Bad Bunny's Real Gift to Puerto Rico Isn't $200 Million
Much of the coverage has focused on how the 30 shows will be a financial boon for the island — and with good reason. The concerts are expected to pump nearly $200 million into the local economy. This would be significant anywhere, but it carries even greater weight in Puerto Rico, where 43% of the population lives below the poverty line, according to a 2024 Financial Industry Regulatory Authority report. That's more than double the rate of states with the highest poverty rates in the mainland US.
To say that Boricua employees and small businesses — hotels, transportation services and restaurants — are riding the superstar's wave would be an understatement. Even my local café in Old San Juan has a Bad Bunny theme.
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Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MYKE TOWERS RELEASES ISLAND BOYZ, HIS MOST PERSONAL AND VISIONARY ALBUM
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Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Associated Press
Lin-Manuel Miranda will turn 'Hamilton' 10th anniversary into a fundraiser for immigration services
Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to use the 10th anniversary Broadway performance of his award-winning cultural phenomenon 'Hamilton' as a fundraiser for a coalition of nonprofits providing immigration services. The Aug. 6 performance of 'Hamilton' at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre is expected to raise about $3 million for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, 14 nonprofits ranging from the Hispanic Federation and National Immigration Law Center to the Haitian Bridge Alliance and the Tahirih Justice Center. The donation will come from Miranda, the Miranda Family and Miranda Family Fund, and the 'Hamilton' cast. It seemed like a fitting tribute to 'Hamilton' and its inspiration, Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, Miranda told The Associated Press, though he recognizes that Hamilton wouldn't have called himself an immigrant. 'His narrative in our country kind of mirrors that of an immigrant story,' Miranda said. 'He did not grow up here. He didn't come from England. He came from the Caribbean, escaping harsh circumstances. And he really helped shape this country.' Miranda did exclusively reveal some plans for the special, invite-only 'Hamilton' anniversary show and the preshow reception that he will host. Fans already know the possibilities after the special 'Hamilton' medley at the Tonys in June. Even the audience will be 'stacked,' he said, since every actor who has ever performed during the show's Broadway run will be invited to be in the audience to watch the show's current Broadway cast that night. 'We're working on something special for the curtain call and another nice special thing after that,' Miranda said. 'That's about all I can say.' The bulk of the invites have gone to winners selected from a Prizeo sweepstakes, where entrants donated at least $10 to the Immigrants coalition. A few dozen VIP packages, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000, will be available Thursday through the Hispanic Federation, with proceeds also going to the coalition. 'One of America's greatest exports -- at least for me growing up -- was the immigration narrative,' Miranda said. 'So many people I know… came to this country from somewhere else seeking a better life and then helped make this country better by being here. And I believe that's one of the greatest promises, one of greatest things about the American experiment, and I'll continue to fight for that and support organizations that are helping that cause.' Immigrant-serving nonprofits welcome #Hamilten support And the organizations that will benefit from the donations generated by the 'Hamilton' 10th anniversary, better known as #Hamilten, say the donations and encouragement are sorely needed now. Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump swiftly moved to make good on 'Mass Deportation Now!' promises from his campaign. His administration has encouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and deport people quickly, even to countries where they have never been, in order to rein in illegal immigration. Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda, no relation to Lin-Manuel Miranda, said he is heartened by the more than 125,000 people who have donated to the 'Hamilton' fundraiser. 'I think it is the beginning of what could be an incredible movement of philanthropy and individual donors basically saying, 'Enough is enough',' he said. 'We have seen it also in the different demonstrations of people around the country where they are expressing their concern and their frustration out in the streets.' Hispanic Federation has already lost millions in federal funding, as the Trump administration cuts support for workplace development initiatives and environmental justice work, Frankie Miranda said. He has also seen some corporations withdraw their financial support because they fear reprisals from the Trump administration. 'We need bold ideas like 'Hamilton' where everybody feels that they can stand behind it,' he said. Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, another coalition member, said the donations would help her group continue to provide community legal services to individuals, while also pursuing lawsuits like its challenge to the Trump executive order seeking to strip away birthright citizenship from some children born in the United States. 'At this time, when so many people are afraid to speak out and support vulnerable communities, Lin-Manuel Miranda being willing to use the 'Hamilton' platform just shows real leadership and bravery,' Kohli said. 'And I'm hoping that more donors will step up and support our sector. We are the firewall between authoritarianism and democracy.' Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, said her nonprofit plans to use the donations from the coalition to support its Defending Democracy initiative, which informs immigrants of their rights and uses the law as 'a bulwark against unconstitutional actions carried out by this administration.' Matos sees it as a 'full circle' moment to use funding generated by 'the story of one of our nation's Founding Fathers who himself was an indigent immigrant, who through his own grit, determination and his brilliance, worked his way up.' 'He was somebody who thought deeply about this new nation's democracy,' she added. 'What better way to honor Hamilton and to express our gratitude for these resources?' 'Immigrants: We get the job done' was a line that surprisingly resonated For Lin-Manuel Miranda, the fact that people remain fascinated by 'Hamilton' 10 years later also leaves him feeling grateful. And he remains surprised by the resonance of the line 'Immigrants: We get the job done,' a line shared in the show by Hamilton and French military officer Marquis de Lafayette at the Battle of Yorktown. 'I thought it was no big deal,' he said. 'But from the moment it was performed on stage, the audience reaction was so joyous at just the utterance of that simple fact. It's one of the things that just heartens me and gives me hope. In these dark times, it still gets a big cheer.' The cheering still requires the show to add extra measures of music to wait for the audience to calm down before continuing with the song 'Yorktown.' Miranda attributes it to the fact that so many Americans are only one or two generations away from an immigrant. 'It's the same reason why that No Kings protest vastly outnumbered the military parade happening on the same day,' he said. 'There are still a lot of people who believe in basic decency and treating people who come here -- often from really tough situations -- with humanity.' ______ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- Washington Post
