This week Becca chats with writer, producer, film critic, and published poet -- Josie Melendez! The two chat representation in film/books/etc., the 2026 oscar race, Josie's Film Poser's podcast, and more! 

Also don’t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page @welcometoelbarrio for submissions!

And subscribe to the show’s substack for FREE for bonus content!

ALSO -- WTEB's editor @markpagan wrote a piece about the trailblazing career of Beni and his impact on changing Latino roles. Perfectly paired with our latest Oscar themed episode!

https://thelatinonewsletter.org/p/benicio-del-toro-quietly-disrupted-latin-lover-trope

 

This week Becca chats with writer, producer, film critic, and published poet -- <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thejosiemarie/">Josie Melendez</a>! The two chat representation in film/books/etc., the 2026 oscar race, Josie's Film Poser's podcast, and more!&nbsp;
Also don&rsquo;t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page <a href="https://www.instagram.com/welcometoelbarrio/">@welcometoelbarrio</a> for submissions!
And subscribe to the <a href="https://wteb.substack.com/">show&rsquo;s substack</a> for FREE for bonus content!
ALSO -- WTEB's editor <a href="https://www.instagram.com/markpagan/">@markpagan</a> wrote a piece about the trailblazing career of Beni and his impact on changing Latino roles. Perfectly paired with our latest Oscar themed episode!
<a href="https://thelatinonewsletter.org/p/benicio-del-toro-quietly-disrupted-latin-lover-trope">https://thelatinonewsletter.org/p/benicio-del-toro-quietly-disrupted-latin-lover-trope</a>
&nbsp;

“Welcome to El Barrio” is a vibrant new podcast about Puerto Rican identity — our stories, finally told by us.

Hosted by award-winning producer Becca Ramos, this series blends laugh-out-loud interviews with artists, scholars, creators, tastemakers, and everyday Boricuas to illuminate the stories the textbooks left out.

Each week, Becca dives into the history, culture, politics, spirituality, and pop-culture moments that shape what it means to be Puerto Rican today — from the roots of brujería and ancestral healing, to the global impact of Bad Bunny, to the hidden history behind Operation Bootstrap, Hurricane Maria’s aftermath, and the evolution of the diaspora.

This show is unapologetically for us. For the kids who grew up “ni de aquí, ni de allá.” For everyone who felt their culture reduced to stereotypes, mispronounced in classrooms, or left out of the narrative entirely. Through humor, heart, research, and community storytelling, Becca invites listeners on a journey of self-discovery — and a celebration of La Isla del Encanto in all its complexity.

Featuring a lineup of powerful Boricua voices across film, music, academia, design, and activism, Welcome to El Barrio is a love letter, an archive, and an invitation. Come learn, laugh, heal, and say it with us. WEPA! 

&ldquo;Welcome to El Barrio&rdquo; is a vibrant new podcast about Puerto Rican identity &mdash; our stories, finally told by us.
Hosted by award-winning producer Becca Ramos, this series blends laugh-out-loud interviews with artists, scholars, creators, tastemakers, and everyday Boricuas to illuminate the stories the textbooks left out.
Each week, Becca dives into the history, culture, politics, spirituality, and pop-culture moments that shape what it means to be Puerto Rican today &mdash; from the roots of brujer&iacute;a and ancestral healing, to the global impact of Bad Bunny, to the hidden history behind Operation Bootstrap, Hurricane Maria&rsquo;s aftermath, and the evolution of the diaspora.
This show is unapologetically for us. For the kids who grew up &ldquo;ni de aqu&iacute;, ni de all&aacute;.&rdquo; For everyone who felt their culture reduced to stereotypes, mispronounced in classrooms, or left out of the narrative entirely. Through humor, heart, research, and community storytelling, Becca invites listeners on a journey of self-discovery &mdash; and a celebration of La Isla del Encanto in all its complexity.
Featuring a lineup of powerful Boricua voices across film, music, academia, design, and activism, Welcome to El Barrio is a love letter, an archive, and an invitation. Come learn, laugh, heal, and say it with us. WEPA!&nbsp;

Welcome to El Barrio

“A Very Bori Oscars Season” w/ Josie Melendez

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b671691d-0cfc-40f3-a089-b409002f6389/transcript

Holi listeners! This is part two of the activist episode -- focusing on real-time movements happening on the island. In this episode, Becca speaks with writer, educator, and activist Beatriz Llenín Figueroa of the Defiende Cabo Rojo coalition and Hugo Delgado, a physics teacher, newspaper editor, and member of the Movimiento Socialista de Trabajadores. Figueroa connects environmental justice with feminist, queer, anti-colonial, and anti-racist struggles and details opposition to Esencia, an ultra-luxury “private city” proposed for about 2,000 acres in Cabo Rojo, including protected lands, endangered species habitat, and over 100 archaeological sites. Delgado discusses intensified colonial control under the fiscal control board, defunding and political intervention at the University of Puerto Rico, privatization and charter schools, rising tuition, weakened campus organizing spaces, student hunger, and calls for organizing and diaspora solidarity.

