Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
At least 80 dead, 11 girls from camp still missing after catastrophic flooding in Texas. Read the latest Chevron right
Chantal bringing flooding in North Carolina. Get details Chevron right

Columbus, OH

77°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

77°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Lin-Manuel Miranda ignites artistic revolution in Puerto Rico in wake of hurricane devastation

By Manuel Crespo Feliciano, Accuweather en Español staff writer

Published Apr 8, 2019 1:38 PM EDT | Updated Sep 4, 2019 4:24 PM EDT

Copied

A Puerto Rican-born superstar brings the show he created to help rebuild the arts on the island his family calls home.

After the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in September 2017, there are those who are sure that the development of the arts is the best vehicle for transformation and empowerment of the most marginalized communities.

For years, the only references to the island on the international level seemed to be made by the artists who proudly carried the flag of Puerto Rico in all corners of the world. Artists and celebrities like Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Moreno, Benicio del Toro, among others, seemed to be the true face of the island.

However, very little has made it into the news and pop culture about daily life there and the challenges faced by thousands of Puerto Ricans every day: a fragile energy system; poor access to health services; and a history of unjust social divisions.

RELATED:

How a Puerto Rican community found relief in Maria’s wake through solidarity and self-management
The ‘sin techos’: The harsh reality of living without safe housing in Puerto Rico 1 year after Maria
AccuWeather donates weather station to the American Meteorological Society chapter in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, an island in the middle of the Caribbean that has been a colony of the United States since 1898, contrasts abound.

The place where one can enjoy dinner in a fine restaurant overlooking the sea, savoring a delicious mofongo with fresh fish, is also a place that makes for troubling headlines in local newspapers telling stories of the problems of criminality, mismanagement of finances and corruption.

Walking through the streets of Old San Juan on a Sunday afternoon, you might contemplate the beauty of the capital city and, suddenly, find yourself looking right at a whole row of businesses that have closed as a result of the economic crisis.

And so on. There are many other cases that show how on a surface of 100 by 35 miles, realities -- not unlike those of any other country -- that exemplify the depth of the country's social and economic problems.

Maria aftermath - Puerto Rico

Jose Garcia Vicente walks through rubble of his destroyed home in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Hurricane Maria had a devastating impact on the 3.4 million residents of Puerto Rico when it roared over the island in September 2017. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives as a result of the hurricane, and more than 135,000 Puerto Ricans migrated to the continental U.S. in the aftermath of the storm. It is estimated that the figure could reach half a million people by the end of 2019.

The catastrophe also helped to raise awareness of pre-existing problems such as the fact that half of the Puerto Rican population lived below the poverty line (the highest poverty rate of any U.S. state or territory), and the lack of planning and preparation for extreme storms in an area very prone to natural disasters.

Hamilton, grafitti and the path of the umbrellas

Looking to the future, and although the outlook could be uninspiring, there are those who bet on one of the most significant attractions of the island to help build a better country: Art.

Below, AccuWeather presents three stories that show how resilient Puerto Ricans are rebuilding the country through art:

Lin-Manuel Miranda and how Hamilton raised $14 million for the arts

Lin Manuel Miranda Puerto Rico

Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer and creator of the award-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton, proudly waves a Puerto Rican flag after receiving a standing ovation at the end of the play's premiere held at the Santurce Fine Arts Center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

Puerto Rican celebrity Lin-Manuel Miranda helped raise more than $14 million for the arts on the island with the staging of the smash hit musical "Hamilton" in January this year.

According to the Fortune media, the Tony Award-winner, together with the Flamboyán Foundation, created an economic fund with the intention of promoting the arts on the island and to help artistic groups recover after the hurricane.

"The purpose of this production is to bring funding to the island and help with the recovery. Lin has been very hands on since the hurricane in basic recovery, but then I realized that recovery has been going to infrastructure and arts are the last thing to get attended," Puerto Rican actor Rick Negrón, who was part of the musical, told AccuWeather in an interview.

"There is a generation here that has been left behind in education and he (Lin) is investing in that now. It's a wonderful thing. There is so much talent on this island, there has always been. And to give them the support, is a way to give them back, to the youth and to the country," added Negrón.

