Episodes - Chronicles & Cocktails

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Ep94 October 12: Columbus, a Pope, Utuado & the Date That Connects Them

One date connects a voyage that changed the world, the founding of my hometown, and a visit I remember from childhood.

We follow October 12 through Columbus’s arrival in the Americas ...in 1492, Utuado’s founding in 1739, and Pope John Paul II’s visit to Puerto Rico in 1984—with a Martinez cocktail along the way.

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesandCocktails
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
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Josué is a Puerto Rican researcher, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
YouTube Audio Library
Agnus Dei X - Bitter Suite by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Agnus-Dei-X/dp/B00QGC7W3Y

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

BOOKS & RESOURCES

Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide: How to Mix All Kinds of Plain and Fancy Drinks
https://amzn.to/3VISyyO

Historias en la Historia de Utuado — Josué Vázquez Cruz.

Sebastián de Morfi: Nuevos datos del fundador de Utuado — Josué Vázquez Cruz:
https://www.academia.edu/108656933/Sebastian_de_Morfi_Nuevos_datos_del_fundador_de_Utuado

HISTORICAL SOURCES

• El Mundo, October 13, 1984, pages 1–10: contemporary coverage of John Paul II’s visit to Puerto Rico.

• Columbus’s first-voyage journal, preserved through Bartolomé de las Casas’s transcription and abridgment:
https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/111columbus.html

• Library of Congress — Christopher Columbus: Man and Myth:
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/1492/columbus.html

• Library of Congress — Columbus and the Taíno:
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/exploring-the-early-americas/columbus-and-the-taino.html

• Alfred W. Crosby on the Columbian Exchange — Smithsonian:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/alfred-w-crosby-on-the-columbian-exchange-98116477/

• EnciclopediaPR — Municipio de Utuado:
https://enciclopediapr.org/content/municipio-de-utuado/

• Vatican — John Paul II’s homily in Puerto Rico, October 12, 1984:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/es/homilies/1984/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19841012_messa-puerto-rico.html

• Vatican — Address to Puerto Rico’s clergy, October 12, 1984:
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/es/speeches/1984/october/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19841012_clero-porto-rico.html

• Martinez cocktail history — Difford’s Guide:
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1264/martinez-diffords-recipe

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Ep94 October 12: Columbus, a Pope, Utuado & the Date That Connects Them

One date connects a voyage that changed the world, the founding of my ...

Ep93 Puerto Rico’s 78 Municipalities: Biggest, Smallest & Strangest 🇵🇷

Puerto Rico has 78 municipalities—but no two are exactly alike. Which ...

Puerto Rico has 78 municipalities—but no two are exactly alike.

Which municipality is the largest? Which is the smallest? Which municipal town sits highest in the mountains? Which has the most ...barrios, the most neighboring municipalities, the fewest residents or the greatest number of reservoirs?

In this episode of Chronicles & Cocktails, we travel across the map of Puerto Rico to uncover geographical records, historic firsts and some genuinely strange municipal curiosities. We explore everything from Caguana and Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent waters to unusual town names, ancient settlements, communications history, local spirits and the municipalities located at the island’s extreme points.

For the size rankings, I use U.S. Census land area. This includes the islands and cays belonging to each municipality, but excludes surrounding municipal waters—an important distinction when comparing places such as Culebra and Florida.

🍹 THE COCKTAIL

Palo Viejo Blanco with mandarin juice—a simple and refreshing drink that takes me back to Utuado: the countryside, family gatherings and domino games.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES:

• U.S. Census Bureau — QuickFacts, 2020 Census Gazetteer Files and TIGER/Line municipal geographic data
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/
https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2020/geo/gazetter-file.html

• Junta de Planificación de Puerto Rico — Mapa de Municipios y Barrios de Puerto Rico, Resolución JP-2023-340
https://www.jp.pr.gov/resoluciones-especiales/jp-2023-340-mapa

• Instituto de Estadísticas de Puerto Rico — Census and municipal profiles
https://censo.estadisticas.pr/

