to one of the most important pre-columbian archaeological sites in the world, the caguana ceremonial grounds, a sacred place for the taíno people who thrived here until the 15th century before colonizers like columbus arrived on the island and changed the course of history. some archaeologists argue that the taíno bloodline no longer exists. i believed that too and even mentioned it in my show latin history for morons. so columbus enslaves all the taínos until he exterminate them. and that, my lovely morons, is called the caribbean holocaust. and that is the end of the taínos and their time on earth. [percussive music] but here s the thing - after my show, i got a letter from a woman who said, hold on a minute. she s taíno and very much alive. so i met with some members of her tribe to educate myself.
dinkins knew city government. - the real enemy is poverty and crime. - and knew how to talk about policy, about homelessness, about child welfare, about housing. - you see now how we re bringing new york together. all: yeah! - things that rudy really had not paid any attention to. - rudy! rudy! rudy - you take a dialogue that s supposed to be, in rudy s mind, about corruption, and all of a sudden, he s having to talk about foster care and things like this. - it was all nonsense. - when i would come back to the office after a day of campaigning, people would ask me, which one was it today? was it the good rudy or was it the bad rudy? - it will not be long before the contenders take those gloves off and go for the knockout punch. - roger ailes was brought in at the middle of the campaign when we were floundering. we had no messaging. we weren t doing much tv advertising, if any. [percussive music] - new york city 1989.
the 15th century before colonizers like columbus arrived on the island and changed the course of history. some archaeologists argue that the taíno bloodline no longer exists. i believed that too and even mentioned it in my show latin history for morons. so columbus enslaves all the taínos until he exterminate them. and that, my lovely morons, is called the caribbean holocaust. and that is the end of the taínos and their time on earth. [percussive music] but here s the thing - after my show, i got a letter from a woman who said, hold on a minute. she s taíno and very much alive. so i met with some members of her tribe to educate myself.
pretty, right? but as recently as the 1950s, it was against the law to fly it anywhere in the country. why? because it was a symbol of independence. the ban is gone now. but so is the original flag. the shade of blue was changed to match the good old stars and stripes. but through it all, bomba has survived. [percussive music] it s incredible how, sometimes, culture can disappear. but a few people can bring it back to life. and then, it has a whole new existence. - we lost a lot. - when we talk about bombas, we have the drums. - yeah, yeah. - and they actually have two roles. we have one that keeps the groove going. [percussive music] - we call that. - buleador. - and we also have. he s the one who actually provides notes on the drum. - there s also the. the space where we play, which is batey. - batey, yes. - batey is basically the center of the community. anybody from the community can come learn and play.
to become an independent nation, both the u.s. and puerto rican governments have said, not so fast. i mean, get this. you see this flag? pretty, right? but as recently as the 1950s, it was against the law to fly it anywhere in the country. why? because it was a symbol of independence. the ban is gone now. but so is the original flag. the shade of blue was changed to match the good old stars and stripes. but through it all, bomba has survived. [percussive music] it s incredible how, sometimes, culture can disappear. but a few people can bring it back to life. and then, it has a whole new existence. - we lost a lot. - when we talk about bombas, we have the drums. - yeah, yeah. - and they actually have two roles. we have one that keeps the groove going. [percussive music] - we call that. - buleador. - and we also have. he s the one who actually provides notes on the drum. - there s also the. the space where we play,