La Brega: Campeones
Episodes
Donde el Mar Se Enciende (Buenas noches, Cráneo)
21 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Hoy les traemos un episodio de nuestros amigos de Buenas noches, Cráneo.Esta noche viajamos a una bahía de Puerto Rico donde el agua brilla en la os...
A look at the human toll of the construction of the Panama Canal
14 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Code Switch. President Donald Trump says he wants the U.S. to take back control of the ...
Un vampiro entre nosotros
07 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Hoy les traemos un episodio especial desde Puerto Rico de nuestros amigos de Radio Ambulante, quienes se encuentran en plena publicación de su tempor...
BONUS: Boricuas on the Ice
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
8. Tengo a Puerto Rico en mi corazón
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Los Young Lords surgieron en los 60 en Chicago como una ganga callejera, pero evolucionaron y se convirtieron en una organización política que llegó...
8. I Have Puerto Rico in My Heart
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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. So...
7. Madera de campeón: el futuro del béisbol boricua
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 respo...
7. The Stuff of Champions: The Future of Puerto Rican Baseball
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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. ...
6. Tres minutos para Puerto Rico
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Por décadas, políticos y activistas boricuas han depuesto ante el Comité de Descolonización de la ONU durante su vista anual sobre Puerto Rico. La...
6. Three Minutes for Puerto Rico
10 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, Puerto Ricans from different political persuasions have gone to the United Nations in New York to speak about the decolonization of Puert...
5. La importancia de ser Mr. Mundo
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
En Puerto Rico, los concursos de belleza son una obsesión nacional que entusiasma al público como cualquier competencia deportiva. Y, en 2024, ocurr...
5. Wearing Puerto Rico On Your Sash
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 20...
4. Isabel González vs. Estados Unidos
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 “extr...
4. Isabel González v. United States
24 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
3. Las banderas de Alberto Mercado
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
En plena Guerra Fría, el presidente estadounidense Jimmy Carter llama al boicot de los Juegos Olímpicos Moscú 1980 y en Puerto Rico se debate qué ...
3. The Many Flags of Alberto Mercado
17 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It was 1980, and the Olympics were to be held in Moscow against the backdrop of the Cold War. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, President Jim...
2. Nuestro cuatro (o por qué nos hace llorar)
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Cuando el cuatrista Luis Sanz se presentó en un estudio para una grabación misteriosa, no imaginó que terminaría tocando un solo de cuatro en “L...
2. Our Cuatro (And Why It Makes Us Cry)
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When the musician Luís Sanz showed up for a mystery recording session last year, he didn’t know that he’d be playing a cuatro solo for “Lo que ...
1. ¿Quién nos representa?
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A horas de que llegara el rey de España a Puerto Rico en enero de 2022, el país se despertó con una sorpresa: la estatua de Juan Ponce de León en ...
1. Who represents us?
03 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
It was January 24, 2022. The King of Spain was coming to Puerto Rico. But everyone woke up to some unexpected news: the statue of the Spanish conquist...
Season 3: Puerto Rico’s Champions
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
La Brega is back! This season, we’re telling the stories of the people and symbols that represent Puerto Rico. We’re asking: who champions Puerto ...
Tercera temporada: Campeonas y campeones de Puerto Rico
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
¡La Brega regresa! Esta temporada, contamos las historias de personas y símbolos que representan a Puerto Rico. Y nos preguntamos: ¿Quién defiende...
This Giving Tuesday, Futuro reflects back on 2025
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been quite the year, for the United States and for Futuro Media. At Latino USA, we’re bringing you in-depth reporting from the front lines. A...
Sneak Peek: How we make La Brega
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have a sneak peek of our latest bonus episode for Futuro+ members. Alana and OG La Brega producer Ezequiel Rodríguez Andino break down how they ma...
Big News from La Brega
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wepa! We’ve got big news for you: La Brega is back, directly from Futuro Studios! We’re in production right now on a third season and it’ll hit ...
¡Buenas noticias de La Brega!
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
¡Wepa! Te traemos buenas noticias: ¡Regresa La Brega! Y llega directamente desde Futuro Studios. Estamos produciendo la tercera temporada, que podrá...
Bonus Track — Songs for the Future of Puerto Rico
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Una notita: This episode is in Spanglish.This season, we explored songs that tell the complicated, beautiful story of Puerto Rico. We wanted to bring ...
8. “Olas y Arenas” — The Beaches Belong to the People
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Puerto Rico’s beautiful beaches are an integral part of Puerto Rican life. They form a ring of pleasure that encircles the whole island — an esca...
8. “Olas y arenas” — las playas son del pueblo
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Las hermosas playas de Puerto Rico son una parte integral de la vida puertorriqueña. Las costas forman un anillo de placer que rodea toda la isla, un...
7. "Vamos Pa’ Plaza" — The Center of Everything
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Plaza Las Americas is not any mall — going there, “Pa Plaza,” is a quintessential boricua experience. Young people experience first dates; old p...
7. "Vamos pa’ Plaza" — el centro de todo
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Plaza Las Américas no es un centro comercial cualquiera: ir allí, "pa’ Plaza", es una experiencia muy boricua l. Los jóvenes viven sus primeras c...
6. “Boricua en la Luna” — The Moon’s Distance
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Boricua En La Luna” is a classic anthem about a young man born outside Puerto Rico, who dreams of going back to his parents’ home but never doe...
6. “Boricua en la luna” — la distancia de la luna
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Boricua en la luna” es un himno clásico sobre un joven nacido fuera de Puerto Rico, que sueña con volver a la casa de sus padres pero nunca lo ...
