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>

“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

"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