A Few More Things I've Learned about PR (Day 20-26)

PR & COVID

One of the things that has impressed me about Puerto Rico is their COVID-19 conscientiousness. And I thought Seattle was all over COVID. Here in PR, they are very careful to wear masks in public, and take your temperature/sanitize your hands at every establishment. And I mean it when I say every establishment, even the entrance to the public beach. Some places even have these groovy 2-1 machines: sanitize and temp check in one!

Café

Another aspect of Puerto Rican life that I would be remiss in not mentioning is coffee. This last weekend, I took a day to drive up into the interior mountains where coffee is grown for a little site-seeing and coffee drinking. The views and the coffee did not disappoint.

I also picked up a "few" bags of coffee as gifts to take home...and also to drink myself. This the current level of my stash. I'm not sure my suitcase can accommodate more bags.

On the sad side, I have been pretty unsuccessful in making a decent cup of coffee at my AirBnB. Moka Pots are the most popular way to brew coffee here; that brewing method + dark coffee + fine grind = very bitter coffee. It appears that people like to drink it with a bit of milk and sugar, so this dark brew makes sense. Since I worked for years to wean myself off of milk and sugar in my coffee, returning to this level is a bit of a letdown. Hence, the 400 cappuccinos I've been drinking at coffee shops. It's the consolation for the less-than-stellar coffee I'm drinking at home.

Reggaetón

After even just a few days here, I have become more familiar with reggaetón and other popular Puerto Rican music. You really don't have a choice - it's everywhere. People bring large speakers to the beach and play their music right next to someone else's speaker with different music. As someone who enjoys music and thinks it tells you a lot about a place, I'm into for the most part. So, here's what I've learned in my 3-week stay:

First, Reggaetón is a style of music that developed in Puerto Rico. At first listen, ALL reggaetón music sounds the same. But if you give it some time, you'll actually be able to tell the difference between songs and you'll have some favorites. Here's a list of 25 popular reggaetón singers. If you follow popular music, you'll probably recognize at least a couple. After 3 weeks of music listening, I will share with you a couple samples.

First up - Calma by Pedro Capó. This is really just a soothing anthem about the beach. The chorus lyrics really say it all: "Let's go to the beach. It'll cure your soul. Close the computer screen, open a Medalla (local beer)." 

Second up - Locura by Alec Mora. It's all over the radio. It's also a nice example of a trend in reggaetón to sing out the name of the artist/producer/company within the song itself. Do not understand this...

Third up - Ropa Cara by Camilo - Also all over the radio. Not my favorite song. But the lyrics are somewhat interesting. It's about the pressure to dress in name brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Prada. 

Now you too can speak knowledgably about Reggaetón!