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| Photo: © S. Banos |
The history of Arecibo (my father's birthplace), like the history of Puerto Rico itself, is a sad one. It was a quaint but relatively prosperous town that within the last couple of decades has gone well past the point of decline. Its quaint, Spanish colonial era buildings have literally begun to crumble from increasing neglect and isolation- the reasons not uncommon to those found in many mainland American cities: shopping malls, giant box stores, massive under employment, etc. Add to that... decades of American military, economic and political hegemony enforced by domestic corruption.
Never been to Cuba, but from all appearances, Arecibo seems a capitalist mirror in miniature- although possibly worse. As for the future... yet another symbolic, and very real reminder of what an afterthought this 30 X 100mi island (and its people) remains to this day...
Let's see some more photos! The main difference between this town and a similar town in Cuba is that all the people in Cuba have education, healthcare and a place to live provided by the government. The reasons for Cuba's decline are exactly the same as your fathers town, minus the capitalistic rape.
ReplyDelete"'Fraid I only got the bum's rush tour, Eric. Unfortunately, this wasn't a pleasure excursion- more... familial obligations. Got some downtime in NYC (where it mostly rained)- but did get a coupla snaps (to come) nonetheless.
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