A Puerto Rican Perspective: Cultura, Colonization, and Current Challenges

Tony Tidbit: 00:00:00

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: 1493

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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: 1493

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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: 1898

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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: 1898

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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: 1868

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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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: 00:14:10

They actually, the following year, they

outlawed Puerto Rican currency, right, and

313

: 00:14:15

then declared that the island's peso, you

know, they didn't recognize it anymore,

314

: 00:14:19

and it lost 40 percent of its value.

315

: 00:14:22

Right?

316

: 00:14:23

So, right after the hurricane, Then they,

they devalue our currency, so now we can

317

: 00:14:29

be dependent on their currency, right?

318

: 00:14:32

And then every Puerto Rican

lost 40 percent of, of their

319

: 00:14:34

money overnight, right?

320

: 00:14:36

So then the very next year, in 1901,

I'm going to read this here, they

321

: 00:14:40

passed the Hollander Act, right?

322

: 00:14:41

Which raised taxes on every farmer, right?

323

: 00:14:44

So not only you took this island,

you let the hurricane just reset

324

: 00:14:49

everything, oh, you know what?

325

: 00:14:50

Let them, let them see how they're

going to need our money, right?

326

: 00:14:52

for a little bit.

327

: 00:14:53

Then you're going to

devalue the currency, right?

328

: 00:14:57

Right?

329

: 00:14:57

You're not going to help, right?

330

: 00:14:59

Then you're going to pass and

raise taxes on the farmer.

331

: 00:15:02

So what happens?

332

: 00:15:02

The farmers, you know, uh,

less cash, you know, 40 percent

333

: 00:15:06

less income that they had.

334

: 00:15:08

They had to borrow money, right?

335

: 00:15:09

From who?

336

: 00:15:10

The US banks, right?

337

: 00:15:13

There was no usury.

338

: 00:15:14

What's the word?

339

: 00:15:14

Usury law restrictions.

340

: 00:15:16

Uh, so interest rates were so high,

you know, that within a decade,

341

: 00:15:20

Farmers were defaulting on their

loans and guess what happened?

342

: 00:15:23

The banks foreclosed on their land.

343

: 00:15:26

Tony Tidbit: Let me ask you this.

344

: 00:15:27

I think I know the answer, but

I'd love to hear it from you.

345

: 00:15:30

So, the United States wins the

war, the Spanish and American war.

346

: 00:15:35

They gain these territories, Cuba,

Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and San

347

: 00:15:40

Domingo in the Philippines, right?

348

: 00:15:43

Adrian Alvarado: Not sure about

Jamaica, but it's a British territory.

349

: 00:15:46

Tony Tidbit: Okay, and, um, and,

uh, So they gain these territories.

350

: 00:15:51

Why would they, if they gain in land, and

the people that are there, um, and they,

351

: 00:15:57

and the people, and, and all the resources

that are there are probably great for

352

: 00:16:01

the United States, why would they devalue

the currency, and then more importantly,

353

: 00:16:07

try to get everybody to foreclose?

354

: 00:16:10

Tell me a little bit about that.

355

: 00:16:11

Adrian Alvarado: Well, I mean, the

why is, you know, is a good question.

356

: 00:16:13

It's just control, right?

357

: 00:16:14

I mean, if you take, you know,

you're colonizing a country,

358

: 00:16:16

now you want to assimilate.

359

: 00:16:18

Right.

360

: 00:16:19

That would be my main thing.

361

: 00:16:20

Right.

362

: 00:16:20

And there's also a racial factor to it.

363

: 00:16:23

I think.

364

: 00:16:23

Right.

365

: 00:16:24

You know, I mean, there were

peasants, you know, my, my ancestors

366

: 00:16:27

were cane cutters, you know,

they were, they were poor people.

367

: 00:16:30

Right.

368

: 00:16:31

You know, so there's that aspect too.

369

: 00:16:33

It was like, I'm going to get

into how they looked at us when

370

: 00:16:35

we get into our next segment.

371

: 00:16:36

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

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

372

: 00:16:39

you exactly why, how they look at us.

373

: 00:16:41

Tony Tidbit: Right.

374

: 00:16:41

Yeah.

375

: 00:16:42

Right.

376

: 00:16:42

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

right off the bat, as you be, as

377

: 00:16:47

Puerto Rico becomes a part of the

United States, the people there are

378

: 00:16:52

already behind the eight ball, okay?

379

: 00:16:54

They were behind the eight

ball when Spanish ruled.

380

: 00:16:57

And then when they came here to the

United States, not even when they

381

: 00:16:59

came, when the United States took

over the territories, they even pushed

382

: 00:17:05

them further behind the eight ball.

383

: 00:17:07

Is that correct?

384

: 00:17:07

That's correct.

385

: 00:17:08

Okay.

386

: 00:17:09

So tell us, man, who was

Charles Herbert Allen?

387

: 00:17:13

Adrian Alvarado: So I'm gonna, some

of the information I just gave you, I

388

: 00:17:16

grabbed from the specific book, right?

389

: 00:17:17

All this information is around in

the archives of the United States.

390

: 00:17:20

Uh, but I'm gonna reference a

book by, uh, Nelson Dennis, right?

391

: 00:17:23

Who is the author of a book called

War Against All Puerto Ricans.

392

: 00:17:27

Um, Nelson Dennis is just real quick,

he's a former, uh, Uh, representative

393

: 00:17:32

in New York State Assembly, you know,

,: 1997

394

: 00:17:37

68, uh, Assembly, just to give you

a little bit about his background.

395

: 00:17:40

And his district included East Harlem,

Spanish Harlem neighborhoods, which

396

: 00:17:43

were highly populated by Latinos.

397

: 00:17:45

Uh, and he's half Cuban,

half Puerto Rican.

398

: 00:17:48

But in his book, he goes into detail

on, on this topic and many, and

399

: 00:17:52

presents a valid argument on how the U.

400

: 00:17:54

S.

401

: 00:17:54

declared war against Puerto Ricans.

402

: 00:17:57

So Charles Herbert

Allen, he was the first.

403

: 00:18:00

Civilian US governor

of Puerto Rico, right?

404

: 00:18:03

And he was appointed by 1900 and he

was appointed by then president William

405

: 00:18:08

McKinley and in my opinion He was he was

the greatest pirate of the Caribbean.

406

: 00:18:13

I mean he had nothing on Jack

Sparrow, man He's got this guy

407

: 00:18:16

raided Raided the island, right?

408

: 00:18:19

So okay.

409

: 00:18:20

He was appointed by McKinley He was

only their governor for 17 months, but

410

: 00:18:27

in that time he single handedly stole

And wired the whole entire economy of

411

: 00:18:32

Puerto Rico to the United States, right?

412

: 00:18:34

And he built himself a nice

empire in the meantime, right?

413

: 00:18:39

And that empire is still very

prominent and profitable to this day.

414

: 00:18:42

And

415

: 00:18:43

Tony Tidbit: it's Just to be

clear, he was the first governor.

416

: 00:18:45

He was the first Because they

allowed them to be able to vote for

417

: 00:18:49

governorship and stuff like that.

418

: 00:18:50

Adrian Alvarado: No, not at all.

419

: 00:18:51

Not at all.

420

: 00:18:51

So, you know, you had When Spain

controlled the island, they had

421

: 00:18:55

their own governors, Ponce de

Leon, but they were all Spanish,

422

: 00:18:57

they were appointed by the crown.

423

: 00:18:59

Nobody voted.

424

: 00:19:00

It wasn't a democracy, it was,

we were ruled by the king, Queen

425

: 00:19:04

Elizabeth in Spain, you know,

the kings and queens from Spain.

426

: 00:19:07

Almost a similar thing to American

Revolution, you know, we were

427

: 00:19:10

ruled by, you know, King Henry

over there, you know, it's like

428

: 00:19:13

whoever was the king at the time.

