:18,140

way it goes, you know, when you're

trying to make stuff happen.

:

00:51:18,840 --> 00:51:21,110

Um, but, you know, I want to

invite people to my website,

:

00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:22,190

you know, at adrianalvarado.

:

00:51:22,950 --> 00:51:23,330

net.

:

00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:27,570

Um, you know, subscribe for updates, you

know, I got a blog coming out weekly.

:

00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:31,500

Uh, and just stay updated on the

release of my book, Flippin My Script.

:

00:51:32,570 --> 00:51:35,130

Uh, it's a memoir about family, the 80s.

:

00:51:35,430 --> 00:51:37,220

Self discovery and Hollywood dreams.

:

00:51:37,220 --> 00:51:39,580

So, you know, it should

be a great journey.

:

00:51:39,980 --> 00:51:45,390

It's been a labor of love of my wife

and I for the last 17 years and I

:

00:51:45,420 --> 00:51:48,150

just can't wait that, you know, I'm

eagerly anticipating just sharing

:

00:51:48,150 --> 00:51:51,280

these colorful characters that I grew

up with and they were part of my life.

:

00:51:53,290 --> 00:51:55,980

And I just want to remember that no matter

what, I want you guys to remember that

:

00:51:56,020 --> 00:51:58,770

no matter where you are in your life, you

know, you can always flip your script.

:

00:51:59,270 --> 00:51:59,810

You know what I mean?

:

00:51:59,820 --> 00:52:01,550

You can always just change your narrative.

:

00:52:02,395 --> 00:52:06,655

Uh, and, uh, because nobody else, you

know, no, no, you don't want to allow

:

00:52:06,655 --> 00:52:08,145

nobody else to change it for you.

:

00:52:09,435 --> 00:52:11,265

So that's what I got to

say and love and light.

:

00:52:12,025 --> 00:52:12,895

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, that's awesome.

:

00:52:13,135 --> 00:52:14,165

When is your book coming out?

:

00:52:14,835 --> 00:52:16,735

Adrian Alvarado: Um, so stay up to date.

:

00:52:16,845 --> 00:52:18,445

It's coming out this summer.

:

00:52:18,890 --> 00:52:23,530

I'm not going to release a date here just

yet, but it's going to be an announcement,

:

00:52:23,560 --> 00:52:25,860

but definitely before the fall.

:

00:52:25,870 --> 00:52:26,020

So

:

00:52:26,020 --> 00:52:26,890

Tony Tidbit: sometime in the summer?

:

00:52:27,010 --> 00:52:29,490

Adrian Alvarado: Oh yeah, yeah,

yeah, within the next, yeah.

:

00:52:29,850 --> 00:52:32,060

Tony Tidbit: And, and, and, and

final question I have for you,

:

00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:34,870

the title Flip the Script, right?

:

00:52:34,880 --> 00:52:36,400

Tell us why did you

come up with that title?

:

00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:40,460

Adrian Alvarado: Flipping my script,

uh, you know, it's one of my, I, I,

:

00:52:40,640 --> 00:52:44,060

you know, growing up, you know, I

grew up a movie fan, you know, I'm,

:

00:52:44,060 --> 00:52:47,840

uh, I took history film classes,

and one of my, one of my faves.

:

00:52:48,080 --> 00:52:50,420

It wasn't one of my favorite movies.

:

00:52:50,420 --> 00:52:53,310

One of these movies I saw was a

Wesley Snipes movie called Sugar Hill.

:

00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:54,670

Yeah, I remember that.

:

00:52:54,670 --> 00:52:55,420

Remember Sugar Hill?

:

00:52:55,890 --> 00:52:58,900

And, you know, it's two brothers,

you know, hustling in Sugar Hill,

:

00:52:58,900 --> 00:53:00,200

New York and whatever, whatever.

:

00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:03,020

And at one moment, you know,

they're, you know, they're getting

:

00:53:03,100 --> 00:53:04,750

infiltrated and stuff's happening.

:

00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:07,850

And then Wesley Snipes says, It's

time for me to flip the script.

:

00:53:07,985 --> 00:53:11,385

It always stuck to me, you know.

:

00:53:11,425 --> 00:53:14,145

And when I started writing my

book, it had many different titles.

