chicago, just like the rest of america, needs to make amends with its black population. these communities just want to be heard. they have the solutions. they are invested in the solutions. were you listening? >> we ask you and thank you in the name of jesus. amen, amen, amen. thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. for real, many of us maybe haven't forget about puerto rico until "hamilton." lin-manuel miranda put puerto rico back on the map where it belongs. puerto ricans are american citizens. yep, yep, yep. three people. everyone else, convince me. let's pull up wikipedia. pull the screen down. can't vote for the presidency. american citizens can't vote for the presidency. they've got 3 million people on that island. we could have used those votes, you know what i'm saying?

just to win more. [ cheers and applause ] honestly, we did that to troll president trump. that's what we did right there. because we know he's watching cnn. can't wait to find out what he thinks about my show. i'm going to find out what he thinks about my show. my name is w. kamau bell. as a comedian, i've made a living finding humor in parts of america i don't understand. now i'm challenging myself to dig deeper. i'm on a mission to reach out and experience all the cultures and beliefs that add color to this crazy country. this is "the united shades of america." america never ceases to surprise me, and the many different ways it chooses to define and redefine who is and who isn't a citizen. the indigenous people of this

land were, ahem, given citizenship, but they don't have the right to buy land on the reservations that they were, ahem, invited to live on. my people's citizenship was doled out over the course of years from not at all to, before you vote, can you please read this, to you can be president, but just show us your birth certificate. and nowhere in this country is that strange citizenship clearer than in puerto rico, which is a commonwealth or a territory or -- okay, it's not a state. see, that's the problem. i don't even know what puerto rico is or how it got to be whatever it is. and do puerto ricans even want it to be what it is? honestly, when i was growing up, i didn't even know any puerto rican people. the only puerto rican i had heard of was juan epstein from "welcome back kotter" and he was half-jewish. it's my fault i don't know more about puerto rico and its people because they made an impact on

america. like supreme court justice sotomayor, from rosie perez to j. lo to ricky martin. and there's geraldo riv -- moving on. well, if i want to get my questions about puerto rico answered, then there's one place i should go -- new york? why? because there's over 1 million puerto ricans living in greater new york city. ♪ in fact, there are 5 million puerto ricans living in the 50 states, which is crazy when you realize that puerto rico itself only has 3.5 million people. luckily, i'm going to start my education with an actual scholar, my friend rosa clemente. in addition to being puerto rican, she's a community organizer, journalist, hip-hop activist and all-around ass-kicker. so, puerto ricans are american citizens. >> not by choice. >> there we go. that's what i wanted -- >> no one asked puerto ricans do you want to be american

citizens? in 1898, the united states invades puerto rico and claims it as a prize from the spanish/american war. after 1917, anyone that's puerto rican is born as an american citizen, but we're still dealing with a colonial government. >> now, here's a little history that wasn't in my high school textbooks. puerto rico was under spanish rule until 1898 when spain gave them autonomy. freedom! hold up, wait a minute. a mere eight days later, the u.s. won the spanish/american war and immediately sent troops into puerto rico to claim it as one of america's colonies, which is weird because we just fought a war about a hundred years before that showed we knew that it sucks to be a colony. america has five major territories including puerto rico. american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands and the u.s. virgin islands. i know even less about them than i do about puerto rico.

i know there's occasionally a push for puerto rico to regain its independence fully from the united states of america. and then there's people that say leave it as it is. >> what people don't understand is that there's a fear that's been instilled on the people in puerto rico that if we were independent, we couldn't run our own country. and that's what happens when you're a colony. and also, the repression against the nationalist party in puerto rico was deadly. the ponce massacre where the united states military opened fire on easter sunday on nationalists marching after they came from church, all of that is real. >> yeah. it happens to inmates, you get institutionalized. >> you get institutionalized on colonialism. >> puerto rico has always had a strong independence movement, the ponce massacre is one example of how the u.s. tried to crush it. in the 1930s, pedro albizu

campos was the leader of such a movement. he was educated at harvard and came back to the island and led an agricultural strike in 1934 that doubled the sugar cane workers wages. afterwards he was arrested as a threat to national security, which is another way of saying don't mess with big business. in 1937, the puerto rican nationalist party held a peaceful march in the southern town of ponce to protest his imprisonment. the governor of puerto rico who had been appointed by the u.s. ordered the police to shut that down by any means necessary. that meant killing 19 unarmed peaceful protesters. >> independence hasn't worked. not because we haven't tried but because we've been so repressed. >> i wonder if puerto rico approached race differently than the rest of the us. oh, god, i hope they do. >> we're often taught that we're like this rainbow people, one-third indigenous, one-third european and one-third african.