• Rafael Torrech San Inocencio, Los barrios de Puerto Rico (1999)

• United States Geological Survey — Puerto Rico geographic, hydrologic and elevation data
https://www.usgs.gov/

• EnciclopediaPR — Municipal histories, geography, barrios, reservoirs and cultural references
https://enciclopediapr.org/

• National Park Service and National Register of Historic Places — Historic and archaeological sites
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/

• Discover Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico’s bioluminescent bays and municipal destinations
https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/

• Official producer information, product labels and historical materials from Destilería Serrallés, Cervecera de Puerto Rico, Bacardí Puerto Rico, Bravada Vodka, Buka Whisky/One Caribbean Spirits and Lebrón Distillery.

Some historic “first” claims vary among municipal histories and contemporary accounts. Where the surviving evidence is incomplete or disputed, the episode identifies the claim as reported or contested rather than presenting it as absolute fact.

#PuertoRico #Municipalities #ChroniclesAndCocktails

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

🔗 Stay Conected:
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesandCocktails
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/chroniclesandcocktails
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
YouTube Audio Library

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Ep92 Why I Chose St. Michael as Our Patron Saint | Chronicles & Cocktails

For most of my life, Saint Michael the Archangel has represented ...

For most of my life, Saint Michael the Archangel has represented courage, protection, faith and the strength to stand against evil.

My connection to Saint Michael is spiritual, historical and deeply ...personal. I was raised Catholic, attended the fiestas patronales celebrated in his honor in my hometown of Utuado, and continued calling upon him throughout my adult life. Even the sword and shield tattooed on my arm represent the leader of the heavenly army.

In this special episode—released on September 29—I explore Saint Michael’s appearances in Scripture, his role as defender of God’s people, his symbols in Christian art and the meaning of his name: “Who is like God?”

I also reveal the redesigned Chronicles & Cocktails logo and officially name Saint Michael the Archangel as the patron saint and protector of this channel.

For the drink, I serve Cardenal Mendoza Brandy de Jerez neat—a Spanish brandy named for Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES:

Bible quotations: Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

Daniel 10:13 and 10:21
Daniel 12:1
Jude 1:9
Apocalypse/Revelation 12:7–12
https://www.drbo.org/

Douay-Rheims — Apocalypse, Chapter 12
https://www.drbo.org/chapter/73012.htm

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops — Revelation 12 and biblical commentary
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/12

Saint Michael’s College — “Who Is Saint Michael?”
https://www.smcvt.edu/about-smc/who-is-saint-michael/

Archdiocese of Toronto — “History of St. Michael the Archangel”
https://www.archtoronto.org/en/offices-and-ministries/sub-sites/feast-of-stmichael/home/historyofstmichaelthearchangel/

Cardenal Mendoza — Solera Gran Reserva
https://www.cardenalmendoza.com/es/brandy-de-jerez/cardenal-mendoza-solera-gran-reserva

Sánchez Romate — History of the House
https://www.romate.com/en/about-us/

Artwork and devotional photographs appearing in this episode were photographed by the host in Utuado, Boston, Madrid and France.

#SaintMichael #SaintMichaelTheArchangel #CatholicHistory #ChristianHistory #ChroniclesAndCocktails

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
YouTube Audio Library

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Ep91 Why Do Puerto Ricans Have Two Last Names? 🇵🇷

Why Do Puerto Ricans Have Two Last Names? 🇵🇷 Why do Puerto Ricans use ...

Why Do Puerto Ricans Have Two Last Names? 🇵🇷

Why do Puerto Ricans use two last names? The answer goes much deeper than simply taking one surname from each parent.

In this ...episode of Chronicles & Cocktails, we trace Puerto Rican surnames through old baptismal and marriage records, Spanish naming traditions, the Civil Registry, the Spanish Civil Code, compound surnames, and the surprising flexibility our ancestors once had with their family names.

