years under the wing of the us has left puerto rico without any real economic engine beyond tourism. the old industries are no longer wanted, needed or no longer economically viable. agriculture, manufacturing, trade have all shrunk drastically. the island is dependent on us exports for just about everything. anthony: so where are we? pedro: we are in loiza.
after the liberation of the slave of the island this is where all the africans and slaves get together and established themselves. anthony: despite, or maybe because of economic turmoil, pedro alvarez- cortez saw an opportunity to make something. pedro: we keep working the formula until my grandmother said whoa, this is very good. give me more. using the tradition as a weapon that s what made us successful. anthony: at a local beach in loiza, about 45 minutes outside san juan, a crab shack that is one of his favorites. pedro: oh my god, look at that. excellent. anthony: what do we have here land crab? pedro: land crab, this is a coconut arepa. anthony: what do you think, just bang the [ bleep ]? pedro: yeah just knock it
each year in loiza, they have a festival featuring these characters. raul is legendary in the community for making the masks. in the spanish tradition, remember, it represents the moors. because the moors invaded spain for eight centuries. that was a time of war between them and they tried to get them out. okay. they didn t like them for two reasons. you usm and you reot our people. uh-huh. they use a grotesque mask and costume with wings because the spaniard had to represent the moors in a bad way for them. and here in loiza, they make all the masks for the vigilantes. the masks have a long history. back in spain in the 1500s, they had festivals celebrating the defeat of the black muslim moors by the white christian spanish. and the characters would represent the scary, dark
so, where are we now? this is loiza. it s a community that s mostly black dominated. we puerto rican have indian, spaniard and also african heritage. you see someone like me with lighter skin but still bronze. someone darker, more like you. and then, have redheads. you can see absolutely everything here. tell me. do you think there s the same color thing that happens in the states? you know, sometimes, how there s how do i say this? disputes? i haven t had discrimination. but beauty pageants, most of the girls that win the beauty pageants, they have the lighter skin. even though we have dark skin. they participate and range in the finalists but don t necessarily win. it s been the real pale girls that have. but let s say it was a surprise
agriculture, manufacturing, trade have all shrunk drastically. the island is dependent on us exports for just about everything. anthony: so where are we? pedro: we are in loiza. after the liberation of the slave of the island this is where all the africans and slaves get together and established themselves. anthony: despite, or maybe because of economic turmoil, pedro alvarez- cortez saw an opportunity to make something. pedro: we keep working the formula until my grandmother