and you know, this push against hispanic was to uplift that we are not just these european descendants. hispanic literally means descendant of spain. when we go to spain it's not like we're embraced. >> welcome home! oh, you're back! >> by 1865 on the island of puerto rico, 64% of the population is african descendants. i'm afro latino. i'm an african descendant. >> yeah. >> but to say that, a pot of puerto ricans are not going to identify as black. boriken is the original name of the island of puerto rico. that's the name. >> the indigenous people of puerto rico were the taino. in 1493, columbus discovered their island the same way you might discover your neighbor's gardening sheers that he left out in his backyard. columbus brought with him, the european hits of colonialism -- slavery, disease, genocide and

other stuff he didn't learn about until you went to a liberal arts college. on an island this small, eventually the spanish, african and indigenous people blended, but not always by choice. i think the only mainstream popular representation of puerto ricans that i grew up with is "west side story." >> and it's the worst one. >> check. duly noted. >> the play itself, the lasting of it in the consciousness of america, that is not who we are. >> what did it mean growing up knowing that was out there, "west side story"? >> i mean, i really believe that's still how a lot of people may see puerto ricans. but when you look in new york city alone, people might just not see the innovation, the ingenuity and the genius of a people that have this american citizenship, treated like second class citizens, but still make something happen. and that's what i would rather people see than "west side

story." and there's a lot of other good movies they can watch to know what puerto ricans do and who we are. >> so good, so good. >> thank you. it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how.

th is dave, his docooper, we sell socks. why socks? we found out that cks are the number one most requested clothing item at homeless shelters. so for every pair we sell, we donate a pair to someone in need. but first we had to fix this. socks shouldn't fall down. fixed. lack of arch support? fixed. socks shouldn't have an annoying seam. fixed. the result? socks so comfortable we've been able to sell and donate over two point five million pairs. get an additional 20% off your first order at bombas.com. ♪ before i head to puerto

rico, i want to get a better understanding of not just what it means to be puerto rican, but a puerto rican in new york city. the majority of puerto ricans starting coming to new york in 1945 to join the postwar boom. even though they were u.s. citizens and could freely move between the island and the mainland, in many ways they were treated more like, well, immigrants. you know the deal, you're stealing our jobs, practicing culture, and they still face some of these prejudices today. in the 1970s, artists helped form the nuyorican poet's cafe. it was supposed to be a sanctuaries for puerto ricans and for others who weren't accepted in the mainstream. the cafe is still a cultural hub for new artists. and the organization has trusted

daniel galante with its runnings. so talk about the origins of this place called the nuyorican cafe. there was an element of new york puerto ricans. >> the term nuyorican meant new yorkers of puerto rican descent. the initial desire to have this collective of artists was based in part of the challenges on the frictions between being part of this city and still having a homeland, an identity tied to a different island. and how, if your family and your friends or your family and your spouse or your family and your co-workers identify with different communities, how to reconcile those different energies. >> with the current generation of puerto ricans artists, what does this space mean to them given the whole history of this space? >> there's a sense in this space that the nuyorican literary movement went from being a hope, a dream, a conception, to being a reality. >> i'm a grandson of the first nuyoricanos.