And, of course, we'll make a cocktail along the way. 🥃

History. Culture. Puerto Rico. Salud! 🇵🇷

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

🔗 Stay Conected:
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesandCocktails
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/chroniclesandcocktails
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
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Sources & Further Reading

• Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía, Parroquia San Antonio Abad de Añasco: Libro Sexto de Bautismos (1774–1784) y Libro Séptimo de Bautismos (1784–1788), Colección de Genealogía e Historia, Tomo XVII.

• Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía, Libro Segundo de Matrimonios, Indistintos de Utuado, 1818–1840, Parroquia San Miguel Arcángel de Utuado, Colección de Genealogía e Historia, Tomo XV.

• Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía, Libro Parroquial Primero de Matrimonios de Personas Blancas de Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Hatillo, 1830–1846.

• Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía, La Emigración Isleño-Canaria a Puerto Rico: Siglos XVI al XX, Colección de Genealogía e Historia, Tomo XIII.

• Antonio Alfaro de Prado Sagrera, “El nacimiento del sistema oficial del doble apellido en España,” Hidalguía, no. 351 (2012), pp. 207–235.

• George R. Ryskamp, “The Intergenerational Transmission of Surnames in Spain and Latin America (1500–1900),” Journal of Family History.

• Ley Provisional del Registro Civil (Spain, 1870).

• Real Decreto of January 8, 1884, extending Spanish Civil Registry legislation to Puerto Rico and Cuba.

• Gaceta de Puerto-Rico, September 20, 1884 — documentation concerning implementation of Puerto Rico's Civil Registry.

• Reglamento para la ejecución de la Ley del Registro Civil en las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico (1884).

• Código Civil Español (1889), including Article 114 concerning the surnames of father and mother.

• Real Decreto of July 31, 1889, extending the Spanish Civil Code to Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines.

• Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, Santos Iglesias v. Lugo Oliveras (2023).

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Ep90 El Grito de Lares: What Really Happened in 1868?

El Grito de Lares: What Really Happened in 1868? - HISTORY OR MYTH? ...

El Grito de Lares: What Really Happened in 1868? - HISTORY OR MYTH?

Was Puerto Rico really a republic for six hours? Was the Lares flag Puerto Rico’s first? And who ...actually participated in the uprising?

In Episode 90 of Chronicles & Cocktails, we examine popular claims about El Grito de Lares through historical research and contemporary accounts—exploring what the evidence supports, what gets exaggerated, and what remains disputed.

At the bar: Patria Libre, my Old San Juan creation featuring aged rum and coconut water.

Subscribe for more history, culture, travel, and cocktails. ¡Salud!

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

🔗 Stay Conected:
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesandCocktails
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/chroniclesandcocktails
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

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Sources and further reading — Episode 90

Historical research

Laird W. Bergad. “Toward Puerto Rico’s Grito de Lares: Coffee, Social Stratification, and Class Conflicts, 1828–1868.” Hispanic American Historical Review 60, no. 4 (1980): 617–642.
Francisco Moscoso. La Revolución Puertorriqueña de 1868: El Grito de Lares. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 2003.
Francisco Moscoso. “Resistencia rebelde y represión militar del Grito de Lares, 1868.” Claridad, September 14, 2021.
Olga Jiménez de Wagenheim. El Grito de Lares: sus causas y sus hombres. Ediciones Huracán.
Joseph Harrison Flores. La identidad de Brazo de Oro (2023). See the Archivo Digital Nacional de Puerto Rico’s presentation of the investigation.

Contemporary accounts and documents

José Pérez Moris and Luis Cueto. Historia de la insurrección de Lares. Barcelona, 1872. Digitized edition, Library of Congress.
Gazeta de Puerto Rico: October 10, October 22, October 27, and November 12, 1868, page 1. Copies supplied for this episode.
New York Daily Herald: October 13, 1868, page 10; October 16, 1868, page 4. Copies supplied for this episode.

Flags, biographies, and comparative dates

U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. “The Historical Flag Project” and “The Grito de Lares Flag.”
Sociedad Española de Vexilología. “Banderas de matrícula: Reglamento de 1845.”
EnciclopediaPR. “Segundo Ruiz Belvis” and “Ramón Emeterio Betances.”
National Park Service. “Caparra Archeological Site” and “Historic Jamestowne: Frequently Asked Questions.”
National Archives. “Declaration of Independence, 1776” and “Treaty of Paris, 1783.”