429

: 00:19:15

He wasn't here.

430

: 00:19:16

Right.

431

: 00:19:16

Right.

432

: 00:19:17

So, um, I lost my train

of thought there, wait.

433

: 00:19:20

Tony Tidbit: No, no, no, we were

talking about them, the governor.

434

: 00:19:23

Yeah,

435

: 00:19:24

Adrian Alvarado: so the

first appointed governor.

436

: 00:19:25

So basically before that, it was all

Spanish governors that were appointed.

437

: 00:19:28

And then, when the United

States took over, they appointed

438

: 00:19:30

their own governor, from here.

439

: 00:19:32

And his name was Charles Herbert Allen,

and he was only there for 17 months.

440

: 00:19:37

But then he raided Oh yeah, so I'm

gonna read an excerpt here, uh, from Mr.

441

: 00:19:42

Nelson's book, War Against

Puerto Ricans, right?

442

: 00:19:45

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

just gonna say it, it's Domino Sugar.

443

: 00:19:50

Okay?

444

: 00:19:50

So, you know, everybody's

got it in their house.

445

: 00:19:53

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

446

: 00:19:55

Tony Tidbit: And, and,

before you go there,

447

: 00:19:58

Adrian Alvarado: why is sugar important?

448

: 00:19:59

Well, you know, we were

agriculture, right?

449

: 00:20:01

It was sugar, tobacco, and coffee.

450

: 00:20:02

We produced the most sugar in the world.

451

: 00:20:04

And at that time, there

was a law that passed.

452

: 00:20:06

Uh, we're gonna get deeper into this,

because that's a whole other subject,

453

: 00:20:09

but there was a law specifically passed

that they started adding sugar to

454

: 00:20:12

all the food products in, in America.

455

: 00:20:15

So sugar became a prominent, and

that's why Puerto Rico became very,

456

: 00:20:19

and Guam, and all these, all of a

sudden, the United States were like,

457

: 00:20:22

we're very interested in their sugar.

458

: 00:20:24

Because everything was gonna change.

459

: 00:20:26

Right?

460

: 00:20:26

Food wise.

461

: 00:20:27

Uh, look at that, we're a

sugar based eating country.

462

: 00:20:30

Right?

463

: 00:20:30

It's just sugar and everything.

464

: 00:20:31

Everything, yeah.

465

: 00:20:32

Okay.

466

: 00:20:32

But before that, people ate pretty good.

467

: 00:20:34

Pretty clean.

468

: 00:20:35

So, that coincided with this.

469

: 00:20:38

Mr, Mr.

470

: 00:20:38

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

excerpt from War Against Puerto Ricans.

471

: 00:20:43

And he wrote in his first annual

report to President McKinley, and

472

: 00:20:47

I'm going to quote, The year, the

yield of sugar is greater than

473

: 00:20:50

any other country in the world.

474

: 00:20:52

Molasses and rum, the incidental

products of sugarcane, are themselves

475

: 00:20:56

sufficient to pay all expenses of

the sugar planters and leave the

476

: 00:21:00

returns from his sugar as pure gain.

477

: 00:21:03

Okay.

478

: 00:21:04

The introduction of fresh blood is needed.

479

: 00:21:06

The island population is unfit

to assume management of their own

480

: 00:21:09

affairs, and labor of the natives

can be used to benefit all parties.

481

: 00:21:15

Thrift and industry have always

marked the pathway of the Anglo Saxon.

482

: 00:21:19

End quote.

483

: 00:21:20

All right.

484

: 00:21:21

So Domino Sugar continues today to

generate a billion dollars minimum a year.

485

: 00:21:26

Tony Tidbit: So that's Domino Sugar.

486

: 00:21:28

So, so sugar, they use

sugar as exportation.

487

: 00:21:32

Any other material, how, how

else did they raid the island?

488

: 00:21:36

Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know,

uh, By destroying, eventually

489

: 00:21:39

controlling the sugar industry, right?

490

: 00:21:41

And what started happening, you know,

they would start paying, you know, the

491

: 00:21:45

peasants, you know, a dollar a day.

492

: 00:21:46

And then come back, refine the

sugar, and try to sell them

493

: 00:21:48

the sugar for two dollars.

494

: 00:21:51

Right?

495

: 00:21:52

Right.

496

: 00:21:52

So this started happening.

497

: 00:21:54

Right?

498

: 00:21:54

And then a few things started happening

where, you know, uh, you had leaders come

499

: 00:21:58

up that were, you know, fighting for these

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

500

: 00:22:03

that's just the beginning of the fight

when, when, when we were being taken over.

501

: 00:22:06

Uh, the political movements started,

there was a big independent movement that

502

: 00:22:09

started in 1868, you know, just like Cuba

had a revolution, you know, we tried in

503

: 00:22:14

1868 and another time after that, twice.

504

: 00:22:17

So it wasn't like we were never

trying to get our independence.

505

: 00:22:20

Always, it was always just

independent group there.

506

: 00:22:23

Um, so, and it's also

a very strategic place.

507

: 00:22:26

It isn't just sugar.

508

: 00:22:28

You know, uh, Puerto Rico, besides being

a resort island, is a military base.

509

: 00:22:34

So that was the beginning of

the transcontinental, you know,

510

: 00:22:38

where the, they were starting

to build the Panama Canal.

511

: 00:22:40

Right?

512

: 00:22:41

So they, where did they pass through?

513

: 00:22:43

They got to go to Puerto Rico.

514

: 00:22:44

So having strategic military

point that protected shipping.

515

: 00:22:51

Think about it, right?

516

: 00:22:52

Because I had British Islands, you

have Okinawa Islands, and you know,

517

: 00:22:55

if we're there, right, then at least

we could, then that's what they do.

518

: 00:22:58

Right.

519

: 00:22:59

I literally was in vacation.

520

: 00:23:01

I go there every year, and before we

go, we always stay somewhere, and we

521

: 00:23:04

were near the airport, and every 25

minutes there were F 18s taking off.

522

: 00:23:10

Okay.

523

: 00:23:10

From the international airport.

524

: 00:23:12

Right.

525

: 00:23:13

And people were wondering

why, and we figured it out.

526

: 00:23:15

At the time, the president was vacationing

in a nearby island, somewhere else.

527

: 00:23:19

I forget the name of the island.

528

: 00:23:21

And they were just patrolling.

529

: 00:23:22

Tony Tidbit: Right.

530

: 00:23:24

So tell us a little bit

about the people, right?

531

: 00:23:26

So, Puerto Rican people, you

know, uh, you know, you had span,

532

: 00:23:31

Spanish people, you know, obviously

it was a slave trade as well.

533

: 00:23:36

So slaves were, came over.

534

: 00:23:38

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

535

: 00:23:41

So talk a little bit about the people,

you know, in terms of their ethnicity.

536

: 00:23:45

And then, like you were saying earlier,

Hey, some, a few times we were trying to

537

: 00:23:49

become independent, but it didn't happen.

538

: 00:23:51

So talk a little bit about that.

539

: 00:23:52

Adrian Alvarado: Okay.

540

: 00:23:53

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

a melting pot, you know, like

541

: 00:23:55

I said, we're a rich port.

542

: 00:23:57

You know, starting with, you know,

obviously we still have, uh, you know,

543

: 00:24:00

in my DNA, I still have indigenous blood.

544

: 00:24:02

I have 18 percent DNA from

Puerto Rico, Caribbean area.

545

: 00:24:07

It says so.

546

: 00:24:07

We're still, we're still here.

547

: 00:24:09

Um, and then you had the fusion,

obviously, of the Spanish.

