Manolo López, LP Drinks, César Pérez, Lynnette Marrero, Sammy Solo

Last week in New York City it was Puerto Rican Day Parade all week! So today, after recovering from all the coquito, we’re happy to reflect a little on an event that is close to nuestros corazónes Boricuas, Mofongo master chef Manolo Lopez’s amazing second iteration of Puentes, an event “building bridges in the Latinx community.” Like our own Diaspora Stories, the purpose of Puentes is to bring the Puerto Rican diaspora together, from Nueva York to El Viejo San Juan, and yes, all the way to Adjuntas ( ;-) ), through cultural pride, shared storytelling, and culinary excellence. Now, it’s no secret that Puerto Rico is undergoing a culinary renaissance, just ask The New York Times, who in their recent article on 36 hours in San Juan identify “a new optimism in this Caribbean capital” and Esquire, who remind continent-dwellers they are, “just one short flight away from a tropical paradise rich in art, culture, and history.” Both pubs point out must-visit Forgotten Forest friends like La Factoria, and places where you can find us, such as Pio Pio, Habitante and Café Botánico (roasted by our friends Filtrado!) – though both miss the amazing Sprudgie award-winning Cafe Regina, and our friends Cafe Comunion!

Now, all that would come as no surprise to these Boricuas, who are, like Manolo, luminaries of the Puerto Rican culinary and cultural world. They gathered last week on June 5 at Samsung 837, presented by Don Q Rum, Perrier, our partners Loisa! :-), and Lyre’s, for an incredible evening of crispy and juicy Pernil (from Chef Frances Cocotazo), vegan Pastelillos (from Black Vegan Rican chef Lyana Blount), delightful mocktails (from master mixologist LyAnna Sanabria), treats by Carolina Ginorio, an exhibit by Nueva Yorkinos, along with an incredible Bomba performance by Bronx-based Bombazo Dance Company. Truly, a staggering lineup, and we haven’t even gotten to the main event!

We have our food, we have our dance, we have our drinks and art, and, finally, we have our stories that keep us together, like family, stories that have the power to hoist bridges out of the past’s memory, stories that keep our culture alive, and stories that join us all in a collective reimagining everyday about what it means to be Puerto Rican. We were treated to a powerful conversation between a stellar bunch of Boricuas full of stories, consisting of brazen comedian Jasmine Ruiz opening the night with vivacious charisma and sardonic aplomb, winner of Netflix’s Drink Master’s LP Drinks, stalwart Manolo collaborator and friend Chef César Pérez from Food 52, co-founder of Delola with JLO and steward of female-driven mixology Lynette Marrero, and seriously funny but also super real content creator Sammy Solo, along with of course our fearless moderator Manolo himself!

From this compelling, thoughtful, and emotional conversation, so many of the hallmarks of the Puerto Rican experience emerged, reminding us what keeps us together, what defines our struggle, and what brings us joy. From the lusciously aromatic food-charged memories that César Pérez shared of Pérnil al Caldero that keeps him open and passionate about evolving Puerto Rican cuisine, to LP Drinks’s relatively recent discovery of her own Puerto Rican heritage only 5 years ago, to the complicated racial issues of colorism surrounding many diasporic experiences like those shared by Lynette Marrero, being Puerto Rican in the USA is not always easy. But it is always amazing. Pa’que tu lo sepas!

As we build a new Puerto Rican future, what came through these reflections most of all was the complex and beautiful ways we’re all united through the past, through our families, through our culture, and through our history. Many began their reflections with the telling phrase, “my story begins long before me,” like Sammy’s story of his parents running away together to the Bronx, where he was born. Nevertheless, like so many of us, he spent his summers on the island, not, he was quick to point out, in the urban center of San Juan, but in the country, or on the West side, or in Ponce, or wherever it was we all became “part of the struggle.” But it was in New York that he learned, in fact, there are many Spanishes, many Latinx cultures, just like there are many forms of being Puerto Rican.

Frankly, it was an emotional night, as many shared the difficult reality of their complex identity growing up in a racially-charged colonial US culture, like how Lynette Marrero remembered the way she’d get the occasional “You a white girl!” from one side and “What are you, Mexican?” from the other. This is something intensified, as César Pérez reminded us, by the imposter-syndrome inducing challenge of trying to make it in the mostly-white food world. Many also reflected on the colonial disparities between the continent and the island, and the way they came to realize there were stark differences between what was available in Puerto Rico and what wasn’t. The solution? As Lynette and many others affirmed, it is for these reasons that Puerto Ricans take care of each other. And that’s part of why when she looked around at the male-dominated mixologist world, she knew she had to help out sus hermanas, and she did!, by elevating female bartenders all over the world.

Through social media, the changing economic and political landscape, and the evolution of technology, everyone agreed that Puerto Ricans need to (and will!) continue taking care of each other while building broader Latinx coalitions by advocating for those who don’t have the platform to do so themselves. And beyond their own cultural influence, this collection of luminaries is doing just that. When we think about Forgotten Forest, we think about taking part in this radical evolution of Puerto Rican culture, and we think about how coffee, too, can become a bridge between peoples, because it already is! Obviously, coffee is so much a part of our Puerto Rican identity, and when we hear these moving stories, like those that were shared with us for Diaspora Stories, we hear the continuing need to spread Puerto Rican excellence even further.