Source note: The Spanish official reports and Pérez Moris’s account reflect opposition to the uprising. The Herald published conflicting reports, including information relayed from government sources. Harrison Flores’s flag-maker attribution is presented as a documented historical reinterpretation; the accessible summary was reviewed, rather than the complete book and its underlying archival files.

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Ep89 | My Favorite Puerto Rico Roads I Never Get Tired Of 🇵🇷

My Favorite Puerto Rico Roads I Never Get Tired Of 🇵🇷 Some roads are ...

My Favorite Puerto Rico Roads I Never Get Tired Of 🇵🇷

Some roads are more than a way to reach a destination. They carry memories, connect different chapters of our lives ...and sometimes tell us we are home before we even arrive.

Join me as I travel four of my favorite Puerto Rican routes:

PR-10 from Arecibo to Utuado
PR-165 from Levittown to Dorado
PR-52 from Cayey to Ponce
PR-2 from Quebradillas to Isabela

Along the way, we explore their history, Puerto Rico’s changing landscape and why these particular roads mean so much to me. We finish with a cold Medalla Light—after the driving is over—and the story behind the name of Puerto Rico’s national beer.

Which Puerto Rican road is your favorite?

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

Sources
National Park Service — Puerto Rico’s historic road system
Federal Highway Administration — Utuado–Arecibo road in 1898
USGS — Lago Dos Bocas
Puerto Rico Law 35 of 2014 — PR-165 Ruta del Encanto
Transportation History — Construction of PR-52
Discover Puerto Rico — Guajataca Railway Tunnel
Medalla Light — Our Origins

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

🔗 Stay Conected:
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
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Ep88 | What Did Puerto Ricans Eat 100 Years Ago? 🇵🇷 | Puerto Rico in 1926

What did Puerto Ricans actually eat 100 years ago? In this episode of ...

What did Puerto Ricans actually eat 100 years ago?

In this episode of Chronicles & Cocktails, we travel back to Puerto Rico in 1926 to find out—not from nostalgia or assumptions, ...but from the evidence people left behind.

Using original newspapers, period menus and advertisements, historic cookbooks, and accounts from across the island, we uncover a Puerto Rican table that was traditional, changing, local, imported—and sometimes surprisingly familiar.

From the countryside to restaurants and grand hotels, from everyday staples to special occasions, what did Puerto Rico really taste like in 1926?

And because this is Chronicles & Cocktails, we're also going behind the bar—with a cocktail inspired by the Puerto Rican table of 100 years ago and a little trip into the silent-film era.

Good food. Better history. Same island.

Subscribe and join me as we discover Puerto Rico through its history, culture, food, and cocktails.

¡Salud!

SOURCES

Books

Cortés Portalatín, Joaquín. Utuado: Notas para su historia: La Victoria de Candí Cartagena. 1992.
(The 1992 publication of La Victoria de Candí Cartagena is independently corroborated by the Senate of Puerto Rico.)

Fernández, Rosa P. Mi colección de recetas: Repostería y cocina. n.p., n.d.

Ortiz Cuadra, Cruz Miguel. Puerto Rico en la olla: ¿Somos aún lo que comimos? Madrid: Ediciones Doce Calles, 2006.

Primary Newspaper Sources

El Mundo. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Selected issues, advertisements, social columns, menus, and articles, 1921, 1925, and 1926, consulted through the El Mundo digital archive.

Material used includes:

El Mundo, April 7, 1921, 2 — contemporary reference to piraguas.

El Mundo, 1925 — meal-service account documenting helado.

El Mundo, January 6, 1926 — Condado Vanderbilt dinner-dance advertisement.

El Mundo, January 8, 1926 — social account featuring entremés, arroz con pollo, lechón, dulces, pastelada, and chocolate.

El Mundo, March 24, 1926 — excursion featuring “tradicional lechón asado,” arroz con pollo, plátanos “asaos,” and arroz con coco.