548

: 00:24:12

You know, the Spaniards, uh, and the

Conquistadores who came to the island

549

: 00:24:16

and then, you know, shortly after that,

you know, they brought in, you know, the

550

: 00:24:19

African slaves, you know, and then there

was a mixture between, you know, the

551

: 00:24:23

peasant Puerto Ricans and the Africans.

552

: 00:24:25

So there's also that melting

pot, you know, with the Afro

553

: 00:24:27

Latinos, which is my grandmother.

554

: 00:24:29

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

we come in all shapes and colors, you

555

: 00:24:34

know, uh, my, my grandmother comes from

the mountains of Cuamo and they moved to

556

: 00:24:39

Salinas and they were just simple people,

you know, just living off the land, you

557

: 00:24:44

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

own chickens, she had her own pig pen,

558

: 00:24:48

you know, I grew up in the eighties doing

all that stuff with her, you know, she

559

: 00:24:51

was just, you know, feeding the chickens

in the morning in the late afternoon.

560

: 00:24:55

She had this canal that would

run past the house and I So

561

: 00:25:00

to me, that was Puerto Rico.

562

: 00:25:01

That gives you a sense of the people.

563

: 00:25:03

That's who I was then.

564

: 00:25:05

You know, as a kid, just playing.

565

: 00:25:06

You know, climbing the mango trees.

566

: 00:25:08

You know, the canepa trees,

this fruit that we have there.

567

: 00:25:11

Uh, so it was just like, it was like

an Eden for me when I was a kid.

568

: 00:25:15

You know, so my experience of

being in Puerto Rico was very rich.

569

: 00:25:19

And everything changed when we would

come to the States, which is stuff

570

: 00:25:22

that I would, that I talk about in

my upcoming book, where it's like,

571

: 00:25:26

I, I felt rich in Puerto Rico.

572

: 00:25:27

And even though we were here in

the United States, we would go

573

: 00:25:29

hungry, you know, and my grandmother

always had her own chickens.

574

: 00:25:32

So she never went hungry.

575

: 00:25:33

You know what I mean?

576

: 00:25:34

So there's that.

577

: 00:25:34

So we lived off the land, man.

578

: 00:25:36

Most, most of the population

lived off the land.

579

: 00:25:39

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

580

: 00:25:40

Was, Some of the people, were they

open to being Americans or being

581

: 00:25:46

American territorial with some

people like, we don't want this.

582

: 00:25:49

So talk a little bit about the

political ramifications, you

583

: 00:25:53

know, in terms of now becoming the

territory of the United States.

584

: 00:25:55

And then to your point, you know, um,

people coming over here now in the United

585

: 00:25:59

States, because I believe it's Chicago,

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

586

: 00:26:05

have the biggest Puerto Rican populations.

587

: 00:26:07

Adrian Alvarado: Actually

Hartford does now.

588

: 00:26:09

They used to.

589

: 00:26:10

Hartford here in Connecticut

has the biggest Puerto Rican

590

: 00:26:13

population in the United States.

591

: 00:26:15

Unbelievable.

592

: 00:26:16

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

know, throughout the, the century.

593

: 00:26:19

Right.

594

: 00:26:20

You know, because you know, you're

first taking over your agricultural,

595

: 00:26:22

you have no infrastructure.

596

: 00:26:23

Right.

597

: 00:26:23

Because it's totally destroyed.

598

: 00:26:24

Right.

599

: 00:26:25

So now you are really

dependent on the United States.

600

: 00:26:26

Right.

601

: 00:26:27

And in that time, you gotta remember it

was the twenties, thirties, and forties.

602

: 00:26:31

Yeah.

603

: 00:26:31

World War I.

604

: 00:26:32

Yeah, World War II.

605

: 00:26:33

There was a lot going on in the world.

606

: 00:26:35

So there was a very important reason that

the United States wanted to be there.

607

: 00:26:38

Right?

608

: 00:26:39

And they also needed soldiers.

609

: 00:26:40

Tony Tidbit: Correct.

610

: 00:26:40

Adrian Alvarado: Okay?

611

: 00:26:41

They needed soldiers.

612

: 00:26:42

So they, they, they, they passed an act

that immediately, you know, enlisted

613

: 00:26:46

twenty You know, you know, uh, millions

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

614

: 00:26:50

Ricans into the, into the minimum.

615

: 00:26:51

Where they send them?

616

: 00:26:51

They send them to the Panama

Canal because they speak Spanish.

617

: 00:26:55

So there was, there's all

these layered reasons, right?

618

: 00:26:57

And then, you know, you, you had

guys, you had gentlemen like, uh,

619

: 00:27:01

Pedro Albizu Campos, who, who was

one of the main leaders at the time.

620

: 00:27:06

Um, he was a, Harvard educated individual.

621

: 00:27:09

His father was a Spanish merchant

and his mother was mulata, right?

622

: 00:27:13

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

they were called mulata on the island.

623

: 00:27:18

Um, so he was shunned.

624

: 00:27:19

Long story short, this guy

was the smartest person.

625

: 00:27:22

He spoke many languages.

626

: 00:27:24

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

you know, a clerk for the, in the,

627

: 00:27:29

in Washington for the Supreme, you

know, he was going to be a judge,

628

: 00:27:31

you know, like a judge, big time.

629

: 00:27:33

Um, and.

630

: 00:27:35

He joined the military.

631

: 00:27:36

I'm going to tell you his story, because

this tells you a lot about the movement.

632

: 00:27:39

It's not really about the

independence movement.

633

: 00:27:40

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

634

: 00:27:42

I'm just going to touch on it.

635

: 00:27:43

Where, you know, Albus

Ducampos went to the military.

636

: 00:27:47

And he was an officer.

637

: 00:27:50

And he enlisted.

638

: 00:27:51

And they stationed him

with the black people.

639

: 00:27:55

with the black battalion because he

was, he was sort of brown skin, you

640

: 00:27:58

know, he was in between, kind of a

little dark, a little darker than me.

641

: 00:28:01

I'm a light Puerto Rican,

you know, considered.

642

: 00:28:03

Um, so his experience when

he was stationed down in the

643

: 00:28:07

south and how he was treated.

644

: 00:28:09

And how, you know, he saw he was

treated, and the blacks were treated,

645

: 00:28:11

and he was always the smartest person

in the room, changed his perspective.

646

: 00:28:15

He wanted independence from that moment.

647

: 00:28:16

He wanted nothing to do

with being a clerk here.

648

: 00:28:18

He went to Puerto Rico

and defended the farmers.

649

: 00:28:21

You know, he was their lawyer.

650

: 00:28:23

Right.

651

: 00:28:23

Right.

652

: 00:28:24

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

653

: 00:28:26

So the United States were

like, eh, we don't like you.

654

: 00:28:30

They turned on him.

655

: 00:28:31

Yeah, they turned on him.

656

: 00:28:32

And we can, that's a whole nother,

that's a whole nother podcast about Mr.

657

: 00:28:35

Aldo Sucampos.

658

: 00:28:37

Right.

659

: 00:28:37

But he was, uh, uh, you know,

uh, at that time the leader

660

: 00:28:41

of the independent movement.

661

: 00:28:43

And they're still there.

662

: 00:28:44

They're still there.

663

: 00:28:45

That, that group is still there.

664

: 00:28:46

Still wanting independence.

665

: 00:28:48

Uh, the, the island currently

has voted to become a state.

666

: 00:28:53

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

people feel a lot of certain ways.

667

: 00:28:55

Guys like my, my dad, you

know, he loves America.

668

: 00:28:59

You know, he's like, it gave

me every opportunity I want.

669

: 00:29:02

He, he, you can't say nothing

bad about America to my dad.

670

: 00:29:04

Right.

671

: 00:29:05

He's old school like that.

672

: 00:29:06

He's 78 years old.

673

: 00:29:07

He's like, Oh, I love America.

674

: 00:29:08

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

you know, the best, you know.