direct descendants of draft picked latinos. primo. i am both deceitful pillager and peaceful villager. and the immune system survive in the cold. out of whack beauty that was enslaved and sold. i am deadly. roll in the belly of the beast with the smallpox cure. my people's blood is so mixed but our soul is just so pure. now, when you checking for words, cousin, know who you seeking. i am and always have been a nuyorican. >> i can't think of a better way to wrap up my new york experience. now, finally i get to do something a regular travel show host does instead of just playing out a collection of my nightmares and societal fears for your amusement. i get to go to the beach. and in another country, sort of. ♪

we've all heard of the mythical idea of an island paradise. but puerto rico actually is an island paradise. in addition to the miles of beaches, it has the only subtropic at rainforest in the united states. and their favorite animal is cute. now, as is custom on my show, i've got to address the part. say hello to island casual kamau. the action figure will be available next year. jokes sold separately. kamau. nice to meet you. kamau. nice to meet you. kamau. so what's your favorite thing about puerto rico? >> i say the ocean. >> the weather really. >> everybody loves it here. puerto rico, beautiful island, a lot to see, a lot to do. >> everywhere you go it's really beautiful. >> where's the ugly section of puerto rico? >> there's not an ugly section. >> are you from here? >> we come from new york. >> when you come to new york, do you feel people are welcoming

you? >> when i came, it was kind of like, ah, but once i got the sun, hey. >> what do you think puerto rico should do? should it be a state, stay as a territory or should puerto rico fight to be its own independent country? >> i think independence would be the way to go. >> okay. >> i think it should fight to be its own independent country. >> being an alliance with the u.s. is really an advantage, but there's other disadvantages. i don't know. >> i've only been here a little while, but i'm already like how can i possibly do a show where i need to travel around but just be in puerto rico? ♪ while i went searching for an umbrella drink and a house to buy that i could charge so my wife wouldn't know about it right away, i ran into this couple. how is it going? >> my name is edwin. my wife, iris. >> iris, nice to meet you. are you from the island? >> we're from puerto rico. >> born and raised? >> i was born here. >> i notice people who are born here go back and forth. >> oh, yes. we always come back. >> what do you love about this island?

>> i love the beaches, i love the people most of all. >> yeah. yeah. >> i love everything about it. i'm a veteran and i miss my island when i was in vietnam. >> oh, okay. >> the service. proud to have served. the best army of the world, the united states. >> thank you for your service. >> thank you, thank you. we love the united states, and we also want the american people to see us because we also are americans, like they are. >> yeah. >> and we defend the nation just like they do. >> you defended the nation but puerto ricans can't vote for the president. >> that is true. >> that doesn't make sense, right? >> that doesn't make sense. ♪ >> that's right. while puerto ricans can vote in the presidential primary, when it really counts during the election, america says, why don't you sit this part out? and unlike those dan savage videos for teenagers, it gets

worse. remember the act that automatically made all puerto ricans american citizens by 1917, that act passed just two months before uncle sam created a mandatory draft of all american men for world war i. congratulations. you get some shrapnel, you get some shrapnel. puerto ricans have fought with honor in every american conflict since. you think puerto rico should end up being a state or stay like it is or be independent? >> i think that the people should decide that, but i would like to keep it puerto rican, keeping part of this land. but i don't have to be the enemy of the united states, to speak against it, to feel like. >> that you can be proud of puerto rico and proud to be an american at the same time? >> definitely. >> yeah, just like i'm proud to be a black man and also proud to be an american. >> that's right. >> sometimes those things feel like they go in opposite directions, but they can actually exist in one body. proud to be a puerto rican and an american can exist in one body. you feel the way he does? >> yeah.

>> that's a married answer. sure. thank you. you have been chosen gather your vikings set a course for new lands

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♪ if i've learned anything so far, it's that puerto rico is misunderstood or not thought of

at all by a lot of americans. one man who is fighting against that is edgardo miranda-rodriguez. he's created a comic book that's bringing puerto rican characters to the mainstream. ♪ finally an interview where i have to read comic books to prepare for it. there's this whole movement now of people sort of outside the mainstream of comics starting to write comics. it's been going for a while but taking over the black panther. was that bringing some authenticity to the work? >> my first comic book for marvel, it got a little bit of buzz because i introduced a black grandmother who was puerto rican in the story. i was like, wait, are people getting excited over just a grandmother, how would they respond to an actual hero who has her own book? not just a hero who is in the background but a hero who is actually prominently on the cover?

>> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> and a name that's unapologetically puerto rican. >> see, many times in america, comic books are made more diverse just by taking established white characters and changing their race, ethnicity or gender. white thor becomes white lady thor, ms. white marvel becomes miss pakistani american muslim marvel. and spider whiteman becomes spider half-white/half-latino man. and that's all cool, but comic book creators like edgardo recognize that people need heroes that are created in their image not just rebranded in their image. like when your mom gives you your brother's old clothes and says, look, you got new clothes. i noticed your dude, i would say a light-skinned puerto rican, and she is a woman. >> she's a black puerto rican. >> she's a black puerto rican. >> most people make the hero in their own image. >> i make the hero that's always been in my life. the women in my life, my moms, my cousins, my mentors.

in my family, we're everything, blankito, white, to negrito, black. and for me, if i have the tools and resources to finally tell a story and have a hero, i won't be egotistical to make it me. that's so whack. quite often as people of color, we don't see ourselves. we have always been invisible. and i had the chance of debuting this character at the actual puerto rican day parade when a young activist dressed up. and little brown, black, puerto rican children would see her eyes popping out. you just saw a superhero for the first time that looks like you. and she'd go up to them and say, let me see your superpowers and they would just flex with her. i started tearing up. i was like, this is not a comic book anymore. so that's my story, bro. >> thank you for talking to me. >> no problem, man. >> appreciate it, man. >> thank you. >> thank you, man.

>> i'll take it. >> you got to take two. >> for the kids. absolutely. appreciate it. puerto rico is so beautiful and the people are so friendly that it's easy for me to forget that the island is in dire financial straits. if puerto rico were to become a state, it would be the poorest state by far, with 46% of the population living below the poverty line. and puerto ricans know that they can't wait for their government, either one, to bail them out of the situation. ♪ so puerto ricans, like crazy legs, are doing their part and more. crazy legs is legendary in the hip hop community. he's a part of the rock steady crew who were pioneers of the break dancing movement. at age 50, those legs are still crazy. he has created the puerto rock steady festival, using his name

and influence to bring money and exposure to the island and his people. how are you doing, man? >> great. >> how do you the hook up with these guys? how do you find the new guys out there? >> being that i'm puerto rican, i always wanted to do something that benefited the island. started a music festival to raise awareness about the social and economic crisis and also long-term goal is to create a full-fledged tutoring program. >> so not tutoring how to be a -- education. >> academic. >> academic tutoring. here's another thing. i'm of the age where i remember as a kid seeing breakdance and that's magical. what are they even doing? i was like a little kid seeing it, renting the vhss trying it. didn't work out for me. do you feel that puerto ricans are getting enough credit for this? the evolution of hip-hop? >> hell, no. i was on the first tour. we did the first shows, the

literal first shows that presented hip hop as a culture. we were part of that whole culture clash and infusion of a new downtown scene. >> it's time to right some wrongs here. while wisdom says it was solely created by african-americans, it was a multicultural movement. if you could dance, flow, or do graffiti, make clothes or help people do any of those things, you could be down with hip-hop. puerto ricans like crazy legs were instrumental in spreading the culture. now he's using it to raise up his people. go on, crazy legs. somebody's been practicing. ♪ normally on this show, i focus on the nontouristy places, but i'm going to make an exception. former miss puerto rico, ingrid rivera, has invited me here for a surprise. where did you bring me? >> i brought you to the hilton. and he's the guy that's going to tell you why. >> famous pina coladas in this

bar. >> you can't just talk about pina coladas. we drank our way through the history of the pina colada at 7:30 in the morning. i feel like i'm on vacation. ♪ >> it's thick. >> i'm just a cool fella. >> basically that's puerto rico in a glass. >> puerto rico in a glass. good job, puerto rico. >> there we go. salud. >> salud. mm. can you feel the difference? >> i can feel the difference. >> this one is like a dangerous one. >> that's a dangerous one. this one you don't taste the alcohol as much, so you say give me another one. then you drink three or four, man, i just feel happy. >> that's the low calorie version of the pina colada. >> you're happy. >> who is playing the music? that's my favorite song. >> the caribbean talking to you. >> i'm going now to the most strongest one, which is my favorite. this is an old fashioned, chocolate bitters, as well. >> chocolate bitters was my nickname in high school.

whoa. luckily i can handle it. i'm drunk. >> no, you're not. you're way too tall to be drunk already. ♪