El Mundo, April 4, 1926 — “La comida de los reclusos,” Escuela Reformatoria, Mayagüez: sopa de fideos, arroz, habichuelas, carne, and pan.

El Mundo, 1926 — Hotel Meliá, Ponce, banquet menu.

El Mundo, 1926 — Juncos banquet featuring “el consabido lechón asado” and “el típico arroz con gallina.”

El Mundo, 1926 — Playa del Dorado gathering featuring agua de cocos, entremeses, and “el clásico lechón.”

El Mundo, October 4, 1926, 16 — social gathering featuring helado, galletitas, refrescos, and arroz con pollo.

El Mundo, December 22, 1926 — El Dorado, San Juan advertisement featuring pavo, pasteles, hallacas, mofongo con chicharrón, and lechón asado.

El Mundo, December 24, 1926 — Rivoli Quick Lunch Nochebuena menu.

#PuertoRico #PuertoRicanFood #PuertoRicoHistory #FoodHistory #ChroniclesAndCocktails

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

🔗 Stay Conected:
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesandCocktails
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/chroniclesandcocktails
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chroniclesandcocktails/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@chroniclesandcocktails
Website: https://chroniclesandcocktails.com/
Utuado News: https://utuadohoy.com/

Cocktail and Event Experiences
Cocktail Experiences: https://fiestabarpr.com/

Weddings in a 500 year old city
MGT Events: https://mgteventsweddings.com/

Get my books:
Garabato: Mi ruta hacia ti https://amzn.to/46IaXPt
Historias en la historia de Utuado: https://amzn.to/4qc0xPP

Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

Today’s Music
YouTube Audio Library

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Ep87 | The Forgotten Fort That Stopped a British Invasion

Fortín San Jerónimo del Boquerón may be one of the most overlooked ...

Fortín San Jerónimo del Boquerón may be one of the most overlooked historic sites in San Juan, Puerto Rico — but its story is anything but small.

In this episode of ...Chronicles & Cocktails, we explore the history of this tiny fort on the eastern edge of the San Juan islet, from its early defensive origins in the 1500s to attacks connected to Francis Drake, the Earl of Cumberland, the Dutch assault of 1625, and the major British invasion of Puerto Rico in 1797.

We also look at the soldiers, militia, volunteers, French allies and ordinary Puerto Ricans who helped defend San Juan, the destruction and rebuilding of the fort, its role during the Spanish-American War, the strange 999-year Virgil Baker lease, Ricardo Alegría’s military museum, and the fort’s struggle for preservation in modern San Juan.

And because this is Chronicles & Cocktails, we end the episode just steps away at the Caribe Hilton, one of the places that claims to be the birthplace of the Piña Colada, where bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero is said to have created the drink in 1954.

History, architecture, war, Puerto Rico, and a cold Piña Colada — all in one small corner of San Juan.

If you enjoy Puerto Rican history, travel, food, culture and cocktails, subscribe and join me every week on Chronicles & Cocktails.

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Featured sites: Fortín San Jerónimo del Boquerón, Condado Lagoon, San Antonio Channel, Caribe Hilton, Caribar

#PuertoRico #SanJuan #PuertoRicoHistory #FortinSanJeronimo #ChroniclesAndCocktails #CaribeHilton #PinaColada #HistoryTravel #VisitPuertoRico

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Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

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Ep86 | 17 Survived. 52 Died. | The Clipper Endeavor Disaster — Part 2

17 Survived. 52 Died. | The Clipper Endeavor Disaster — Part 2 69 ...

17 Survived. 52 Died. | The Clipper Endeavor Disaster — Part 2

69 people survived the initial impact. Only 17 would make it home.

On Good Friday, April 11, 1952, Pan American ...World Airways Flight 526A — the Clipper Endeavor — was forced into the Atlantic shortly after taking off from Isla Grande Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In Part 1, we went looking for the people aboard: who they were, where they came from, their families, and why they were traveling to New York.

Now we find out what happened to them.