675

: 00:29:11

Um, so you, you know, guys

like my dad love this country.

676

: 00:29:14

Right.

677

: 00:29:14

You know, and there are some who hate it.

678

: 00:29:17

You know, not hate it, but like,

just wanna be their own person.

679

: 00:29:20

They wanna be their own country,

or, you know, hate, I didn't

680

: 00:29:22

mean you, but they just wanna be

their, can we run our own stuff?

681

: 00:29:25

Right.

682

: 00:29:25

You know what I mean?

683

: 00:29:25

What's, what the heck?

684

: 00:29:26

You know?

685

: 00:29:26

So there, there's always that

faction, they're still there.

686

: 00:29:29

Right.

687

: 00:29:29

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

politics, the politic, the politics of

688

: 00:29:33

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

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

689

: 00:29:37

Yeah.

690

: 00:29:37

I love 'em.

691

: 00:29:38

It's a little more feisty over

here now, but they, they've

692

: 00:29:40

always been feisty over there,

693

: 00:29:42

Tony Tidbit: so.

694

: 00:29:44

Just recently there was a Puerto Rican Day

Parade in New York City, right, you know,

695

: 00:29:48

hundreds of thousands of people came out

Um, people wave in their flags, right?

696

: 00:29:54

So, talk to a little bit about the pride

of Puerto Rico for people who still,

697

: 00:29:58

who now live in the United States.

698

: 00:29:59

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, uh, yeah, I

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

699

: 00:30:03

They say, why, why, Puerto

Ricans, you guys love your flag.

700

: 00:30:05

You know, you dress

yourself, you make it a cape.

701

: 00:30:09

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

702

: 00:30:10

Seriously, you know, people walk around,

my sister was walking around with a

703

: 00:30:13

cape in the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

704

: 00:30:15

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

705

: 00:30:17

It's a prideful thing because,

you know, under the U.

706

: 00:30:19

S.

707

: 00:30:19

rule, there was a, there was a strong push

to Americanize Puerto Rico at the time,

708

: 00:30:23

you know, and they were imposing, you

know, English in schools, uh, promoting

709

: 00:30:27

American culture, you know, aiming to

just assimilate Puerto Ricans and just

710

: 00:30:30

erase their cultural, our cultural

identity, you know, uh, By also passing

711

: 00:30:36

a law in 1948 called the gag law, right?

712

: 00:30:39

We call, you know, la ley de

la mordasa, as we call it.

713

: 00:30:44

And basically it prevented you, it

forbade you from owning the flag,

714

: 00:30:49

displaying the flag in your home,

speaking against independence, saying

715

: 00:30:54

anything bad against the United States.

716

: 00:30:56

Like you couldn't say a speech and say,

Hey, these tyrants, you go to jail.

717

: 00:31:01

Tony Tidbit: So it was basically all

about reprogramming, reprogramming, right?

718

: 00:31:05

So forget your history, forget

your flag, you, and then if

719

: 00:31:09

you did it, you went to jail.

720

: 00:31:10

If you promoted the flag

or you spoke against it.

721

: 00:31:12

So we talk about democracy, right?

722

: 00:31:14

We talk about, you know, non

dictatorship rule, right?

723

: 00:31:18

And everybody, but then, you know, But

in this situation they incorporated that

724

: 00:31:23

you got to do this and and be this way.

725

: 00:31:25

So it's part of that Reprogramming

re I don't we saw a repatriate,

726

: 00:31:29

but it's just really trying to

brainwash people to forget who they

727

: 00:31:32

are and assimilate Into the U.S.

728

: 00:31:35

Culture

729

: 00:31:35

Adrian Alvarado: and mr.

730

: 00:31:36

Albus who couples went to jail for

that Like he was arrested like, you

731

: 00:31:40

know, they released the FBI files.

732

: 00:31:41

This is all all out there You know

where he was arrested many times

733

: 00:31:46

right after a speech right him in

jail for 10 years You Ten years.

734

: 00:31:51

All right?

735

: 00:31:51

And he's our hero.

736

: 00:31:53

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

737

: 00:31:55

Campos is, you know,

he's our, he's our MLK.

738

: 00:31:59

He's, he's our Mandela.

739

: 00:32:00

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

you know, and he sacrificed his life, you

740

: 00:32:06

know, for, for independence, you know?

741

: 00:32:08

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

742

: 00:32:12

I mean, that, that, that was

a real, that was a real thing.

743

: 00:32:14

You know, you couldn't

sing a patriotic song.

744

: 00:32:17

Right?

745

: 00:32:17

You couldn't sing a patriotic song.

746

: 00:32:19

How

747

: 00:32:19

Tony Tidbit: long was that for?

748

: 00:32:20

Adrian Alvarado: Uh,

749

: 00:32:22

Tony Tidbit: You said 1948?

750

: 00:32:23

It was in

751

: 00:32:24

Adrian Alvarado: 1948 and shortly after

that, uh, you had guys like Luis Munoz,

752

: 00:32:28

uh, Marin, who became the first Puerto

Rican voted governor of the island.

753

: 00:32:33

Uh, who, he was more, he's

the guy who made the deal.

754

: 00:32:37

Right?

755

: 00:32:37

With America.

756

: 00:32:38

And it was his Operation Bootstrap that

happened to change the whole economy.

757

: 00:32:42

of the island from agriculture

to, you know, uh, you know,

758

: 00:32:45

where there was manufacturing.

759

: 00:32:46

Tony Tidbit: So talk

about Operation Bootstrap.

760

: 00:32:48

Adrian Alvarado: Well, um, Operation

Bootstrap basically, uh, you know,

761

: 00:32:52

I wasn't prepared to, but Operation

Bootstrap is, you know, was, was passed

762

: 00:32:56

with, uh, Luis Munoz Marin and it

basically started, that's what, that

763

: 00:32:59

was the big migration that led to the

migration in New York City, you know,

764

: 00:33:04

and everywhere in America, you know.

765

: 00:33:05

Tony Tidbit: I think I

read from: 1950

766

: 00:33:09

Like 25 percent of the

population came to the U.

767

: 00:33:11

S.

768

: 00:33:11

Yeah, my

769

: 00:33:12

Adrian Alvarado: grandparents were

770

: 00:33:12

Tony Tidbit: one of them.

771

: 00:33:13

Yeah, and they called

it the big migration.

772

: 00:33:14

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, my grandfather,

uh, after World War II, uh, you

773

: 00:33:18

know, he was on a, he was discharged.

774

: 00:33:20

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

775

: 00:33:22

And shortly after that, you

know, he, he moved to Jersey.

776

: 00:33:25

Jersey City, with my grandma.

777

: 00:33:27

And I had my dad.

778

: 00:33:28

Tony Tidbit: So, talk to us about the

current status of Puerto Rico, my friend.

779

: 00:33:31

Because I know, you know, You know,

um, you talked about hurricane

780

: 00:33:35

before, you had the major hurricane

in: 2015

781

: 00:33:40

It was a direct hit, pretty much

wiped out a lot of the island.

782

: 00:33:44

Um, so talk, tell us a little

bit about what's going on today.

783

: 00:33:47

Adrian Alvarado: Well, today, you

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

784

: 00:33:49

know, we're still, so throughout

the 20th century, Puerto Ricans have

785

: 00:33:53

pushed for more, you know, autonomy,

you know, self determination, you

786

: 00:33:56

know, while the establishment of

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

787

: 00:34:00

which happened in 1952, granted it.

788

: 00:34:03

self government, right?

789

: 00:34:04

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

like Luis Munoz Marin and Nabi Sucampos.

790

: 00:34:08

They were there.

791

: 00:34:09

They were, they were both

partners at the time.

792

: 00:34:10

And eventually, you know,

Marin went on his own.

