La Brega

WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios

Season 2 explores Puerto Rico’s most powerful export, its music: from superstar Bad Bunny to salsa classics. Hosted by Alana Casanova-Burgess; a co-production of WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios, available in English and Spanish. La temporada 2 explora la exportación más poderosa de Puerto Rico, su música: desde la superestrella Bad Bunny hasta los clásicos de la salsa. Presentado por Alana Casanova-Burgess; una coproducción de WNYC Studios y Futuro Studios, disponible en inglés y español.

  • 6 minutes 6 seconds
    BONUS: Boricuas on the Ice

    You’ve seen the Instagram posts and the headlines of Puerto Rican campeones in all kinds of arenas. For this special bonus episode we talk to Camila Lamerre Estevez, an athlete who competed on the Puerto Rican women’s ice hockey team. We share Camila’s story, how she turned into a young hockey star, and what she learned about Puerto Ricanness on the ice.


    The Futuro Plus Team includes associate producer Liliana Ruiz, production managers Victoria Estrada and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, and development manager Danetsy Len. Mixing by Multitude Productions.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 March 2026, 7:00 am
  • 44 minutes 41 seconds
    8. Tengo a Puerto Rico en mi corazón

    Los Young Lords surgieron en los 60 en Chicago como una ganga callejera, pero evolucionaron y se convirtieron en una organización política que llegó a otras ciudades, como Nueva York y Filadelfia. En su mayoría, eran jóvenes boricuas de la diáspora, que se organizaron y educaron a su comunidad sobre el colonialismo estadounidense. 


    Iris Morales, dirigente del brazo educativo en Nueva York, habla con La Brega sobre el legado de la organización, y las tensiones que surgieron del deseo de acercarse a la patria.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    24 March 2026, 8:10 am
  • 49 minutes 32 seconds
    8. I Have Puerto Rico in My Heart

    In the late 1960s, the Young Lords emerged from a Chicago gang and became a political organization mainly made up of Puerto Ricans in the diaspora. Some had never been to Puerto Rico, some spoke little Spanish – but they all claimed Puerto Rico. Many of these young Boricuas were hungry for stories about their history and tried to learn in any way they could. One of those was Iris Morales, who led TYL’s education mission in New York. Iris talks with us about what it means that TYL championed Puerto Rico, the tensions that arose from trying to get closer to their homeland, and solidarity today.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    24 March 2026, 8:00 am
  • 40 minutes 36 seconds
    7. Madera de campeón: el futuro del béisbol boricua

    El dominio de Puerto Rico en el beisbol es más que conocido, pero hay quienes piensan que la pelota boricua ya vio sus mejores días. Y algunos responsabilizan de su declive a una decisión de Major League Baseball de 1990, cuando obligó a los peloteros boricuas a pasar por el sorteo de novatos para llegar a la pelota profesional. Pero, 35 años después, las razones son mucho más complejas. 


    En este episodio, exploramos cómo el beisbol refleja realidades como la migración forzosa, la desigualdad y la falta de soberanía política, y descubrimos formas en que la pelota sigue aportando a Puerto Rico.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 March 2026, 8:10 am
  • 41 minutes 32 seconds
    7. The Stuff of Champions: The Future of Puerto Rican Baseball

    Puerto Rico has been a baseball powerhouse. For decades, we operated as our own country, under the same rules as nations like the Dominican Republic. Players could be signed to professional teams as young as 16. Then in 1990, Major League Baseball changed the rules to include Puerto Rico in its first-year player draft. Initially, it was seen as protecting young players. But today, there’s a sense that Puerto Rican baseball has lost its shine, and fewer players make it to the major leagues. In this episode, we examine how baseball reflects inequality and the lack of political sovereignty.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 March 2026, 8:00 am
  • 48 minutes 30 seconds
    6. Tres minutos para Puerto Rico

    Por décadas, políticos y activistas boricuas han depuesto ante el Comité de Descolonización de la ONU durante su vista anual sobre Puerto Rico. La mayoría de los deponentes favorece la independencia, pero, recientemente, los pro estadidad se han organizado para aumentar su presencia ante un foro que, en 50 años, no ha conseguido cambiar nada. Porque Puerto Rico sigue siendo una colonia de Estados Unidos. 