:

00:53:14,665 --> 00:53:19,895

And what I noticed throughout the theme

was that I kept, every time I ran into

:

00:53:19,895 --> 00:53:25,715

adversity, I would just embrace it,

you know, face it, and then flip it.

:

00:53:26,590 --> 00:53:31,120

You know, to my, I said, well, how can

I make, to my benefit, you know, um,

:

00:53:31,330 --> 00:53:35,960

and it ties into, you know, my Hollywood

career script, uh, so it just, it ties

:

00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:39,260

into just the journey of, you know,

where, where, you know, where we started,

:

00:53:39,270 --> 00:53:40,870

you know, we all have a story, right?

:

00:53:41,140 --> 00:53:44,690

I have humble beginnings and there were

times where if I followed a certain

:

00:53:44,690 --> 00:53:48,250

path, you know, cause I felt like,

you know, speaking of the narrative

:

00:53:48,250 --> 00:53:51,700

of what we just spoke about Puerto

Rico and how we haven't really been

:

00:53:51,700 --> 00:53:55,290

able to govern ourselves, there's

been this narrative written for us.

:

00:53:55,900 --> 00:53:56,220

Right?

:

00:53:56,700 --> 00:53:57,400

Of who we are.

:

00:53:57,840 --> 00:53:58,130

Right?

:

00:53:58,560 --> 00:53:59,830

And, you know, what we look like.

:

00:54:00,290 --> 00:54:01,750

You know, and, and so forth.

:

00:54:01,750 --> 00:54:05,920

So, that's part of it where it's like,

no, I, you know, as a kid, people

:

00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:07,700

were calling me typical Puerto Rican.

:

00:54:08,220 --> 00:54:08,430

Right?

:

00:54:08,470 --> 00:54:09,640

And I'm like, what do you mean?

:

00:54:09,650 --> 00:54:10,850

You don't even know who I am.

:

00:54:11,440 --> 00:54:11,820

You know?

:

00:54:11,820 --> 00:54:12,680

So I flipped it.

:

00:54:13,080 --> 00:54:14,230

I flipped the narrative.

:

00:54:14,400 --> 00:54:15,910

And that's my goal with this book.

:

00:54:16,310 --> 00:54:19,430

To flip the narrative of the Puerto

Rican experience and what, what

:

00:54:19,430 --> 00:54:22,159

people think Puerto Rican, who we are.

:

00:54:22,930 --> 00:54:26,080

Tony Tidbit: Well, buddy, I really

appreciate you coming on and sharing that.

:

00:54:26,470 --> 00:54:29,470

Number two, uh, I can't wait

for the book to come out.

:

00:54:29,470 --> 00:54:32,380

Cause I, knowing you and your

stories and stuff of that nature,

:

00:54:32,390 --> 00:54:34,070

you got a lot of things to share.

:

00:54:34,350 --> 00:54:38,720

So I'm pretty sure everybody's going

to, uh, look forward to it and enjoy it.

:

00:54:38,720 --> 00:54:41,030

And then when it comes out, we're

going to put it on the website.

:

00:54:41,370 --> 00:54:42,153

We're going to promote it.

:

00:54:42,153 --> 00:54:43,320

We'll have you come back on.

:

00:54:43,755 --> 00:54:47,965

You know, read some excerpts out of it,

get a little bit deeper in it so people

:

00:54:47,965 --> 00:54:53,445

can get a better understanding of not just

the book, but more about Adrian Alvarado.

:

00:54:53,455 --> 00:54:55,305

So love you a lot, my brother.

:

00:54:55,345 --> 00:54:59,075

Thanks for coming on the Black

Executive Perspective podcast, sharing

:

00:54:59,075 --> 00:55:00,885

your perspective about Puerto Rico.

:

00:55:00,895 --> 00:55:02,005

Really, really appreciate

:

00:55:02,245 --> 00:55:02,265

Adrian Alvarado: it.

:

00:55:02,265 --> 00:55:02,745

Appreciate it.

:

00:55:02,745 --> 00:55:03,275

Love you too, man.

:

00:55:03,275 --> 00:55:03,595

Thank you.

:

00:55:04,015 --> 00:55:08,765

Tony Tidbit: So I think it's

now time for Tony's Tidbit and

:

00:55:08,765 --> 00:55:12,295

listen, as always, a tidbit is

about, you know, our conversation.

:

00:55:12,295 --> 00:55:16,995

So today's tidbit is freedom

is the right of all nations.

