‘Things Change’: Observations from Orlando
Today, just a thought experiment of sorts. I was in Orlando last week visiting the in-laws — more like Borelando, amirite? It actually turned out to be more like Bori-lando — the whole damn city is Puerto Rican, it seems. I said something to Luis, and he said “Yeah, Orlando, hicks and spics.” I responded, “I don’t see the hick part.”
“Well,” he shrugged, “things change.”
And that’s kind of what I’m getting at with this post. Things change. Orlando Puerto Ricans — split about evenly between Nuyoricans and those from the Island — are not poor. They are in a way “displacing” the area’s non-Hispanic white population and forcing a cultural shift, much like what happened in Miami in the 1960s. Since I’m on vacation (this week in Miami — 305 till I die!) and haven’t had my colada yet today, I’ll leave it to you to pontificate and discuss the implications and deeper meanings in these observations.
With that, I leave you with a photo of an Orlando shopping center, replete with a Latin Hooters (seriously), Las Palmas “supermarket,” and Taino’s bakery (where the quesitos were fresh and soft, unlike the stale New Jersey-baked garbage you get at the bodegas in Bushwick).
August 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Hey Jeremy, why didn’t you provide a sound clip from Expose (the Miami group that provided nothing but auditory torture throughout the mid-80’s)? “Seasons change, people change…” Indeed.
August 13th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Yes, things change……but maybe not yet. Orlando is, like 50% white and maybe 25% black so there’s GOT to be a few hicks there somewhere (maybe they didn’t visit Disneyland). And, while Orlando’s Puerto Ricans have achieved gains in many areas, I don’t believe they have reached socioeconomic parity with other major ethnic groups in the area YET.
August 13th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I always say wait until a hurricane. Never in Puerto Rico’s history has thousands died in a storm. The island is so beautiful because strong storm aren’t killers.
In Florida tornadoes born from storm will devastate an area. I wish them the best but I expect a flight after a major storm.
I haven’t had a good Cuban bread in years does any of my fellow Bushwicker know of a place near by?
August 13th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
You guys are terrible!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
My grandfather’s family in Puerto Rico was devasted by the San Felipe hurricane of 1928. Plenty of people died, and the economy of the island was severely impacted by this storm — a Category 5 hurricane.
August 14th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
True the hurricane killed about 300 in PR but 2500 in Florida. To quote Luis “things change.” Nuyoricans in Florida are not prepared for a devastation of this magnitude. But I think they’ve been priced out of Bushwick so maybe Bed-Stuy or Brownsville will be their future.
Still no local Cuban bakeries?
August 17th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I went to Cuba. If you go, bring toilet paper. Don’t forget shampoo, soap, toothpaste, socks, pens, paper, aspirin, or anything else.
There are no stores.
But - Castro moved 300,000 people overnight to get out of the way of katrina. That’s because he runs a country that functions. And he’s smart. Brutal, a killer, but smart.
August 17th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Oh - and before you go to Cuba, eat some Cuban food here in NYC. It will be the best Cuban food you’ll have until you get back.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
“Man,” I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there has been a significant PR community in Orlando since at least the 80s. There have been many storms since then, and only more Puerto Ricans have moved in. Storms haven’t kept Florida from becoming one of the most populous states in the country, and I don’t think Puerto Ricans are any more sensitive than anyone else to these matters.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Dresden, Cuba has no stores or products, but a dictator can move 300,000 people with a swoop of his hand, and this is your definition of a “country that works”? Not to mention that it’s likely that 300,000 people probably wouldn’t HAVE TO move in a country where most people didn’t live in crumbling hovels. If you like Castro, have I got a Mao for you.
Anyway, where is all this good NYC Cuban food? I can’t find ANY. I only see some mediocre Cuban food which in NY always seems to share the menu with Mexican for some reason. You want Cuban food, you go to Miami.