- [Destinee] Wepa!?
What did you just have me say?
(Upbeat Latin music)
My grandmother is full Puerto Rican,
like from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
My dad is half Puerto Rican,
which makes me a fourth Puerto Rican.
So, I was like,
"Am I appropriating too far out?"
Going to doctor's visits where they be like,
"check the box on if you are black or if you're Hispanic."
I was like, "Do I check both?"
And my mom be like, "Nah, you're black."
I'm like, "Okay!"
And so, I always kind of felt like I was Puerto Rican,
but wasn't Puerto Rican enough to claim being Puerto Rican.
So, being a military kid you're kind of,
for lack of a better word, exiled.
I remember my grandmother coming around,
and she was in our lives and a part of our lives,
but, again, just being military and always moving
and relocating and then with her getting older
she just couldn't make those trips like that anymore.
Which is really unfortunate,
especially because she recently passed
and I just assumed that I had all this time to
learn about the culture and the Puerto Rican
side of the family and before I knew it,
she wasn't here to share those
stories or experiences with me.
So, I'm here to live my best Puerto Rican life.
I'm gonna learn the language,
the food, the dance, the culture,
the full shebang.
(laughs loudly)
- [Destinee] I have.
(Upbeat Latin music)
- [Ivan] Hola Destinee, como estas?
- [Destinee] Hola!
(cheek kissing sounds)
- [Ivan] So the first thing I want you to
know are slang.
Puerto Ricans love shortening words.
Puerto Ricans love cutting letters
and stuff like that so Acho derives from
muchacho but then Acho is used more like
a reaction to things.
If a party if canceled and you're like
Acho! - [Destinee] Acho!
- [Ivan] Argarete!
If you get too lit? - [Destinee] Argarete.
- [Ivan] But the all time favorite.
- [Destinee] I think it's a bad word.
- [Ivan] It's a bad word,
we might have to bleep it.
Say it!
- [Destinee] Puneta - (exclamatory happy sound)
- [Destinee] Oh whatchu got me out here saying?
- [Ivan] You felt that! - [Destinee] I felt it!
- [Ivan] You felt that word! - [Destinee] I felt it.
- [Ivan] Okay. This literally means -
(crickets chirping)
I don't even know what it means.
(Destinee laughs loudly)
- [Ivan] Cause we use a lot of words for good
situations and bad situations.
Five minutes in you're like happy
and you say "Puneta!" and then
five minutes later you're like "Puneta."
Now we're getting to this.
- [Destinee] Que es la que hay?
- [Ivan] Uh huh
- [Destinee] What is something today?
- [Ivan] Que es la que hay? But that
just means "what's up?"
- [Destinee] Wow!
- [Ivan] So let's just reenact.
We're walking.
De Ti!
- [Destinee] Que es la que hay?
Oh that was all over the place. (laughs)
- [Ivan] This word got famous when our new icon
Bad Bunny - - [Destinee] Yes
- [Ivan] became a sensation.
(angelic music)
I feel like you're ready for the next step.
- [Destinee] Ooh
- [Ivan] I give you a solid "A".
- [Ivan] When you don't feel like
- [Destinee] Estamo bien
- [Ivan] you're talking Puerto Rican,
just start cutting down words.
You can even say cancel that "E" "S"
and you're like "Tamo bien".
- [Destinee] Tamo bien. (laughs loudly)
(Upbeat Latin music)
- [Destinee] Hey!
(exclamatory noises)
We're getting Puerto Rican food!
Ooohh!
- [Ivan] I mean you said you've never had
Mofongo and that's like iconic.
You have to try Mofongo.
(upbeat Latin music)
- [Destinee] Hey! - [AC] Hi welcome!
- [Destinee] Que es la que hay?
- [AC] Bienvenido!
Monfongo's been here ten years.
Right now only brick and mortar
Puerto Rican restaurant in
Los Angeles county. - [Ivan] Nice
- [Destinee] So I'm new to the whole shebang
so can y'all bless me on what
is Mofongo?
- [AC] Well the Mofongo which is made
with green plantains and by the way
there's a lot of different versions
of this type of dish.
We take green plantain, you soften it
up here, we do it in the deep fryer.
We smash it up with chicharon and
garlic and then make it into like a bowl
and stuff it with meat.
- [Destinee] We're on a good train here, we
got something going.
I'm excited!
(slapping table)
I'm ready to devour this food.
- [Ivan] What are you the most excited to try?
- [Destinee] All of it.
(Exclamatory noises)
(Waitress describing dishes in Spanish)
(More exclamatory sounds) - [Ivan] Thank you!
So these are the Tostonos - [Destinee] Uh huh
- [Ivan] those are the little plantain discs
that are crispy that I was - - [Destinee] Yeah
- [Ivan] telling you about.
Arroz con gandules.
- [Destinee] Mofongo!
- [Ivan] One and only iconic Mofongo.
(content exclamation)
- [Destinee] Pigeon peas - [Ivan] Yep. Salud!
- [Destinee] My Grandmother made this, this I remember.
