Saturday, March 29, 2008

It Wasn't Enough For Them to Ruin Vieques....

It wasn't enough that the US's favorite unknown colony was finally getting air-time "hey, did you know that their primary is the last one, in June," commentators were joking about it on the cable networks and wishing they would get to cover that so they could hit the beach. Meanwhile, the ignorant masses are probably asking themselves "Puerto Rico, why the fuck are they allowed to vote in our primaries?"

And then our Governor gets hit with 19 indictments by the FBI. I am so despondent about the various ramifications of that story that I cannot bring myself to comment on it. 

Now they want to fuck up Culebra for the rest of us. General gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair ensued among all of my Boricua friends when we saw the typically racist NYTimes travel profile of Puerto Rico's charming but backwards and (FOR NOW) under-developed outlying island, Culebra. Already they announce a fancy resort is invading the place and quote disgruntled Gringo ex-pats complaining that "their" "discovery" is being ruined. There are all of the cliches regarding the quaintly amusing inconveniences of CP time. "Those Puerto Ricans sure are lazy and unreliable, but WTF? we're on vacation, right?"

RAVEL / ESCAPES
A Tropical Getaway in Puerto Rico That’s Also a Bargain
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: March 28, 2008
Culebra is often bypassed in favor of its better-known neighbors in the Caribbean.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/travel/escapes/28culebra.html?ex=1364443200&en=8597317bc4e85929&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The article was directed towards travelers on a budget, but fair enough, I agree with PM's criticisms. The article blew, its tone was disgraceful, and the backpack traveler is the harbinger of things to come.

However may I suggest that a) on the grounds that the text was buried in the inside of the NYT Escapes section on page 6 on a Thursday, blogging about a piece like that only means drawing additional attention and is therefore counterproductive. And may I suggest b), that if you really want to do something against the gentrification of Culebra, try a little a counter-guerilla media offensive? Just go to tripadvisor.com and all the respective travel sites and start posting reviews about your thoroughly HORRIFYING experiences while traveling these disturbing islands called Culebra / Puerto Rico. It's pretty simple (yet might have complicated ethical ramifications - but I leave that to you to decide).

Petite Maoiste said...

Mediabitch, first of all, NICE HANDLE!!!! Wish I had thought of it. Second, I (heart) your media virus strategy, go in like a Trojan Horse into the black heart of yuppie/backpack/gringo tourism and torpedo the incipient enthusiasm for our beloved boricua backwater. :)