♪ ♪

all of puerto rico's money troubles can't be solved by dancing. this isn't an '80s movie. they're going to need some serious help. in the 1970s congress created tax breaks that drew many major corporation foss the island. at its peak, puerto rico was producing 25% of the world's pharmaceutical drugs and 90% of america's including 100% of our viagra. yay! but by 2006 congress had phased out those tax breaks so those companies started moving out and no amount of viagra could help to keep the country from going flaccid. >> we're in the midst of a serious financial crisis and the federal government is responding with decisive action. >> federal government policy encouraged puerto rico to do what federal government policy encouraged broke-ass college students to do -- borrow more money. just like a person with an english degree making you a mocha, the debt got so big

puerto rico couldn't pay it back. now it's a stupefying $72 billion. i'd hate to be the guy who has to solve that problem. so, i'd much rather talk to him. this is the newly elected governor, dr. ricardo roceo. and his campaign manager, elia sanchez. this is the first governor i've talked to. >> good. >> thank you for helping me work my way up the governmental food chain. >> exactly. >> so the whole idea behind coming to puerto rico, i knew i didn't know enough about puerto rico. >> we're american citizens yet we don't have the same rights as other citizens. so there needs to be a path forward. i'm pro statehood. i want to be a full part of the united states, get equal treatment. >> so you believe that puerto rico would be better off if it was officially a state? >> yes. i firmly believe that. we feel that we're limited in our growth. if you look at all of the states, even the poorest states, like mississippi and west virginia, they still have an income per capita that's more

than twice what we have over here in puerto rico. and you know, the glaring difference is how we participate in the federal context, our representation, our voting rights for the presidency. on the business front, when we try to do business with other nations, we're treated as a state, so we can't do -- >> you can't go directly to another nation. >> but when we go to the states for interstate commerce, we're treated as a foreign country. we're limited in both respects. >> talk about this fiscal oversight board. what is that? because when it was described to me, it was like, wait, obama just appointed some people to be in charge of you? they've elected you governor. >> well, it's a brave new world in that respect. so we have a board now to set barriers to how much we can spend. we've had a tradition of overspending. ♪ >> allegedly to help fix the crisis, the federal government,

which can overrule puerto rico's governor and legislature at any time, came up with the promesa bill. the bill offered no money for the island, just debt restructuring at a very steep price. it also puts a board in place that controls the island's budget, financial plan, regulations and, just for good measure, the laws. here's senator bernie sanders' thoughts on the bill. >> the united states of america should not treat puerto rico as a colony. we cannot and must not take away the democratic rights of the 3.5 million americans of puerto rico and give virtually all power on that island to a seven-member board. we must not allow that to happen. >> of course, the bill passed anyway. thanks, obama. but i still miss you. do i understand this right that you can represent puerto rico but you don't have a voting share? >> that's right.

more or less like everything that congress does with puerto rico. for example, we don't have congressmen. but we have a nonvoting delegate. we have a guy that gets to go there and complain, yet he can't do anything about it. >> he gets to be in the room. >> except when they have to vote, then they say, excuse me. you don't get to be in the vote. >> to some people, getting treated like children. >> it's fundamentally unfair. if barack obama were to move to puerto rico, he'd lose his right to cast an absentee ballot. ironically he can go to cuba and venezuela and cast an absentee ballot, but he can't do that in puerto rico. >> hold on, i need to take a walk. >> it's complex. go get a pina colada. >> all right. i'm coming back. >> that's how we feel. >> he can move to cuba and send an absentee ballot. >> anywhere in the world, except in puerto rico. >> it's like what the u.s. supreme court decided in the 1800s saying that we were

foreign but in a domestic sense. >> so it started on a puzzle. it started with a sentence only yoda understands. >> exactly. >> it doesn't make sense. but it has real effects. say you're japan and want to sell a car in puerto rico, just go through the panama canal, drop off a few cars on the island and continue to the mainland, right? not so far. because of an obscure u.s. maritime law it's illegal to go to more than one american port per visit. the cars have to go to the mainland, then get transferred to an american ship with an american crew and then go to puerto rico, making cars cost 40% more on the island and groceries 21% more. which is a source of that old puerto rican proverb, you have lost your mofungo mind. some people i imagine are for puerto rico being its own country. what do those people say and what's the argument against that?