In Part 2 of our investigation, we reconstruct the terrifying final minutes of Flight 526A through contemporary reporting and survivor accounts. We follow the passengers and crew as the DC-4 hits the Atlantic, begins filling with water, and disappears beneath the waves.

Of the 69 passengers and crew aboard, 17 survived. Fifty-two died.

But the story didn't end in 1952.

The wreckage of the Clipper Endeavor remained lost beneath the Atlantic for more than seven decades. We follow aviation and maritime historian Russ Matthews and the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, the involvement of Josh Gates and Expedition Unknown, an important discovery at the Archivo General de Puerto Rico, and the technology that ultimately helped locate the aircraft.

Then, on June 2, 2026, at 7:14 p.m., almost 2,000 feet beneath the Atlantic, sonar detected an aircraft.

A subsequent photographic survey revealed the Pan American markings.

And after 74 years, the name could still be seen:

CLIPPER ENDEAVOR.

This is not simply the story of a lost airplane.

It's the story of the people who were inside it — those who survived, those who didn't, and a tragedy Puerto Rico remembered as La Tragedia del Viernes Santo.

🥃 And for our cocktail, we're making a classic Manhattan. No cocktails were served aboard Flight 526A; Pan Am's tourist-class Rainbow service was dry. But Manhattan represents the destination these passengers were trying to reach — New York, and the lives waiting for them there.

Watch Part 1 first:
The True Story of Flight 526A — Part 1: Who Were They?: https://youtu.be/g8-YTAb59mA?si=gBl4iKz5AUu0_CtY

Sources include:
El Mundo (Puerto Rico), April 1952
Air/Sea Heritage Foundation — Mission Endeavor
Pan Am Historical Foundation
Archivo General de Puerto Rico

Watch more on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_8DC8Dn9Mo

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Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

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Ep85 | They Found the Lost Pan Am Plane — Who Was On Board? | Puerto Rico 1952

They found the airplane. But who were the people inside it? On Good ...

They found the airplane. But who were the people inside it?

On Good Friday, April 11, 1952, Pan American World Airways Flight 526A — the Clipper Endeavor — departed San Juan's ...Isla Grande Airport bound for New York.

On board were 64 passengers and five crew members.

Minutes later, the DC-4 was in trouble.

For 74 years, the wreckage remained lost beneath the Atlantic. In June 2026, an expedition involving the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Deep Sea Vision and Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown finally located the Clipper Endeavor nearly 2,000 feet underwater.

But this episode isn't really about finding an airplane.

It's about finding the people who were inside it.

Using contemporary 1952 reporting from Puerto Rico's El Mundo, passenger records, family information and historical research, we begin reconstructing who boarded Flight 526A that Good Friday: families leaving Puerto Rico for New York, workers heading north in search of employment, wives traveling to join their husbands, children being reunited with parents, and Puerto Ricans whose lives stretched between the island and the mainland.

Among them were the Brignoni family of Mayagüez, leaving Puerto Rico to begin a new life in New York; Gloria Martínez de Rosario of Ponce, traveling to join her husband; Dalila Pietri de Jenefsky and her young children, returning to their home in Ohio; agricultural workers heading to New Jersey; and children traveling north to reunite with family.

Their individual stories transform Flight 526A from an aviation statistic into something much larger: a snapshot of Puerto Rico during one of the great periods of migration in the island's history.

In Part One, we follow these passengers to Isla Grande Airport and board the Clipper Endeavor with them.

Then, shortly after takeoff...

something goes wrong.

Part Two will continue the story of Flight 526A.

If you haven't watched Episode 84, “Where Did Puerto Ricans Move To?”, watch it as a companion to this episode. The stories aboard Flight 526A connect directly with the larger Puerto Rican migration explored there.

And we're approaching Episode 100 of Chronicles & Cocktails. What should Episode 100 be about? Leave your idea in the comments.

Sources & Further Reading

Primary contemporary reporting:

El Mundo (San Juan, Puerto Rico), April 1952 — contemporary newspaper reporting, passenger lists, family interviews, survivor accounts and coverage of the Flight 526A disaster.