5. “Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra)” — An Ode to Blackness
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Catalino Curet Alonso (known as Don Tite) penned some 2,000 songs during his life — and around 200 were massive hits across Latin America. “Las C...
5. “Las caras lindas (de mi gente negra)” — una oda a la negrura
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Catalino Curet Alonso (a menudo llamado Don Tite) escribió unas 2000 canciones durante su vida, y alrededor de 200 fueron grandes éxitos en Latinoam...
4. "I Wonder if I Take You Home" — Freedom in Freestyle
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Created on the streets by young Nuyoricans in the mid-1980s, freestyle music became the soundtrack for the lives of second-generation Puerto Ricans. H...
4. “I Wonder if I Take You Home” — La libertad en el freestyle
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Creada en las calles por jóvenes nuyoricans en la mitad de los ochenta, la música freestyle se convirtió en el sonido y la historia de los puertorr...
3. “Suavemente” — The Merengue War
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of the 1990s merengue ruled supreme on the radio and television in Puerto Rico. Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente” is perhaps the most famou...
3. “Suavemente” — La guerra del merengue
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
En Puerto Rico, a finales de los noventa el merengue reinaba en la radio y en la televisión. "Suavemente" de Elvis Crespo es quizás el ejemplo más ...
2. “El Gran Varón” — Who Was Simón?
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Gabby Rivera was 7 or 8 years old when Willie Colón released “El Gran Varón” in 1989. She remembers her father playing it while she sat in the b...
2. “El gran varón” — ¿Quién era Simón?
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
En 1989, Gabby Rivera tenía 7 o 8 años cuando Willie Colón lanzó "El gran varón". Recuerda a su padre poniendo el tema mientras ella estaba senta...
1. "Preciosa" — The Other Anthem
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For over a century, Puerto Rican musicians have been influential across the hemisphere. From the Harlem Hellfighters of WWI who helped develop jazz to...
1. "Preciosa" — El otro himno
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Durante más de un siglo, los músicos puertorriqueños han sido influyentes en todo el hemisferio. Desde el regimiento de los Harlem Hellfighters de ...
Season 2: The Puerto Rican Experience in 8 Songs
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the island donde hasta la piedras cantan — “where even the rocks sing” — Puerto Rico is home to a dizzying breadth of musical exp...
2da Temporada: La experiencia boricua en 8 canciones
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Conocida como la isla donde hasta las piedras cantan, Puerto Rico alberga una vertiginosa amplitud de expresión musical. Desde los boleristas lírico...
8. Snow In The Tropics
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
During the early 1950s, the children of Puerto Rico were invited to an icy winter spectacle. Mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier, the charismatic mayor of...
8. Nieve en el trópico
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A principios de la década de los 50, los niños de Puerto Rico fueron invitados a un espectáculo invernal. Felisa Rincón de Gautier, la alcaldesa d...
7. The End Of The Promises
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States has long been a subject of intense debate. In 1952, Puerto Rico adopted a new status that was mean...
7. Se acabaron las promesas
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
La relación que tiene Puerto Rico con los Estados Unidos siempre ha sido un tema de debate intenso. En 1952, Puerto Rico adoptó un nuevo status que ...
6. The Bankruptcy Letters
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Luis J. Valentín Ortiz from the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo tells a hidden story from Puerto Rico’s debt crisis, that of the micro-credit...
6. Las cartas de la quiebra
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
El periodista del Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Luis J. Valentín Ortiz, cuenta la historia de los pequeños acreedores en la quiebra de Puerto...
5. Basketball Warriors
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite being a U.S. colony, Puerto Rico competes in sports as its own country on the world stage. Since the 70s, Puerto Rico’s national basketball ...
5. Guerreros del basket
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Aunque Puerto Rico es una colonia de Estados Unidos, la isla compite bajo su propia bandera en eventos deportivos internacionales. Desde la década de...
4. Vieques and the Promise To Build Back Better
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Weeks after Hurricane Maria, the Government of Puerto Rico accepted an emphatic suggestion from officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (...
4. Vieques y la resiliencia que nunca llegó
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Semanas después del huracán María, el Gobierno de Puerto Rico aceptó una sugerencia de parte de la Agencia Federal de Manejo de Emergencias, mejor...
3. An Encyclopedia of Betrayal
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Photographer Chris Gregory-Rivera examines the legacy of the surveillance files known in Puerto Rico as las carpetas — produced from a decades-long...
3. Una enciclopedia de traición
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
El fotógrafo Chris Gregory-Rivera examina el legado de “Las Carpetas” -- los archivos de vigilancia estatal producidos por un programa de gobier...
2. Levittown, Where The Good Life Begins
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alana Casanova-Burgess traces back the story of the boom and bust of Levittown, a massive suburb that was founded on the idea of bringing the American...
2. Levittown, donde la buena vida comienza
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Alana Casanova-Burgess traza la historia del crecimiento y eventual deterioro de Levittown, Toa Baja, un suburbio masivo que se fundó con la idea de ...
1. What Is La Brega?
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this kick-off episode, host Alana Casanova-Burgess sets out to define la brega and examine what its ubiquity among boricuas really means. A brega i...
1. ¿Qué es la brega?
24 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
En este primer episodio, Alana Casanova-Burgess nos comparte un ejemplo para explicar que significa para los boricuas “bregar”. Par...
La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
WNYC Studios and Futuro Studios present “La Brega: Stories of the Puerto Rican Experience”: a seven-part podcast series that uses narrative storyt...
La Brega: historias de la experiencia boricua
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Un podcast de siete episodios que combina elementos narrativos y del periodismo investigativo para revelar y reflexionar sobre cómo “la brega” ha...