Justice for Lorenzo

The mysterious death of an 8-year old boy, Lorenzo González, has been the topic of conversation on the island since his murder on March 9th. Tremendous sadness and consternation over this latest incident has led to the creation of Justicia para Lorenzo, a Facebook page, demanding for the perpetrators of this crime to be brought to justice. The police do not have any official suspects yet. The events leading up to the night of this little boy's murder remain largely unknown. However, it was his mother who brought him to the hospital. She allegedly claimed that he had fallen off his bed. Law enforcement authorities immediately discarded this theory, as the boy had severe wounds on his body. Forensics experts say they were produced by a sharp object.

Some of the details which have emerged from the case include the alleged visits of two men at the home of Lorenzo's mother during the night of the murder, and the finding of a pipe with signs of crack in it. Lorenzo's parents, whom are separated, have chosen two completely different paths in dealing with law enforcement authorities. The mother has remained silent, while the father has been cooperative. In an island where there is little faith in the local judicial system, people are demanding and pressuring law enforcement officials to act prudently and swiftly in solving this case. This murder has really struck many people's hearts and has everyone wondering what happened during that fateful night. Strangely enough, this story has not attracted much media attention outside of Puerto Rico. A peaceful march has been scheduled for tomorrow, March 21st, in memory of Lorenzo González.

Update (4/20/10): Ana Cacho, the mother of Lorenzo, has plead her innocence in an interview with a local radio station. Law enforcement officials have not officially named any suspects. The former secretary of the Dept. of Justice of Puerto Rico is part of Ana Cacho's legal team.

Update (9/19/10): A private detective contracted by Lorenzo's mother, Ana Cacho, wrote a book detailing the investigation of the murder. The book, titled “El caso Lorenzo: Desde mi Punto de Vista” (translation: "The Lorenzo Case: From My Point of View"), was written by Milton Rodríguez. Despite Ana Cacho's attempt to prevent its publication, a judge ruled in favor of the the author claiming freedom of speech. Meanwhile, the case remains unresolved.

(Image above obtained from Justicia para Lorenzo)

Obesity in Numbers

The cover of this past Saturday's edition of the island's most widely read newspaper, El Nuevo Día, read "Cada día más gordos" (translation: "Everyday more Fat People"). The title of the main article was "Una isla de obesos" (translation: "An Island of the Obese"). The rhetoric sounds dramatic and unsophisticated for a major news publication, but it paints an accurate picture of the situation we face on the island. Here are some alarming statistics published in the article:

• 80% of Puerto Rico's population will be obese in 2040
• 42% of Puerto Rico's population currently obese or in danger of being obese
• 32% of children in Puerto Rico who are 4 to 22 months old who are obese

Exact details of how and when this study was conducted were not provided. However, the source of these statistics is said to be from a local health organization, Alianza para Niños y Jóvenes Saludables, Activos y Bien Nutridos. I've written about this issue before in an earlier blog post, in which I came across a different set of statistics. Regardless of the discrepancies in these figures, obesity is now considered to be an epidemic problem on the island.

Eating healthy is difficult and costly in Puerto Rico, as I've also mentioned in a previous post. Purchasing fruit and vegetables can be quite expensive, as the island imports most of its foodstuffs. Fast food chains are cheap and pervasive. Furthermore, if the island had more green, open areas for people to walk, run or bike, I believe it would motivate people to lead more active lifestyles. Unfortunately, the local government has not done enough to raise awareness of the obesity problem. With a sinking health care system, the island cannot afford to have an ailing population.

(Image above obtained from El Nuevo Día)

My Passion for Travel

Just came back from the Big Apple with my special someone, and in just a few weeks, I'll be heading across the Atlantic for a 10-day adventure with my aunt. Although I can be quite a homebody, I love to travel! I've been to Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, China), Europe (the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy), the United Kingdom, Central (Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala) and South America (Peru), Canada, the Caribbean (St. Maarten and St. Thomas). This world is full of beautiful places and I've been very fortunate to have had some incredible experiences.

For the past few months, I've been religiously following my cousin's travel blog. She, along with her husband and their two small boys, have been traveling throughout Europe and Asia for the past few months. Anyone who thinks having kids means having to give up your freedom to travel, think again! In fact, I think it's a wonderful idea for kids to travel abroad. When my brother and I were merely adolescents, my parents took us to Hong Kong and China to visit their homeland. Although my memories are quite patchy, I did come away with the knowledge of cultural differences and I do still remember the ubiquitous red taxi cabs and the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. As a college student, during my study abroad semester in London, I was able to travel throughout Europe. As a result of my adventures, and interacting with others from different cultures, I grew to appreciate the beauty of languages. Traveling also reaffirms my belief in our common fate as a global community.

Just as I'm a lifelong student, I hope to be a lifelong traveler. It's mind-boggling how only 27% of Americans possessed a passport in 2007, according to the State Department. Traveling is a true love of mine. I can think of nobody else but Pico Iyer who sums it up beautifully in the following quote:

“I take very seriously the sense of our living these days in a global neighborhood. And the first sensible thing to do in such circumstances, as well as one of the most rewarding things, is to go and meet the neighbors, find out who they are, and what they think and feel. So travel for me is an act of discovery and of responsibility as well a grand adventure and a constant liberation.”

(Photos from top to bottom were taken at marketplaces from the Netherlands, Guatemala, and Japan).

Census 2010

For the past few weeks, I've been both hearing and seeing ads with the following slogan: "Con el censo avanzamos todos." (Translation: "With the Census we all Advance.") Unbelievably, the time has arrived for another Census, which is required by the U.S Constitution to take place every 10 years. This applies to households in the mainland U.S and Puerto Rico. According to a letter we received from the Census Bureau, we should be receiving our questionnaire sometime this month. The primary objective of the Census is to measure the demographics of the country. These numbers would then help the government allocate resources to each of the states, as well as Puerto Rico, based on the number of inhabitants in each area. In addition, the Census also helps determine the number of representatives each of the 50 states would be allowed to send to the House of Representatives.

For obvious political and economic reasons, the Census is a tremendously important event. Although Puerto Rico, due to its territorial status, is not represented in the lower house of the U.S Congress, the island does heavily depends on federal funding. Unsurprisingly, there has been an agressive advertising campaign here on the island to urge people to participate in the Census. Here are some of the results from the Census 2000 of Puerto Rico:

Population: 3.8 million inhabitants (Male: 48.1%, Female: 51.9%)
Race: White-80.5%, Black-8%, Asian-0.2%, Other- 11%)
Hispanic- 98.8% (Puerto Rican-95.1%, Cuban-0.5%, Other Hispanic or Latino-2.8%)
As the Dominican population in Puerto Rico is quite large, I would be surprised if Census 2010 fails to mention this important group again. On the other hand, as many Dominicans on the island are illegal immigrants, an accurate count of this group may be hard to obtain.

(Image above obtained from the U.S Census Bureau).