:

00:55:17,425 --> 00:55:23,735

Puerto Rico struggle is not just about

governance, but about the dignity

:

00:55:23,975 --> 00:55:27,035

of choosing its destiny, right?

:

00:55:27,135 --> 00:55:31,365

And you heard a lot of that today

from double a Adrian Alvarado.

:

00:55:31,785 --> 00:55:35,695

So really appreciate, appreciate him

coming on and sharing that perspective.

:

00:55:35,975 --> 00:55:39,605

And so now just real quick, I want

everybody don't forget to check out.

:

00:55:40,690 --> 00:55:41,960

Need to know by Dr.

:

00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:45,890

Nsenga Burton that on the Black

Executive Perspective Podcast,

:

00:55:45,900 --> 00:55:47,350

you don't want to miss that.

:

00:55:47,560 --> 00:55:51,010

She's going into diving into

crucial topics, stuff that's

:

00:55:51,010 --> 00:55:52,810

shaping our community and our world.

:

00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:56,060

So you definitely want to tune

in to gain more perspective.

:

00:55:56,310 --> 00:55:58,240

So check her out later this week.

:

00:55:58,490 --> 00:56:03,040

And then obviously one of the things

that reason that we put this, uh, podcast

:

00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:07,965

together, Double A and I is we want, this

is about bringing people together, right?

:

00:56:07,965 --> 00:56:10,775

It's about coming on and talking

about different perspectives.

:

00:56:11,245 --> 00:56:15,145

Educating people about things

that they may not be aware of.

:

00:56:15,225 --> 00:56:18,435

So we want everyone to

incorporate our call to action.

:

00:56:18,800 --> 00:56:23,340

Less stands, L E S S, L stands for learn.

:

00:56:23,610 --> 00:56:28,150

We want you to be open and learn about

new things that you may be not exposed to.

:

00:56:28,480 --> 00:56:30,500

New people, new cultures.

:

00:56:30,670 --> 00:56:32,910

Learn that, that's going to help

you become more enlightened.

:

00:56:33,250 --> 00:56:34,650

E stands for empathy.

:

00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:38,640

Once you've learned, now you

should be more empathetic to

:

00:56:38,640 --> 00:56:41,770

your friend, family, colleague

about what they're going through.

:

00:56:42,235 --> 00:56:46,885

S stands for share, share what you

learn to your friends and family

:

00:56:47,005 --> 00:56:48,715

so they can be enlightened as well.

:

00:56:48,975 --> 00:56:51,125

And the final S stands for stop.

:

00:56:51,455 --> 00:56:56,015

We want to actively stop discrimination

when it walks into our path.

:

00:56:56,205 --> 00:56:59,965

So when you're at the Thanksgiving

table and Grandpa says something that's

:

00:56:59,965 --> 00:57:01,879

inappropriate, you say, No, Grandpa.

:

00:57:02,150 --> 00:57:04,540

We don't say that that's inappropriate.

:

00:57:04,730 --> 00:57:09,840

So if everybody incorporates less

L E S S, we're going to have a more

:

00:57:09,840 --> 00:57:11,890

fair, more understanding world.

:

00:57:12,230 --> 00:57:12,970

And guess what?

:

00:57:13,090 --> 00:57:16,070

We'll all see the change

that we're looking to see.

:

00:57:16,380 --> 00:57:19,970

So you can follow a black executive

perspective podcast and listen to

:

00:57:19,970 --> 00:57:22,750

our next episode, wherever podcast.

:

00:57:22,870 --> 00:57:25,490

And please don't hesitate

to follow us on our socials.

:

00:57:26,180 --> 00:57:32,340

Black LinkedIn X, YouTube, Instagram,

and TikTok at a black exec for our

:

00:57:32,340 --> 00:57:38,010

fabulous multi talented guests who will

be behind the glass soon on another

:

00:57:38,010 --> 00:57:44,430

episode, Adrian Alvarado for Noellele

Miller, who's helping us behind the glass.

:

00:57:44,430 --> 00:57:45,310

I'm Tony Tidbit.

:

00:57:45,840 --> 00:57:46,760

We talked about it.

:

00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:47,520

We love you.

:

00:57:47,820 --> 00:57:48,340

And we're out.

:

00:57:54,440 --> 00:57:56,840

BEP Narrator: A Black

Executive Perspective.

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