Also don’t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page @welcometoelbarrio for submissions!

And subscribe to the show’s substack for FREE for bonus content!

SHOW NOTES:
@defendpr
@mikey.cordero
@con.sentimientospr
@alianamarga
Unmasking PROMESA: The unelected board perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico (The Real News Network)
What is Esencia and what will happen to Puerto Rico if this is constructed? (MR Online)
@diaspo.rico
About Law 82
Defiende Cabo Rojo
Sierra Club de Puerto Rico

Holi listeners! This is part two of the activist episode -- focusing on real-time movements happening on the island. In this episode, Becca speaks with writer, educator, and activist Beatriz Llen&iacute;n Figueroa of the Defiende Cabo Rojo coalition and Hugo Delgado, a physics teacher, newspaper editor, and member of the Movimiento Socialista de Trabajadores. Figueroa connects environmental justice with feminist, queer, anti-colonial, and anti-racist struggles and details opposition to Esencia, an ultra-luxury &ldquo;private city&rdquo; proposed for about 2,000 acres in Cabo Rojo, including protected lands, endangered species habitat, and over 100 archaeological sites. Delgado discusses intensified colonial control under the fiscal control board, defunding and political intervention at the University of Puerto Rico, privatization and charter schools, rising tuition, weakened campus organizing spaces, student hunger, and calls for organizing and diaspora solidarity.
Also don&rsquo;t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/welcometoelbarrio/">@welcometoelbarrio</a> for submissions!
And subscribe to the <a href="https://wteb.substack.com/">show&rsquo;s substack</a> for FREE for bonus content!
SHOW NOTES:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/defendpr/">@defendpr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mikey.cordero/">@mikey.cordero</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/con.sentimientospr/">@con.sentimientospr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/alianamarga/">@alianamarga</a></li>
<li><a href="https://therealnews.com/promesa-and-colonialism-in-puerto-rico?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=16619055571&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD6zHoCTqLjhURUMcvWNFCSG1hdV0&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwuuPRBhAnEiwA2Ji8euxqVdcISBr6XYujihTC01uq77pCukB1IrTsiX-GeqDfdd4yn-2L8BoCno4QAvD_BwE">Unmasking PROMESA: The unelected board perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico (The Real News Network)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mronline.org/2025/03/29/what-is-esencia-and-what-will-happen-to-puerto-rico-if-this-is-constructed/">What is Esencia and what will happen to Puerto Rico if this is constructed? (MR Online)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaspo.rico/">@diaspo.rico</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYV0csUMpul/">About Law 82</a></li>
<li><a href="https://defiendeacaborojo.org/">Defiende Cabo Rojo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/puerto-rico">Sierra Club de Puerto Rico</a></li>
</ul>

"What is going ON in Puerto Rico?" Part 2: Featuring Beatriz Llenín Figueroa y Hugo Delgado

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/9a27abcd-be82-4a4c-8ed8-b47a002a6ab6/transcript

Holi listeners! This week, we are doing part one of two episodes -- focusing on real-time movements happening on the island. In this episode, Becca speaks with Mikey Cordero, creator of Diasporico and La Sala Libre, a space launched during the Bad Bunny concert influx to offer a non-extractive way to engage with local and diasporic nuance; his project documents “ethical return” conversations and links gentrification to colonialism. The two also chat about DefendPR, a collective producing immersive, short-form storytelling from grassroots movements, beginning with protests in Peñuelas. Becca also chats with Aliana Margarita of Consentimiento PR, who translates policy and activism education; she explains Law 82 (PC-310), which requires plaintiffs to pay 10% of a project’s cost to sue, and connects it to Proyecto Esencia, PROMESA’s fiscal control board, UPR budget cuts, and ongoing colonial governance.

Be sure to tune in next week for the other activists and movements we'll be highlighting. 