In addition to the funds raised by the staging of "Hamilton," organizations such as Marriott International, Banco Popular, JetBlue, Evertech, Wend Ventures, Churches Chicken, AirBnB, and the Warner brothers, donated nearly $200,000 to bolster the art community on the island.

In Santurce, art is law

Grafitti Puerto Rico

"San Chullo" is a piece of art created after Hurricane Maria by artist thestencilnetwork, inspired by "corrupt politicians and disaster capitalists". (Instagram/thestencilnetwork)

For years, Serra Street in Santurce, a neighborhood that is situated in the heart of San Juan and was long an abandoned place, plunged into poverty. It borders Residencial Luis Llorens Torres, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the capital city, but also is just a stone's throw from Condado, which is one of the city's most upscale neighborhoods. Now, it is an international benchmark for street art and community transformation through art.

It all started when artist Angel Bousquet opened a gallery in 2009 with the idea of exhibiting his art and providing a space for other local artists to do the same.

With the passage of time, the economy in the community began to grow. People sold their products, more restaurants opened and more people became interested in what happened there.

"People began feeling empowered by saying 'I live in Serra Street, where art is happening'," Bousquet told AccuWeather.

After the hurricane, the Santurce es Ley project has been painting streets with a fresh nuance, seeking to tell the story of those who survived the disaster.

"We need more art, more culture; We need to tell how we survived the hurricane. This project gave us strength to rebuild our community. Through art, it gave us hope to do more and more," he said.

According to the artist, the pieces are mostly of a symbolic nature and deal with issues such as the corruption of local and federal agencies, the appropriation of spaces that belong to Puerto Ricans, and the lack of access to resources such as education and equality.

First lady of Puerto Rico aims to "make people dream again"

53160665_608978059514275_1608023715696587841_n.jpg

Governor Ricardo Roselló and First Lady Beatriz Roselló pose under the iconic street, located in Calle Fortaleza in Old San Juan. (Instagram/ beatrizisabelrossello)

The first lady of Puerto Rico, Beatriz Rosselló, has an additional mission after the passage of Maria: to turn the tourist zone of San Juan into a more attractive place by making it space full of art for those who visit the capital city.

One of the most striking initiatives she has undertaken is "El Paseo de las Sombrillas" (The Umbrella Path), located in Fortaleza Street in Old San Juan.

"I saw those umbrellas in Portugal and in Spain and I was like, 'I need to bring that feeling to Puerto Rico and make people dream again.' We needed to bring happiness to our people. We needed to let them know that no matter what happened, we are going to stand up and be stronger," explained the first lady.

Rosselló said that on some weekends, about 50,000 people visit the tourist attraction to take pictures, an influx that fosters the local economy.

In collaboration with the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico and other government agencies, the first lady intends to continue her work of spreading art throughout the island.

"We are putting art everywhere, art with meaning," said Roselló. "Something that makes people feel something.

Listen to AccuWeather reporter Jonathan Petramala and AccuWeather and AccuWeather en Español's journalist Manuel Crespo Feliciano, discuss their experience covering the special series "Puerto Rico: The Art of Recovery":

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

At least 80 dead in Texas, 11 girls at Camp Mystic missing in flooding

Jul. 6, 2025
video

Rescue operations underway after deadly Texas flooding

Jul. 6, 2025
video

What led to the deadly flooding in central Texas?

Jul. 6, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather News

At least 80 dead in Texas, 11 girls at Camp Mystic missing in flooding

11 hours ago

Hurricane

Chantal moving farther inland after making landfall in South Carolina

2 hours ago

Weather News

Severe weather to storm through Plains, Upper Midwest this week

16 minutes ago

Severe Weather

Storms kill 3 in New Jersey, knock out power across Northeast

2 days ago

Weather Forecasts

Heat, humidity return to the East

2 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Weather News

Wildfires are tearing through a popular tourist hotspot in Greece

2 days ago

Weather News

‘Shark Whisperer’ swims its way into our shark obsession

2 days ago

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

5 days ago

Weather News

France leads Europe in saying au revoir to beach and park smoking

3 days ago

Health

There is no safe amount of processed meat to eat, new research shows

3 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Lin-Manuel Miranda ignites artistic revolution in Puerto Rico in wake of hurricane devastation
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...