Under a rain of bullets, Haitian police rescue thousands of artworks
In the days this month after Haitian gangs incinerated Port-au-Prince's famed Hotel Oloffson, the Gothic-gingerbread retreat for such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando and Mick Jagger, rumors grew that they were now setting their sights on another cultural landmark: the Centre d'Art. Allenby Augustin, director of the museum and art school, had long fretted about the security of the center, one of the oldest such institutions in the Caribbean and home to many of the most important works of Haitian art. In March, a powerful coalition of gangs moved into the neighborhood, occupying homes next door and stealing the center's solar panels, generator and batteries. But late last week, in a rare victory for Haiti's outnumbered and outgunned police force, dozens of officers and museum staffers successfully executed a two-day operation, under steady gunfire, to salvage thousands of pieces of art and documents key to the nation's vibrant cultural patrimony. The works, which include paintings by the 20th-century masters Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin and his son Antoine and sculpture by Georges Liautaud, were escorted under armed guard out of gang-controlled territory to an undisclosed location. Museum staff are now conducting an inventory to determine whether anything is missing, Augustin said, but so far, he is 'confident' that most of its 6,000 artworks and 3,600 documents have been 'successfully recovered. 'These works are of inestimable value,' Augustin told The Washington Post. 'The entire collection of the Centre d'Art and the Haitian Art Museum represents a unique and irreplaceable cultural heritage for the nation. Preserving it is essential to transmitting Haitian history and identity to future generations.' A police official who took part in the operation described the center as a 'bien collectif' — a 'collective good.' The 'police are here to protect and serve,' said the officer, who, like others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the public. 'And in this case, we saved a part of our national identity.' The Centre d'Art was established in 1944 by the Haitian intelligentsia and DeWitt Peters, an American watercolorist who had traveled to Haiti to teach English. It had the backing of the State Department and the Haitian government, which recognized it in 1947 as a public utility. Archival video from the 1950s shows artists drawing, painting and sculpting in a sunny courtyard. The center has played a key role in the development of Haitian art, functioning not just as a gallery and exhibition space but as a training center for hundreds of artists. It also helped connect them with international buyers. Collectors of Haitian art, a varied tradition that draws on African and European influences, have included former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme. The building was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake that flattened Port-au-Prince, but the artwork was saved and packed into containers. The worsening violence wrought by Haiti's gangs — who in recent years have killed and kidnapped thousands and driven 1.3 million people from their homes — has posed a new threat. The center suspended operations in February. Last week, as many as 60 people helped rescue the artworks. Police used armored vehicles to clear the heavily barricaded streets around the center and establish a security perimeter. 'It was a huge risk,' the police official said, because the gangs are deeply entrenched in the area. 'They treated the zone like it belonged to them.' The bandits had vandalized the center, another officer said, sawing through iron bars, stealing bathroom sinks and windowpanes, damaging the ventilation system and blasting holes through walls. It appeared they were going through the center to enter surrounding homes without using the streets, he said. Gang members had tried to open the containers that held the art, the officer said, but it appeared the works inside were still intact. They were shooting at police from the house next door, he said: It looked as if 'they were waiting for us.' The officer has experienced the violence personally: He lost his home in Carrefour-Feuilles and his cars. 'But I still have my job,' he said. 'I do it with all my heart. It's a duty. … 'I didn't even understand what the paintings meant. But it's art. It's not meant to be understood by everyone.' The destruction of the Hotel Oloffson, burned to the ground July 5, was a wake-up call. The architectural and historical landmark, immortalized by Graham Greene in 'The Comedians,' his dark satire on life under the brutal dictatorship of François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier, is a 10-minute walk from the Centre d'Art. 'It made us more alert,' the first officer said. 'That, too, was part of our heritage.' The Gothic-gingerbread mansion was built in the 19th century as a private residence by a relative of President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam. The style, which features steeply pitched roofs, high ceilings and deep porches fringed with intricate latticework, was brought to Port-au-Prince by Haitian architects who sought to adapt the resort architecture of France to the tropical climate of the Caribbean nation. It was Sam's assassination in 1915 that prompted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to send in the Marines and occupy the country for 19 years. The building was converted into a hotel in the 1930s and over the decades attracted artists, writers and celebrity jet-setters, for whom its rooms would be named. A 1967 film adaptation of Graham's novel — featuring Taylor, Richard Burton, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Lilian Gish, Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones — spread its fame. In 1925, the mayor of Port-au-Prince ordered all new buildings in the capital to be made of masonry and or reinforced concrete to resist fire, according to the World Monuments Fund, and the gingerbread style fell out of favor. In recent years, gangs have destroyed several Gothic-gingerbread houses. 'The Oloffson Hotel should be considered a sanctuary — an architectural jewel — for its history and the stories it carries to future generations,' said Nesmy Manigat, a former education minister. 'We must not create a dangerous precedent where cultural heritage loses its value in the eyes of the youth and where the country's riches fall into neglect.' Manigat breathed a 'deep sigh of relief,' he said, when he learned the center's art had been saved. 'Our cultural heritage is the symbol of this country's resistance,' Manigat said. 'It's emblematic of who we are, the last rampart. No matter the political or natural disasters … that's our brand: culture. And we must protect it first.' Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, former prime minister of Haiti and president of the Centre d'Art's board, said the institution remains committed to nurturing the next generation of Haitian artists — no matter the calamity. 'Our philosophy is to never lose hope,' she said. 'We have been through many turmoils — political, social, natural — and have always [found] the strength and stamina to look ahead, resist and find ways to overcome.'