Also don’t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page @welcometoelbarrio for submissions!

And subscribe to the show’s substack for FREE for bonus content!

 

SHOW NOTES:
@defendpr
@mikey.cordero
@con.sentimientospr
@alianamarga
Unmasking PROMESA: The unelected board perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico (The Real News Network)
What is Esencia and what will happen to Puerto Rico if this is constructed? (MR Online)
@diaspo.rico
About Law 82
Defiende Cabo Rojo
Sierra Club de Puerto Rico

Holi listeners! This week, we are doing part one of two episodes -- focusing on real-time movements happening on the island. In this episode, Becca speaks with Mikey Cordero, creator of Diasporico and La Sala Libre, a space launched during the Bad Bunny concert influx to offer a non-extractive way to engage with local and diasporic nuance; his project documents &ldquo;ethical return&rdquo; conversations and links gentrification to colonialism. The two also chat about DefendPR, a collective producing immersive, short-form storytelling from grassroots movements, beginning with protests in Pe&ntilde;uelas. Becca also chats with Aliana Margarita of Consentimiento PR, who translates policy and activism education; she explains Law 82 (PC-310), which requires plaintiffs to pay 10% of a project&rsquo;s cost to sue, and connects it to Proyecto Esencia, PROMESA&rsquo;s fiscal control board, UPR budget cuts, and ongoing colonial governance.
Be sure to tune in next week for the other activists and movements we'll be highlighting.&nbsp;
Also don&rsquo;t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/welcometoelbarrio/">@welcometoelbarrio</a> for submissions!
And subscribe to the <a href="https://wteb.substack.com/">show&rsquo;s substack</a> for FREE for bonus content!
&nbsp;
SHOW NOTES:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/defendpr/">@defendpr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mikey.cordero/">@mikey.cordero</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/con.sentimientospr/">@con.sentimientospr</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/alianamarga/">@alianamarga</a></li>
<li><a href="https://therealnews.com/promesa-and-colonialism-in-puerto-rico?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=16619055571&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD6zHoCTqLjhURUMcvWNFCSG1hdV0&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwuuPRBhAnEiwA2Ji8euxqVdcISBr6XYujihTC01uq77pCukB1IrTsiX-GeqDfdd4yn-2L8BoCno4QAvD_BwE">Unmasking PROMESA: The unelected board perpetuating colonialism in Puerto Rico (The Real News Network)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://mronline.org/2025/03/29/what-is-esencia-and-what-will-happen-to-puerto-rico-if-this-is-constructed/">What is Esencia and what will happen to Puerto Rico if this is constructed? (MR Online)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaspo.rico/">@diaspo.rico</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYV0csUMpul/">About Law 82</a></li>
<li><a href="https://defiendeacaborojo.org/">Defiende Cabo Rojo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/puerto-rico">Sierra Club de Puerto Rico</a></li>
</ul>

"What is going ON in Puerto Rico?" Part 1: Featuring Mikey Cordero and Aliana Margarita

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/39ac34eb-2102-4459-a2be-b471016acb49/transcript

This week, Becca chats with Kenya Rivera! An LA-based Puerto Rican content creator, filmmaker, musician, and pop-culture enthusiast.The two chat Kennya's journey from growing up in Puerto Rico, moving to LA with an internship and a dream, Afro-Latina identity in LA, racism and hair/voice policing, colonial realities of Puerto Rico, and the importance of Puerto Rican community, food, care, and more.

Also don’t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page @welcometoelbarrio for submissions!

And subscribe to the show’s substack for FREE for bonus content!

This week, Becca chats with Kenya Rivera! An LA-based Puerto Rican content creator, filmmaker, musician, and pop-culture enthusiast.The two chat Kennya's journey from growing up in Puerto Rico, moving to LA with an internship and a dream, Afro-Latina identity in LA, racism and hair/voice policing, colonial realities of Puerto Rico, and the importance of Puerto Rican community, food, care, and more.
Also don&rsquo;t forget to email us at welcometoelbarrio@gmail.com, or DM the show page&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/welcometoelbarrio/">@welcometoelbarrio</a> for submissions!
And subscribe to the <a href="https://wteb.substack.com/">show&rsquo;s substack</a> for FREE for bonus content!

"Puerto Rico is ... Whoville?" w/ Kennya Rivera

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8321e7f3-5136-4d7b-894e-b46b0039804c/transcript

“A Very Bori Oscars Season” w/ Josie Melendez

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