“It is the reflection of a profound reality;
it masks and denatures a profound reality;
it masks the absence of a profound reality;
it has no relation to any reality whatsoever: it is its own pure simulacrum. “
(Baudrillard, 1994, p. 6)
The United States Government did not act fast enough to create the security and appropriate aid for the Puerto Rican people affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. Genocide is an easy route to further colonizing land when there are fewer people alive to fight. The 45th president of the United States at the time (whom we shall never name) allowed for many in-land and coastal homes to dissolve, while he flung useless rolls of paper towels into the crowd of gathered traumatized island natives. Most of the tourist locations, buildings developed with contemporary materials, protected by money by wealthy stakeholders, remained unscathed. These hotels & homes were in operation after a few weeks for those who could afford a nightly rate of hundreds of dollars.
Puerto Rico needs your tourism dollars and your support now more than ever
There is no passport required for US Citizens
Skip the currency conversions — USD is used here!
There are tons of affordable and short flights from many US cities
English is widely spoken
As tourism is still rebuilding, crowds are fewer
Six years later countless blog posts created by white North American tour guides and tourist groups and individuals rave about their “contributions to Puerto Rico’s tourism to help sustain the island and its people.” One family (shown above standing in the water stated: “Most people thought we were going to volunteer on the island. Nope. We need a vacation and we can help support the tourism industry the island so desperately needs.”
It is rare for people to mention the systematic erasure of the original island inhabitants to make way for widely spoken English and easily shared currency.
The COVID mask mandates and vaccine proof requirements were all dropped in March of 2022, leaving those on the island to manuver through an additional hurdle through safety and health. Puerto Rico has not had a Health Department building on the island, instead, there’s an active website with bare-bones information and a P.O. box for snail-mail correspondence. And just as in most parts of the globe, the Afro-Boricua and Black families on the island are hardly covered in the news - tucked away amidst the remnant homes of concrete and metal rubble, destroyed walk ways and roads.
The image above is what is sensationalized and preferred. The happy white American family basking in health and in island sun, a feeling, I’m sure each native islander wants as well.