>> all our numbers show this more than 90% of the people in puerto rico value their u.s. citizenship. more than 90% of the people want to vote for the president of the united states. it's become a political argument on how you get to that point. the reality is that texas has a bigger independence movement than puerto rico does. so, you need to look at the numbers. >> i feel like it's the movement for statehood for puerto rico, to pick up traction, i can imagine people in the center of the state saying it's going to screw up the flag. >> well, we solved that. we already have a 51-star flag. >> is there? >> that's right. >> it looks nicer. >> it does. >> all our friends, we're going to upgrade the flag. >> the flag's getting an upgrade. i like that. it's time for an upgrade. a refresh of the brand. if that doesn't work straight up nba trade puerto rico for texas. a straight-up trade.

i'm fine with that. texas can be its own nation, we get puerto rico. i like coming here better. it's a win-win situation. >> evens it out. >> straight up trade, yeah. thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. by the way, if you are wondering how badly that 51st star would screw up the flag, you're looking at it. didn't even notice, did you? the? i'm a lightning rod. waiting to protect your home from a lightning strike. it's my new years resolution. whatever. can you get my plane? yeah, i don't do planes. i just do lightning. ♪ a farmer's market.ve what's in this kiester. a fire truck. even a marching band. and if i can get comfortable talking about this kiester, then you can get comfortable using preparation h. for any sort of discomfort in yours. preparation h. get comfortable with it.

♪ ever since i arrived in puerto rico, i've been looking forward to talking with people in the afro-puerto rican community. theirs is an identity that's unique among american black folk. while there were, of course, many people who were enslaved on the island, the majority of africans who came to puerto rico before the 20th century were free. and since then, afro puerto ricos have settled all over the island. but the town of louisa is keeping the island's rich blend of african, spanish and native culture alive. and a great example of that cultural blend is the tradition.

each year in loiza, they have a festival featuring these characters. raul is legendary in the community for making the masks. >> in the spanish tradition, remember, it represents the moors. because the moors invaded spain for eight centuries. that was a time of war between them and they tried to get them out. >> okay. they didn't like them for two reasons. you'usm and you'reot our people. >> uh-huh. >> they use a grotesque mask and costume with wings because the spaniard had to represent the moors in a bad way for them. and here in loiza, they make all the masks for the vigilantes. >> the masks have a long history. back in spain in the 1500s, they had festivals celebrating the defeat of the black muslim moors by the white christian spanish. and the characters would represent the scary, dark

invaders. when the tradition came to puerto rico, it meaning completely switched. as the tiano culture added the more elaborate masks and the africans added drum music, the character then began to represent straight and defiance of colonial rule. it went from representing white people kicking out black people to a sign of black people's strength. kind of like "la la land" beat "moonlight" at the oscars, then "moonlight" said not so fast, gosling. >> so, this is one of the masks that they use. and it is made in coconut. i have here the whole process. >> okay. >> once you select the coconut with the machete, have to cut it -- >> oh, wow. >> ow. so you have to go -- like bring down. >> and one it's this way, i have to clean it in the way that you can put your face. >> okay. >> this is too short. >> need a bigger coconut. >> yes. >> you do that with this in with this? with those knives you turn this

to this? >> yes. >> wow. >> once it's ready, i paint it like this. >> wow. >> and we have another heritage. we combine this festival with another typical afro puerto rican music. and we want to show you, to dance bamba with us. >> okay, i'll do my best. >> bamba. >> bamba. >> bamba. >> bamba puerto rican. >> okay. ♪ ♪ >> i have never danced so long, so hard, in such high heat in

all my life. in fact, i only forced the producers to show this much of the dance because it almost killed me. ♪ woo! >> you like it? >> i think i speak bamba maybe worse than i speak spanish. and i don't speak spanish that well. but thank you. after the dance, raul introduced me to my new best friend, pitoro. cheers. gracias. woo! oh, there we go. now, it's coming in. start up the drums again. i was in puerto rico and i got to try puerto rican moonshine is what they call it. it's not really moonshine, but that's what we call things when we're not familiar with them. and i can't describe the taste. how can i describe it? it's kind of like what you think if you could drink a marvin gaye song.

that's what it tastes like. ♪ baby, i'm hot just like an oven ♪ ♪ come on, come on, come on, come on ♪ we offer our price match guarantee too. and if that's not enough... we should move. our home team will help you every step of the way. still not enough? it's smaller than i'd like. we'll help you finance your dream home. it's perfect. oh, was this built on an ancient burial ground? okay... then we'll have her cleanse your house of evil spirits. we'll do anything, (spiritual chatter) seriously anything to help you get your home. ally. do it right. to help you get your home. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. this is dave, his dog cooper, we sell socks.