793

: 00:34:13

Um, but, you know, Now we have,

despite, despite having this, we

794

: 00:34:18

have a, we have no representation.

795

: 00:34:20

Basically we go back to no

taxation without representation.

796

: 00:34:22

Tony Tidbit: So speak on that

because that was the key.

797

: 00:34:24

We talked about no taxation,

which the founding fathers,

798

: 00:34:28

that was a rallying cry, right?

799

: 00:34:30

So speak to that right here

from a Puerto Rican standpoint.

800

: 00:34:31

Adrian Alvarado: So what we, what we

mean by that is that, you know, Puerto

801

: 00:34:34

Ricans on the island cannot vote

for president of the United States.

802

: 00:34:38

So they have no, no

right, no voting rights.

803

: 00:34:39

Tony Tidbit: So they keep women.

804

: 00:34:40

So let's stop right there for a second.

805

: 00:34:42

And again, educate me

because I don't know.

806

: 00:34:44

I thought, even though they're

a commonwealth, they're all U.

807

: 00:34:47

S.

808

: 00:34:47

citizens, but they don't

have voting rights?

809

: 00:34:49

Adrian Alvarado: On the island, if

you live on the island, if you're a

810

: 00:34:52

resident of Puerto Rico, you cannot

vote for the President of the United

811

: 00:34:56

States, because you're a commonwealth.

812

: 00:34:57

Tony Tidbit: And then, I think

the other thing I read, there's

813

: 00:34:59

not, they're not part of the

electoral college, is that correct?

814

: 00:35:02

No, no, no, not at all.

815

: 00:35:03

Adrian Alvarado: Well, not a state.

816

: 00:35:04

Yeah.

817

: 00:35:04

Right?

818

: 00:35:04

Uh, I can vote.

819

: 00:35:06

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

820

: 00:35:08

But the ones on the island

have no representation, and in

821

: 00:35:11

Congress, we have what's called a

resident commissioner in Congress.

822

: 00:35:15

So there's a, there's a Congress

person that we vote for on

823

: 00:35:18

the island to represent us in

Congress, to advocate for us.

824

: 00:35:21

But that Congress woman, who is currently,

um, Jennifer Gonzalez, who I predict

825

: 00:35:26

to be the next governor of Puerto

Rico, that's gonna happen in November.

826

: 00:35:29

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

827

: 00:35:32

So, she can't vote for politics,

she can't vote for anything.

828

: 00:35:35

She's just there.

829

: 00:35:35

Hey, Puerto Rico.

830

: 00:35:36

Just as a figurehead, right?

831

: 00:35:37

Yeah, yeah, Puerto Rico needs this.

832

: 00:35:38

Hey, how about, you know, like,

just, just there, representing us.

833

: 00:35:41

So, there's no vote.

834

: 00:35:42

Wow.

835

: 00:35:42

There's no vote.

836

: 00:35:43

So, that's what we mean.

837

: 00:35:43

No taxation.

838

: 00:35:44

So, we're being taxed.

839

: 00:35:45

Tony Tidbit: But you're being taxed.

840

: 00:35:46

Wait a minute.

841

: 00:35:46

If I remember correctly, what you were

saying, You know, back in: 1800

842

: 00:35:51

under McKinley, taxes went up 40%.

843

: 00:35:53

Oh

844

: 00:35:54

Adrian Alvarado: no, they

took our money, the 40%.

845

: 00:35:57

Tony Tidbit: So now,

they're still taxing you.

846

: 00:36:00

But you don't have no representation

from a political standpoint.

847

: 00:36:02

Adrian Alvarado: Not at all.

848

: 00:36:03

Not at all.

849

: 00:36:04

Yeah, and you know, the debate persists

whether, you know, Puerto Rico should

850

: 00:36:08

become a state and independence, you

know, a lot of people want it to become

851

: 00:36:11

a state, but you know, if you really

look at this political landscape, there's

852

: 00:36:15

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

to want this, either political parties

853

: 00:36:19

are going to want, you know, almost 2

million Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico

854

: 00:36:21

voting for president of the United States.

855

: 00:36:23

Tony Tidbit: Let me ask you this though,

because I think I read something and it

856

: 00:36:27

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

it up to vote for a couple of times.

857

: 00:36:33

And it came close to passing,

but they didn't get a big, they

858

: 00:36:36

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

859

: 00:36:38

Right.

860

: 00:36:39

So, and that's the people.

861

: 00:36:40

So what, you know, what's their

mindset are, you know, because if,

862

: 00:36:43

if to your point, if some people are

like, Hey, this is probably better

863

: 00:36:48

for us economically, if we become if

statehood and let's be fair, Hawaii

864

: 00:36:53

became a state, Alaska became a state.

865

: 00:36:56

And let's be fair.

866

: 00:36:56

We both know they became states

more strategic military situations.

867

: 00:37:01

Right.

868

: 00:37:02

Um, because Hawaii is 5, 000

miles away from mainland right?

869

: 00:37:08

At least from the East Coast.

870

: 00:37:09

From L.

871

: 00:37:10

A.

872

: 00:37:10

to California is a

little closer, but still.

873

: 00:37:13

Um, so why did it die out?

874

: 00:37:16

Is it just

875

: 00:37:18

Adrian Alvarado: Well, it's the

divide and conquer strategy, right?

876

: 00:37:20

Because we're so Now, a lot of us

have assimilated to the United States.

877

: 00:37:26

You know, um, guys like my stepdad.

878

: 00:37:29

You know, my late stepdad, you know,

he was born in Puerto Rico and came

879

: 00:37:34

here and worked and lived and I

didn't want to go back to Puerto Rico.

880

: 00:37:37

You know, I talk about that in my book

where, you know, you know, how it was

881

: 00:37:41

tough on my on their relationship,

him and my mom's relationship.

882

: 00:37:43

You know how, you know, we went when

I lived in Puerto Rico, was with

883

: 00:37:47

him and my mom, you know, when I

was in the first and second grade.

884

: 00:37:50

And his experience out there, he

was Americanized already, you know,

885

: 00:37:54

so he didn't want to live there.

886

: 00:37:57

Tony Tidbit: You know, buddy,

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

887

: 00:38:00

of times people think that Anybody

outside of, uh, white people,

888

: 00:38:06

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

889

: 00:38:09

All black people vote,

they think this way.

890

: 00:38:13

All Asian people vote,

and they think this way.

891

: 00:38:16

All, you know, Puerto Rican

people, Hispanic people, they vote.

892

: 00:38:20

And that's just not true, right?

893

: 00:38:22

It's not true.

894

: 00:38:23

And that, and to your point, that, that

divide and conquer strategy is one of

895

: 00:38:29

the reasons why we, we've to ourselves

have ripped our own power away, right?

896

: 00:38:35

Because at the end of the day, if you can

divide them, you can control them, right?

897

: 00:38:40

And so it's interesting that you

sharing that today about that same

898

: 00:38:46

strategy has been incorporated

in the island of Puerto Rico.

899

: 00:38:50

And let's be fair all across, right?

900

: 00:38:53

And so, which makes it hard for a people

to come together and do the right thing.

901

: 00:38:59

for their own base, for their own, you

know, viable, you know, situations.

902

: 00:39:05

So from an economic standpoint,

talk to us a little bit about,

903

: 00:39:09

you know, where they are today.

904

: 00:39:10

What's some of the struggles the

island of Puerto Rico is going through?

905

: 00:39:13

Adrian Alvarado: Uh, you know, I

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

906

: 00:39:15

behind the eight ball, right?

907

: 00:39:16

So, um, when you can't govern

for yourself, you can't, you

908

: 00:39:20

don't really control your money.

909

: 00:39:21

That's number one, right?

910

: 00:39:23

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

conversations with people, you know,

911

: 00:39:26

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

this gentleman told me, he said, hey,

912

: 00:39:29

what's up with your politics over there?