- [Ivan] Really? - [Destinee] Yes!
This I remember. - [Ivan] Wow!
- [Destinee] Yea I've had this.
- [Ivan] I got goosebumps from that.
- [Destinee] Wow, oh I'm not gonna cry.
I'm not gonna cry.
(Inaudible words and laughter)
- [Ivan] Salud. - [Destinee] Salud.
Oh yeah, usually I'm a very
textured eater. - [Ivan] Wow.
- [Destinee] But this does not mess with me at all.
And now I'm blessed.
- [Ivan] Hashtag bendicito
(angelic music)
- [Destinee] Happy girl, happy happy girl.
- [AC] How's the food Destinee? Good?
- [Destinee] Amazing, amazing.
The rice almost made me cry.
- [AC] We wanted to thank you for
stopping by.
We want to give you - - (celebratory exclamations)
- [AC] A honorary Puerto Rican
fanny pack.
- [Destinee] Thank you I appreciate it.
- [AC] No problem, thank you for coming.
Got it? (laughing)
- [Destinee] Yeah we gonna come back later.
(Upbeat Latin music)
- [Ivan] Yeah so we're seeing Maritxell Carrero.
She's been doing Bomba dancing for
years now and I'm super excited
because Bomba is such a cultural dance.
- [Destinee] Well I'm black so I have rhythm.
- [Ivan] Let's go Bomba dancing!
- [Destinee] Bomba dancing!
(Percussion upbeat music)
(exclamatory sounds)
- [Maritxell] Wepa!
- [Destinee] Wepa! Que es la que hay?
(Maritxell responds in Spanish)
- [Destinee] What was the name of that again?
- [Maritxell] Bomba. - [Everyone Else] Bomba!
- [Maritxell] Bomba Puerta Ricana.
It's our (inaudible Spanish words).
It portrays the history back to our
people that were enslaved.
Our African people that migrated from
Africa and brought in slave
by colonization.
And out of this pain and this suffering
our beautiful music, our beautiful
expression of power and dignity
and love.
And this is oral tradition, we learn it
from other people who teach us, elders.
So we carry that tradition with us.
- [Ivan] Have fun, enjoy and Bomba!
- [Destinee] Bomba! - [Maritxell] Okay wow!
(Percussion music)
First we start by recognizing the rhythm.
That is the Seis Corrido.
Right? So first thing I would like you
to do is just feel it.
Go as you move side to side, I feel
like you can get it.
She had a fear she wasn't Puerto
Rican, look at those hips! (Laughs)
She is following the basic rhythm.
He is called the Primo, he is going to
mark every movement that you make.
(Upbeat percussion music)
- [Destinee] Can I come out of this?
- [Maritxell] Ba, ba, ba.
And one!
Okay so because this is Bomba crash course.
- [Destinee] Yeah.
- [Maritxell] So I have to let you use the falda,
you have to use your falda.
- [Destinee] Ooh What is a falda?
- [Maritxell] So la falda, we have -
(Ivan makes presentational sounds)
- [Maritxell] Thank you, thank you.
(Upbeat percussion music)
This one is going to be the basic step.
Right, left, one two three four.
You got it baby, you got it, you don't even -
- [Destinee] I can do the basics.
- [Maritxell] There you go.
You see?
Uh huh.
Left, Right.
Left, Right, Right.
Then we say goodbye, turn out your arm
and then we leave in basic step.
(laughter and clapping)
- [Destinee] Wow, oh my goodness, a real
crash course.
- [Ivan] Wow I was sweating for you.
- [Destinee] This was so awesome, there was just
so many intricate parts and I feel like
it was a part of the culture
just watching you.
- [Maritxell] Now I challenge you to go
back to Puerto Rico to really feel it
because here we are doing the best we
can to carry Puerto Rico inside our blood
and our veins and our teachings and whatever.
But you gotta go there,
you gotta go to the source.
- [Destinee] I do.
I know I'm all sweaty and gross but can
we get a hug in here.
(Everyone proclaiming in confirmation)
Thanks y'all! (inaudible words)
(upbeat Latin music)
- [Destinee] Woo!
Wepa!
I don't know if you can tell but literally
from the jump I was like this.
Wow like this has been just a day of experience
and a crash course in being Boriqua.
I know that this is going to go beyond
just this video.
And it was so cool like letting these people
know like why I was on this journey and
everybody being so welcoming and so
enthusiastic for me.
It's undoing life long inner battle
with myself of "Am I Puerto Rican enough
to be considered Puerto Rican?"
Is it denying my black side if I say
I'm Puerto Rican?
And it's like you can be both and
literally everybody I met on this journey
was like "You can be both."
When I first got to Buzzfeed I did a video
with Curly about like things all Latina kids
hear from their parents.
And we showed it to my grandmother
while she was sick in bed and she
didn't have much energy but she was
able to get a smile and a chuckle out
of that video.
And so I know from her watching above that
she is like "At least you're trying mira,
at least you're trying."
(Upbeat music)