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i'm meeting back up with indrid, who knows the town of loiza well. and she's agreed to take me to her local spots. you spiked my coconut. >> i know. it has a spike of whiskey. that's very islander to do. you have your hammock, you have your palm trees and the coconut. you have your machete and your whiskey and you're done. >> you don't have to buy the coconut. you go down to the beach and take advantage of nature. >> it takes some work. you can also cross over here and buy it. >> that's what i would do. if i scale the tree to get a coconut, it would be the emergency room. and machete seems like i would end up in a bad place, too. cheers? in the name of the father, the son -- >> seems like that. but not really.

>> so, where are we now? >> this is loiza. it's a community that's mostly black dominated. we puerto rican have indian, spaniard and also african heritage. you see someone like me with lighter skin but still bronze. someone darker, more like you. and then, have redheads. you can see absolutely everything here. >> tell me. do you think there's the same color thing that happens in the states? you know, sometimes, how there's -- how do i say this? disputes? >> i haven't had discrimination. but beauty pageants, most of the girls that win the beauty pageants, they have the lighter skin. even though we have dark skin. they participate and range in the finalists but don't necessarily win. it's been the real pale girls that have. but let's say it was a surprise

to some people because locally she didn't get as much support. >> and she's darker skinned? >> yeah. internationally they didn't think she would be good. >> oh, we think you're great. but we don't know if they going to think you're great, so we should get somebody with lighter skin because that's what they like. can i see a picture? in the states we would call her light skinned. >> she's not that dark, but she's still black. when she won internationally, she was like, now you're accepting. >> oh, yeah. don't forget i'm black now. [ siren ] just then, we started hearing sirens. and i thought, oh, no, my perfect image of puerto rico is going to be ruined. but that's not what was happening, thank you, black jesus. i was seeing an asalta.

i thought it was going to be a bliss ambulance. this is intense. >> you can see, a lot of noise, music, color. ♪ they will go from house-to-house, unannounced, in the middle of the night. and you will wake them up. after that house, you go to another house. and you keep gathering people. and it's hundreds of people. >> and people are okay with that? >> they love it. they are gathering for their class. they're seniors. ♪ dancing. >> i thought i was dancing. >> that's perfect timing. ♪

>> why am i doing this? ♪ what am i doing? ♪ okay. this is the second time i've danced in this episode. and despite what you might think, i'm not a great dancer and i know it. but i loved puerto rico so much, i couldn't help myself. but this is the good kind of not being able to help yourself because unfortunately many people had helped themselves to too much puerto rico. and that's what has left puerto rico in the bad financial state it is in. and that sucks because this place is truly incredible. and since they are, at least for now, americans, they deserve all of our help. and while we're at it, let them vote. there's nowhere else in this country that is as beautiful, friendly and just generally

awesome as puerto rico. but don't take it from me. go see puerto rico for yourself. you don't even need a passport. for now. one of the greatest experiences of my life just happened. my marriage, my first daughter, my second daughter and whatever that was, the bamba, four greatest experiences of my life. >> you got carried away. >> i literally got carried away. they pulled me into the proud. >> welcome to puerto rico. warm. music. food. >> yeah. and now, that. >> we're glad you joined us. >> thank you. and my hips. >> they won't stop shaking. >> yeah. ♪ ♪ ♪

who here has been to appalachia or from appalachia? let's see. i feel like people didn't clap. they just put their hands up. i don't want everybody to know. appalachia has a stigma on it. it's a very poor area of the country. it's also -- it's like the poorest white area in the country. in appalachia, not only is it poor, it's also in a very remote part of the country that it's hard to get to and isolated because it's in the mountains, which basically makes it the only poor neighborhood in america to never get gentrified. not enough subway trains go there. they will be poor forever because it's like they can't get there. does that make you sad?