913

: 00:39:31

Everybody's, you know, like,

they're stealing, they got

914

: 00:39:32

governors, they're stealing, and

this and that, and setting mayors.

915

: 00:39:35

I'm like, hey, man.

916

: 00:39:36

Before you talk about my kitchen,

make sure that your house is clean.

917

: 00:39:40

Okay.

918

: 00:39:41

What's up with your politics?

919

: 00:39:41

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

920

: 00:39:45

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

921

: 00:39:46

What about the

922

: 00:39:46

Tony Tidbit: politics here?

923

: 00:39:47

If it's a,

924

: 00:39:48

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

a, whatchamacallit, shit show here,

925

: 00:39:51

what do you think it is over there?

926

: 00:39:52

I mean, we can't even govern ourselves.

927

: 00:39:54

You think these, you know what I mean?

928

: 00:39:55

Like, people have no

understanding of what's happening.

929

: 00:39:58

Right.

930

: 00:39:58

Now, economically, obviously,

you know, the island, you

931

: 00:40:00

know, it's a tourist island.

932

: 00:40:02

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

make any, you know, many things like

933

: 00:40:04

that that people are ordering, you

know, like besides some food, still

934

: 00:40:08

agriculture, uh, but even we import

more food than we export, right?

935

: 00:40:12

Um, the grid, you know, so

economically, you know, uh,

936

: 00:40:17

electricity prices are ridiculous now.

937

: 00:40:20

And like what's happening right

now, uh, the island's been

938

: 00:40:24

for sale for quite some time.

939

: 00:40:26

So when you

940

: 00:40:27

Tony Tidbit: say the island's been

for sale, like what do you mean?

941

: 00:40:29

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, I mean,

look, Puerto Ricans are leaving.

942

: 00:40:31

You know, selling.

943

: 00:40:32

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

there's two little virgin islands that

944

: 00:40:37

are off the coast of the northeast side.

945

: 00:40:40

And, you know, I've been to both

of them, Culebra and Vieques.

946

: 00:40:44

And, you know, my disappointment

was that every business was

947

: 00:40:48

not owned by a Puerto Rican.

948

: 00:40:50

On the beach, everywhere,

everything was just taken over.

949

: 00:40:52

And that's what I mean.

950

: 00:40:54

Uh, so all the luxury, all

the nice places, we don't own.

951

: 00:40:57

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

952

: 00:40:59

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

sale going on, and that's part of what

953

: 00:41:02

our government, you know, the guys

in charge there are allowing, right?

954

: 00:41:05

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

a Bitcoin haven, right?

955

: 00:41:09

So they're advocating now for

young, for everybody who's in

956

: 00:41:12

Bitcoin to just move to Puerto Rico.

957

: 00:41:14

So, right now what's going on in Puerto

Rico, just to put it in a nutshell,

958

: 00:41:18

there's a thing called Act 22, right?

959

: 00:41:21

Basically, any, you know, any

American citizen can move to Puerto

960

: 00:41:25

Rico, establish citizenship, right?

961

: 00:41:28

Which takes six months or something,

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

962

: 00:41:31

You, Tony, you want to go

establish your business over there.

963

: 00:41:34

Once you establish a residency, you

pay zero, zero on your gains tax.

964

: 00:41:41

Whatever you make through your

corporation, you get to keep.

965

: 00:41:45

And, uh, I, I, I hear conversations

of people in West, oh, my friend just,

966

: 00:41:51

my friend just moved to Puerto Rico.

967

: 00:41:52

Oh yeah, he moved to Puerto Rico.

968

: 00:41:54

He goes there.

969

: 00:41:54

They buy these condos.

970

: 00:41:56

They buy these empty buildings.

971

: 00:41:57

They leave them abandoned.

972

: 00:41:59

You go to Puerto Rico, you see

so many abandoned buildings in

973

: 00:42:01

San Juan all over the place.

974

: 00:42:02

And people from the United States

are buying them, establishing

975

: 00:42:05

residency, they're not fixing them.

976

: 00:42:07

They go there, pass through the airport,

buy a cup of coffee, wash their money.

977

: 00:42:11

So that's happening right now.

978

: 00:42:13

How can, how can you economically

ever, ever get to a point?

979

: 00:42:16

When our own government is allowing

for rich people, elite people,

980

: 00:42:21

to go there and wash their money.

981

: 00:42:22

Right, right.

982

: 00:42:23

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

that everybody washed their money in,

983

: 00:42:26

the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas?

984

: 00:42:28

We're America's Bahamas.

985

: 00:42:31

That's where we are right now.

986

: 00:42:33

Right.

987

: 00:42:33

You know, you got guys like, what,

Jake Paul, YouTuber, he's over

988

: 00:42:36

there, you know, bitcoining it,

you know, not paying any taxes.

989

: 00:42:41

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, it's, you

know, listen, when you create safe

990

: 00:42:43

havens, when you see them as safe

havens, that's what they become.

991

: 00:42:46

So that's, you know,

economically, that's tough.

992

: 00:42:48

Let me ask you this.

993

: 00:42:49

I remember when I was in the

army, um, a good friend of mine,

994

: 00:42:53

um, he was, he was from Chicago.

995

: 00:42:54

He was Puerto Rican.

996

: 00:42:56

And, you know, at that time in my

life, I thought when it came to

997

: 00:42:59

race, everything was black and white.

998

: 00:43:02

Right?

999

: 00:43:03

And me and him, we started chatting.

: 1000

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

Um, And then he started telling

me about, he said, Tony, you

: 1001

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

don't know, he said, look bro.

: 1002

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

He said, and not just Puerto Rico,

he said the Hispanic culture, there's

: 1003

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

a lot of racism that goes on, and

it's dark skin and light skin, right?

: 1004

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

Talk a little bit about that in

terms of the Puerto Rican culture.

: 1005

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

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, that

exists, yeah, to this day still.

: 1006

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

Um, you know, uh, one of the phrases

that, uh, was very common in Puerto

: 1007

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

Rico, uh, when babies were born, the

grandmothers and the aunts would say,

: 1008

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

Was the baby con pelo bueno o pelo malo?

: 1009

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

Was he born with good hair or bad hair?

: 1010

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

So, that was a thing.

: 1011

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

Right?

: 1012

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

So, yeah, it still exists.

: 1013

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

Um, and, you know, like, in Puerto

Rico, if I was to pull a driver's

: 1014

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

license, my race would say white.

: 1015

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

Tony Tidbit: Right.

: 1016

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

Okay.

: 1017

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

Adrian Alvarado: Here, I'm not white.

: 1018

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

Right.

: 1019

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

There, I'm white.

: 1020

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

That's how they classify me.

: 1021

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

And then so forth and so on.

: 1022

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

And it's very prominent.

: 1023

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

You see it in the hotels, you

know, in the banks, the people

: 1024

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

who are behind the tellers.

: 1025

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

They all are light skinned.

: 1026

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

They all are light skinned.

: 1027

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

You know, a majority.

: 1028

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

My dad made a point of this.

: 1029

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.

: 1030

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

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

grumpy guy now, so he just says

: 1031

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

all kinds of things, you know.

: 1032

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

But he's saying the truth.

: 1033

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

But he's saying the truth.

: 1034

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

He's saying the truth.

: 1035

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

He just says the truth.

: 1036

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

He's like, these are all,

you know, whatchamacallits.

: 1037

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

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

: 1038

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

Tony Tidbit: That's the

thing though, buddy.

: 1039

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

So, and we talk economics.

: 1040

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

We talk, you know, political.

: 1041

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

We talked all these other things and

we talked about divide and conquer.

: 1042

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

That's part of the divide

and conquer, right?