    El equipo de La Brega visitó la sede de la ONU durante el verano de 2025 para acompañar a los peticionarios que, año tras año, comparecen para defender sus visiones de futuro para Puerto Rico.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    10 March 2026, 7:10 am
  • 41 minutes 33 seconds
    6. Three Minutes for Puerto Rico

    For decades, Puerto Ricans from different political persuasions have gone to the United Nations in New York to speak about the decolonization of Puerto Rico. Most have advocated for independence. But recently, statehood supporters have also spoken before the UN. And for decades, their advocacy has made no difference: Puerto Rico continues to be a colony of the United States. In 2025, La Brega went to the United Nations to spend a day with the advocates who continue to make the annual pilgrimage, and ask whether the yearly ritual really advances their vision for Puerto Rico’s future.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    10 March 2026, 7:00 am
  • 40 minutes 1 second
    5. La importancia de ser Mr. Mundo

    En Puerto Rico, los concursos de belleza son una obsesión nacional que entusiasma al público como cualquier competencia deportiva. Y, en 2024, ocurrió algo que expandió la huella boricua en estos certámenes: Míster Puerto Rico ganó por primera vez Míster Mundo. Danny Mejía nunca había participado en un certamen de belleza, pero viajó a Vietnam para representar a su país y regresó de allí con el triunfo, uno más para Puerto Rico. 


    En este episodio, exploramos qué significa que Míster Mundo sea boricua y cómo estos concursos —de mujeres y de hombres— ayudan a desarrollar ideas sobre la nación.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    3 March 2026, 8:10 am
  • 39 minutes 28 seconds
    5. Wearing Puerto Rico On Your Sash

    Puerto Rico has a reputation as a beauty queen mecca, the pageant scene is treated as seriously as any competitive sport in the archipelago. And in 2024, the scope of Puerto Rican dominance in the world of beauty pageants expanded even further: for the first time, Mister Puerto Rico became Mister World. Danny Mejía, who had never competed in any pageant before, went to Vietnam all by himself to represent Puerto Rico. In this episode, we learn what it means that Mister World is Boricua, and explore the history of these nation-building contests that are deeper than they seem at first glance. 

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    3 March 2026, 8:00 am
  • 49 minutes 45 seconds
    4. Isabel González vs. Estados Unidos

    En 1902, Isabel González llegó a Ellis Island sola, con 11 dólares en el bolsillo y embarazada. La detuvieron, como a tantos otros, por ser “extranjera” y porque consideraron que podría ser “una carga para el Estado”. Pero ella peleó por su derecho de quedarse en el país que había invadido su patria y llegó hasta el Tribunal Supremo para reclamar la ciudadanía estadounidense. 


    En este episodio, exploramos junto a expertas las repercusiones históricas y legales del desafío sin precedentes de esta boricua de principios del siglo 20.



    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    24 February 2026, 8:10 am
  • 42 minutes 53 seconds
    4. Isabel González v. United States

    In 1902, Isabel González arrived in Ellis Island, pregnant, alone and with only $11.00 in her pocket. She – like others before her – was detained for being an "alien" and at risk of becoming a "burden" on the state. But Isabel took her fight to the courts, defending her right to stay in the country that had invaded her homeland just four years earlier. She fought all the way to the Supreme Court where she argued for citizenship. In this episode we learn about Isabel’s ever-so-pertinent legacy, and how another recent challenger also fought for Puerto Rico at the US Supreme Court.

    Want to know more about how La Brega: Campeones was made? Join Futuro+ at the Campeón level today and you’ll be invited to a virtual event with Alana, Ezequiel and Laura on April 7th. There will be a Q&A with everybody who joins the conversation. Sign up here: http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    24 February 2026, 8:00 am
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