So I guess this is the new video from Calle 13 which is filmed in La Perla, and for those of you who don't know La Perla, is the epicenter of HOOD in Puerto Rico. The Favela of PR. The funny thing is that its right next to the biggest tourist district in Puerto Rico, Viejo San Juan. This is where all the cruises dock, all the souvenir shops are, all the outlets, and its like the soho of Puerto Rico. I always found the dynamics of this area very interesting when growing up out there. My family would always fear mention of La Perla like it was some type of boogieman. I mean its kinda dangerous don't get me wrong, but its only dangerous when you act like your more valuable than the people who live there. Which quite essentially is like any hood in America. You see we people "of the slums" smell aristocracy like its the bad odor of spoiled milk, and we do what we can to push it away, always at the sacrifice of our human nature.
"...smell aristocracy like its the bad odor of spoiled milk.."
I remember going down there once in a car and there was like only one way to get down there in a car. You have to go thru this tunnel, and at the end of this tunnel there were all these hustlers with trays and trays of drugs and different marijuana. They just go up to your car and ask you what you want, cuz they dont know your car and they figure your only down there for one thing....drugs. It was a very interesting experience for me and I will never forget it. This sadness came over my heart cuz I couldn't comprehend how people can feel like they have no other choice. How have we as a society instilled this belief, like its a religion, on our youth and on our lower class.
So I was kinda glad to see this video and the way they show the bright side to La Perla, that people grow up here and and kids play in the streets and there is real community despite the bad "Public Relations" the area may have. Plus, Ruben Blades is in it and he is like the freaking man!
DECOLONIZE PUERTO RICO!
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ironic cuz la perla is also the name of the most overrated and priciest lingerie ever! anyways cool video, the guy in the video looks like the same dude in all the Visit Panama commercials
ReplyDeleteHe is that Guy, he is Panamanian
ReplyDeletei dont know how i came across this page but im in and out of la perla at least twice a week and it is one of my favorite places to be. the people are great because they accept reality how it is. drugs are such an intergrated part of our daily life wether you realize it or not and sually what society tries to do is hide its drug users and dealers but these people realize its a buisness just like any other. The people there are very nice too unless youre a lost tourist or law enforcement. YOu shouldnt feel bad for the people sellign drugs there because theyre making an insane amount of money and trust me none of them feel sorry for themselves. i even plan on moving there in a few years because the rent is really low for viejo san juan. peace. PS i even saw when the filmers for calle 13 were driving a car around with some laying down on the hood with a camera...
ReplyDeleteand the opening scene is drug dealers running from the police and then they transform it to the kids they use to be it so it does not completely "show the bright side to La Perla".
ReplyDeletedont seem nothing compare to los angeles california there are shooting almost every day.you cant look at cant dog anyone cause thats looking for trouble .we got hundreds and thousands of gangs over here ever street and city is a gang puerto pico hood aint nothing compare to LA
ReplyDeleteI feel it is incorrect to say that everyone in La Perla is a criminal, like most people think. As someone who was born in el Barrio Mamey and later on lived in San Juan, La Perla has really proven to be bad news. A lot of people get hurt or killed down there and their bodies lost to the sea. Drugs can be good for certain purposes, but they breed violence and hurt many lives. When I heard about that girl that was used as a human shield in la Calle San Sebastian... I knew I couldn't come back home to visit my family and expect to be safe anymore. I spen most of my high school years frequenting OSJ at night and felt perfectly safe. Last time I went down there, a hand gun was fired 30 feet away from me on a busy street.
ReplyDeleteI come from a modest family and I am a very tolerant person of all sorts of life styles, but I do not tolerate groups that use weapons and narcotics as a means of getting by.
That girl was coming out of a restaurant with her boyfriend...she was only 20 years old.
In my opinion La perla Puerto Rico is what it is, leave it alone and mind whats urs not there. Me being puertorican but brought up in the US, dont really understand what goes on daily in side La Perla, but damn I see all this negative worldsbeing used just let them live.
ReplyDeleteLOL...YO FOR THE LA KID...SORRY MAN BUT LA DOES NOT COMPARE NOT EVEN A BIT WITH THE SLUMS FROM PR...WHERE I COME FROM U JUST DIE FOR NO REASON, YEA U SAW THE VIDEO BUT I SAW THE FLASHES BY MY SELF, AND AFTER THAT I MOVED TO LA FOR 1 YEAR, IT WAS PEACEFUL NEXT TO LA PERLA! LOL YEA SOME DRIVE-BY AND FIGHTS BUT NAH! NOTHING LIKE HOME!LOL
ReplyDeleteI used to work for a cruise line, I was in Puerto Rico every week.
ReplyDeleteevery time we just walked around the city and onece we went to La perla not knowing what it is. we didn't know it was dangerous, but anyway to us the place was beautiful because there were no tourists, only locals playing domino on the streets. nobody did anything abd to us. we just went through the streets and were amazed about the difference from the old SanJuan just couple of hundreds of meters away. we liked it.
i guess it was pretty stupid from us.
ReplyDelete