: 1043

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

If we can get them to divide themselves

based on this group is light, this group

: 1044

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

is dark, and we'll get them fighting

over jobs and all that type stuff.

: 1045

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

Then all of a sudden, again,

we can control them, right?

: 1046

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

So those are the things that unfortunately

are permanent and across all cultures

: 1047

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

when it comes to race, right?

: 1048

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

In terms of how people look.

: 1049

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

Adrian Alvarado: Yeah, going back to,

uh, going back to Pedro Albizu Campos,

: 1050

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

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

: 1051

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

He was, his mom was,

you know, Afro Latina.

: 1052

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

His dad was this white Spanish merchant.

: 1053

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

His father didn't recognize

him till he graduated Harvard.

: 1054

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

He didn't recognize him.

: 1055

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

Tony Tidbit: That's insane.

: 1056

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

Adrian Alvarado: So this, this

is, that was the culture then.

: 1057

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

Right.

: 1058

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

Right.

: 1059

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

So if it, that's not that

far removed, you know.

: 1060

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

So yeah, that was a, that was a

huge thing and it still is shameful

: 1061

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

and there's also, you know.

: 1062

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

: 1063

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

: 1064

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

: 1065

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

Puerto Rican men having multiple wives,

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

: 1066

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

Uh, my father had eight kids.

: 1067

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

Okay, uh, seven.

: 1068

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

I don't even know.

: 1069

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

I might, I might be off one.

: 1070

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

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

: 1071

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.

: 1072

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

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

comes from a deepest source of,

: 1073

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

of not really having control.

: 1074

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

Right?

: 1075

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

When, as a Puerto Rican,

think about the psyche, right?

: 1076

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

You're an island, you've been

governed by Spain, now you're

: 1077

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

governed by United States.

: 1078

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

The only thing you can control is

maybe your wife in your, in your home.

: 1079

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

And some guys do that radically

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

: 1080

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

problem in Puerto Rico where women, you

know, get killed and abused monthly.

: 1081

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

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

: 1082

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

Wow.

: 1083

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

Big epidemic.

: 1084

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

Wow.

: 1085

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

And that's, that's

ingrained in the culture.

: 1086

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

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

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

: 1087

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

unfortunately, you know, we hold ourselves

back with some of that stuff, you know,

: 1088

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

: 1089

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

: 1090

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

: 1091

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,

: 1092

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

I, I made sure Never to follow that path.

: 1093

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

Right.

: 1094

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

Uh, and, you know, I'm

still in the path, you know.

: 1095

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

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, that is awesome.

: 1096

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

And, and, number one, thank

you for sharing that, right?

: 1097

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

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

: 1098

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

And listen, you've been

blessed, you know, in your life.

: 1099

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

You know, actor, author, you know.

: 1100

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

You've, you've lived over a

lot of places in the country.

: 1101

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

Let me ask you this.

: 1102

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

If you can, if you could

wave a magic wand, you know.

: 1103

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

Based on everything that we

talked about, you know, Adrian

: 1104

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

is governor of Puerto Rico.

: 1105

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

What, what's some of the solutions

that you, you know, would incorporate

: 1106

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

to, to, to build the island back

up and solve some of these issues?

: 1107

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

Adrian Alvarado: Um, well, first of

all, you know, I would start with maybe

: 1108

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

giving some of that sugar money back.

: 1109

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

You know, just, we could

just start with the interest.

: 1110

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

Give me some of that sugar money back.

: 1111

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

Right, because how else could you

really build an infrastructure, right?

: 1112

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

You know, Puerto Rico.

: 1113

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

You need

: 1114

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

Tony Tidbit: to keep your own money.

: 1115

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

Right?

: 1116

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

Yeah, right.

: 1117

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

Adrian Alvarado: You know, currently,

you know, it's at the, right now

: 1118

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

it's at the point of no return.

: 1119

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

: 1120

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

govern yourself would mean that the U.

: 1121

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

S.

: 1122

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

would have to give us

some money back, right?

: 1123

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

You can't move in, take all the

furniture, the plumbing, the electrical,

: 1124

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

and then go give you an empty house.

: 1125

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

Buddy, we know that story.

: 1126

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

Nah, nah, nah, I'm not

an economist, right, but.

: 1127

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

We've seen that story.

: 1128

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

No, I'm not an economist, but I

would hire some very good economists.

: 1129

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

You know, very smart people, I

would hire very smart people.

: 1130

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

Very smart people around me,

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

: 1131

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

start, I would restructure the,

uh, political system, right?

: 1132

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

The culture, right?

: 1133

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

I would start, we currently

have, uh, 79 babysitters.

: 1134

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

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

: 1135

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

We have, I meant, we have one

governor and 78 mayors in the

: 1136

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

island of Puerto Rico, right?

: 1137

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

So, on an island the size of Rhode

Island, so it's 100 by 35 miles.

: 1138

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

Okay, so just think about that.

: 1139

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

If 79, not a lot of chiefs,

not a lot of Indians.

: 1140

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

They're already divided within tribes.

: 1141

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

So everybody's trying to

fight for their own tribe.

: 1142

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

Everybody's tribal.

: 1143

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

Yeah.

: 1144

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

Okay.

: 1145

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

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

: 1146

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

With 78 mayors populating 3.

: 1147

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

2 million people, or 2 million people.

: 1148

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

New York City has 8 million people.

: 1149

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

One mayor.

: 1150

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

Just to give you perspective.

: 1151

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

Tony Tidbit: Right.

: 1152

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

Adrian Alvarado: Okay,

so let's start there.

: 1153

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

Because that would

eliminate a lot of money.

: 1154

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

People put their hand in there.

: 1155

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

I need money getting paid.

: 1156

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

Mayors houses, all these

things, all these things.

: 1157

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

You don't need that many people.

: 1158

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

Right.

: 1159

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

: 1160

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

and conquer working now, here it is.

: 1161

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

It's live, 78 Mayors.

: 1162

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

I mean, there it is.

: 1163

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

Every person

: 1164

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

Tony Tidbit: fighting for themselves,

carving out their own stuff.

: 1165

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

Adrian Alvarado: And all the

funding comes from Uncle Sam.

: 1166

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

So, you know, hard to

: 1167

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

Tony Tidbit: come together when you have

: 1168

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

Adrian Alvarado: hard to come together.

: 1169

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

So that's, that's number one.

: 1170

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

That's I would start there.

: 1171

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

Tony Tidbit: Got it.

: 1172

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

So listen, my man, I mean,

this has been very insightful.

: 1173

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

You've educated me a lot.

: 1174

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

I mean, a ton of stuff.

: 1175

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

I didn't know.

: 1176

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

I'm, matter of fact, um,

I'm thirsty to learn more.

: 1177

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

Right.

: 1178

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

And I, and I got a million questions too.

: 1179

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

Right.

: 1180

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

But I think one of the major things

in terms of going back to the last

: 1181

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

phrase, you said divide and conquer.

: 1182

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

Um, when you conquer, when you take over

territory and, um, the first thing you

: 1183

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

want to do is conquer the people, right.

: 1184

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

You want to, you want to spread them out.

: 1185

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

Where they don't, they're not all

thinking of doing the same thing,

: 1186

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

or they, they're not thinking

of getting together and banding

: 1187

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

together to take back what's theirs.

: 1188

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

So, I can definitely understand that, and

that's something that's been implemented

: 1189

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

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

: 1190

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

Final thoughts.

: 1191

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

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

you want everybody to walk away from.

: 1192

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

Adrian Alvarado: Well, you know, first

and foremost, you know, to all the

: 1193

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

viewers, you know, uh, who, who joined

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

: 1194

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

my sincere gratitude, you know, um,

embracing this podcast, you know, it

: 1195

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

: 1196

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

journey, you know, doing this with you.

: 1197

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

Um, you know, we get our ups and

we get our downs, but that's the

: 1198

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

way it goes, you know, when you're

trying to make stuff happen.

: 1199

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

Um, but, you know, I want to

invite people to my website,

: 1200

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

you know, at adrianalvarado.

: 1201

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

net.

: 1202

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

Um, you know, subscribe for updates, you

know, I got a blog coming out weekly.

: 1203

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

Uh, and just stay updated on the

release of my book, Flippin My Script.

: 1204

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

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

: 1205

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

Self discovery and Hollywood dreams.

: 1206

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

So, you know, it should

be a great journey.

: 1207

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

: 1208

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

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

eagerly anticipating just sharing

: 1209

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

these colorful characters that I grew

up with and they were part of my life.

: 1210

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

: 1211

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

no matter where you are in your life, you

know, you can always flip your script.

: 1212

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

You know what I mean?

: 1213

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

You can always just change your narrative.

: 1214

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

Uh, and, uh, because nobody else, you

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

: 1215

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

nobody else to change it for you.

: 1216

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

So that's what I got to

say and love and light.

: 1217

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

Tony Tidbit: Buddy, that's awesome.

: 1218

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

When is your book coming out?

: 1219

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

Adrian Alvarado: Um, so stay up to date.

: 1220

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

It's coming out this summer.

: 1221

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,

: 1222

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

but definitely before the fall.

: 1223

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

So

: 1224

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

Tony Tidbit: sometime in the summer?

: 1225

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

Adrian Alvarado: Oh yeah, yeah,

yeah, within the next, yeah.

: 1226

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

Tony Tidbit: And, and, and, and

final question I have for you,

: 1227

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

the title Flip the Script, right?

: 1228

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

Tell us why did you

come up with that title?

: 1229

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

Adrian Alvarado: Flipping my script,

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

: 1230

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

you know, growing up, you know, I

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

: 1231

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

uh, I took history film classes,

and one of my, one of my faves.

: 1232

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

It wasn't one of my favorite movies.

: 1233

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

One of these movies I saw was a

Wesley Snipes movie called Sugar Hill.

: 1234

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

Yeah, I remember that.

: 1235

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

Remember Sugar Hill?

: 1236

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

And, you know, it's two brothers,

you know, hustling in Sugar Hill,

: 1237

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

New York and whatever, whatever.

: 1238

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

And at one moment, you know,

they're, you know, they're getting

: 1239

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

infiltrated and stuff's happening.

: 1240

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

And then Wesley Snipes says, It's

time for me to flip the script.

: 1241

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

It always stuck to me, you know.

: 1242

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

And when I started writing my

book, it had many different titles.

: 1243

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

And what I noticed throughout the theme

was that I kept, every time I ran into

: 1244

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

adversity, I would just embrace it,

you know, face it, and then flip it.

: 1245

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,

: 1246

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

and it ties into, you know, my Hollywood

career script, uh, so it just, it ties

: 1247

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

into just the journey of, you know,

where, where, you know, where we started,

: 1248

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

you know, we all have a story, right?

: 1249

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

I have humble beginnings and there were

times where if I followed a certain

: 1250

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

path, you know, cause I felt like,

you know, speaking of the narrative

: 1251

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

of what we just spoke about Puerto

Rico and how we haven't really been

: 1252

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

able to govern ourselves, there's

been this narrative written for us.

: 1253

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

Right?

: 1254

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

Of who we are.

: 1255

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

Right?

: 1256

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

And, you know, what we look like.

: 1257

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

You know, and, and so forth.

: 1258

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

: 1259

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

were calling me typical Puerto Rican.

: 1260

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

Right?

: 1261

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

And I'm like, what do you mean?

: 1262

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

You don't even know who I am.

: 1263

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

You know?

: 1264

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

So I flipped it.

: 1265

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

I flipped the narrative.

: 1266

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

And that's my goal with this book.

: 1267

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

To flip the narrative of the Puerto

Rican experience and what, what

: 1268

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

people think Puerto Rican, who we are.

: 1269

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

Tony Tidbit: Well, buddy, I really

appreciate you coming on and sharing that.

: 1270

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

Number two, uh, I can't wait

for the book to come out.

: 1271

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

Cause I, knowing you and your

stories and stuff of that nature,

: 1272

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

you got a lot of things to share.

: 1273

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.

: 1274

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

And then when it comes out, we're

going to put it on the website.

: 1275

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

We're going to promote it.

: 1276

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

We'll have you come back on.

: 1277

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

: 1278

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

can get a better understanding of not just

the book, but more about Adrian Alvarado.

: 1279

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

So love you a lot, my brother.

: 1280

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

Thanks for coming on the Black

Executive Perspective podcast, sharing

: 1281

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

your perspective about Puerto Rico.

: 1282

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

Really, really appreciate

: 1283

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

Adrian Alvarado: it.

: 1284

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

Appreciate it.

: 1285

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

Love you too, man.

: 1286

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

Thank you.

: 1287

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

Tony Tidbit: So I think it's

now time for Tony's Tidbit and

: 1288

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

listen, as always, a tidbit is

about, you know, our conversation.

: 1289

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

So today's tidbit is freedom

is the right of all nations.

: 1290

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

Puerto Rico struggle is not just about

governance, but about the dignity

: 1291

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

of choosing its destiny, right?

: 1292

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

And you heard a lot of that today

from double a Adrian Alvarado.

: 1293

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

So really appreciate, appreciate him

coming on and sharing that perspective.

: 1294

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

And so now just real quick, I want

everybody don't forget to check out.

: 1295

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

Need to know by Dr.

: 1296

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

Nsenga Burton that on the Black

Executive Perspective Podcast,

: 1297

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

you don't want to miss that.

: 1298

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

She's going into diving into

crucial topics, stuff that's

: 1299

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

shaping our community and our world.

: 1300

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

So you definitely want to tune

in to gain more perspective.

: 1301

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

So check her out later this week.

: 1302

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

And then obviously one of the things

that reason that we put this, uh, podcast

: 1303

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

together, Double A and I is we want, this

is about bringing people together, right?

: 1304

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

It's about coming on and talking

about different perspectives.

: 1305

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

Educating people about things

that they may not be aware of.

: 1306

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

So we want everyone to

incorporate our call to action.

: 1307

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

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

: 1308

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.

: 1309

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

New people, new cultures.

: 1310

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

Learn that, that's going to help

you become more enlightened.

: 1311

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

E stands for empathy.

: 1312

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

Once you've learned, now you

should be more empathetic to

: 1313

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

your friend, family, colleague

about what they're going through.

: 1314

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

S stands for share, share what you

learn to your friends and family

: 1315

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

so they can be enlightened as well.

: 1316

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

And the final S stands for stop.

: 1317

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

We want to actively stop discrimination

when it walks into our path.

: 1318

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

So when you're at the Thanksgiving

table and Grandpa says something that's

: 1319

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

inappropriate, you say, No, Grandpa.

: 1320

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

We don't say that that's inappropriate.

: 1321

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

So if everybody incorporates less

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

: 1322

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

fair, more understanding world.

: 1323

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

And guess what?

: 1324

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

We'll all see the change

that we're looking to see.

: 1325

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

So you can follow a black executive

perspective podcast and listen to

: 1326

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

our next episode, wherever podcast.

: 1327

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

And please don't hesitate

to follow us on our socials.

: 1328

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

Black LinkedIn X, YouTube, Instagram,

and TikTok at a black exec for our

: 1329

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

fabulous multi talented guests who will

be behind the glass soon on another

: 1330

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

episode, Adrian Alvarado for Noellele

Miller, who's helping us behind the glass.

: 1331

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

I'm Tony Tidbit.

: 1332

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

We talked about it.

: 1333

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

We love you.

: 1334

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

And we're out.

: 1335

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

BEP Narrator: A Black

Executive Perspective.