Modern discovery and investigation:

Air/Sea Heritage Foundation — Mission Endeavor

Pan Am Historical Foundation — Clipper Endeavor

Additional genealogical, geographical and historical records were consulted to investigate passenger identities and family relationships. Where contemporary reports disagree on spellings, ages or relationships, those discrepancies are identified in the episode rather than silently resolved.

Chronicles & Cocktails explores Puerto Rican history, travel, food, culture and the unexpected connections between Puerto Rico and the wider world.

Subscribe for new episodes every Sunday on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

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Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

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Ep 84 | Where did Puerto Ricans Move To In The Early 1900s?

Where did Puerto Ricans move before the great migration usually ...

Where did Puerto Ricans move before the great migration usually associated with New York?

The answer stretches far beyond the continental United States.

In Episode 84 of Chronicles & Cocktails, Josué — ...The Spirited Historian — follows the remarkable story preserved in Clarence Senior's 1947 study Puerto Rican Emigration, published through the Social Science Research Center at the University of Puerto Rico.

Long before Puerto Rican migration became synonymous with New York, Puerto Ricans were already crossing the Caribbean, the Americas and the Pacific in search of work and opportunity.

They went to Hawaii to work in the sugar industry.

They settled in St. Croix.

Workers were recruited for Cuba's sugar centrales.

Puerto Rican mechanics traveled to the Dominican Republic.

Workers went to Colombia for coffee plantation work.

Mechanics and seamstresses were recruited for Venezuela.

Others could be found in places including Mexico, Brazil and St. Thomas.

And during World War II, American factories, railroads, mines and wartime industries increasingly looked toward Puerto Rico for workers.

But this episode isn't only about where they went.

It's about who these Puerto Ricans were, why they left, what jobs they were recruited to perform, what they encountered when they arrived, who stayed, who returned home — and what the migrants themselves said about their experiences.

Using Senior's 1947 study as our guide, we're following an overlooked chapter of Puerto Rican history through the evidence recorded at the time.

This is not simply the story of Puerto Ricans leaving an island.

It's the story of Puerto Ricans searching for opportunity across an increasingly interconnected world.

🥃 And because this is Chronicles & Cocktails, we'll raise a glass along the way.

What about your family? Did someone leave Puerto Rico for Hawaii, St. Croix, Cuba, New York, Chicago or somewhere completely unexpected? Tell us their story in the comments.

CHRONICLES & COCKTAILS
History. Culture. Travel. Cocktails.

Hosted by Josué — The Spirited Historian

New documentary episodes every Sunday.

If you enjoy discovering the forgotten connections, people and events that shaped Puerto Rico and the wider world:

👍 Like the episode
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Salud!

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Cocktail and Event Experiences
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Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

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#PuertoRico #PuertoRicanHistory #PuertoRicans #MigrationHistory #ChroniclesAndCocktails
Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.Show More

EP83 | Where Do Puerto Ricans Come From? | The Real Story of Our DNA, Ancestors & Migration

Where do Puerto Ricans come from? It's one of the most common—and ...

Where do Puerto Ricans come from?

It's one of the most common—and controversial—questions about Puerto Rico.

Many people believe Puerto Ricans descend only from the Taíno people. Others believe they are primarily ...Spanish. The truth, supported by history, genealogy, and modern DNA research, is far more fascinating.

In this episode of Chronicles & Cocktails, we travel through more than 500 years of Puerto Rican history to explore the migration waves that shaped the Puerto Rican people—from the Taíno inhabitants of Borikén, the first Spanish settlers, and the arrival of enslaved Africans, to the great immigration waves from the Canary Islands, Galicia, France, Corsica, Ireland, and many other parts of Europe.

We'll also discuss what modern genetic studies reveal about Puerto Rican ancestry, why nearly all Puerto Ricans are genetically related if we go back far enough, and why genealogy should always be guided by historical evidence rather than assumptions.

And of course...

Today's drink isn't a cocktail.

It's a glass of Puerto Rican Buka Whisky, chosen because its name perfectly reflects the theme of today's episode.

If you enjoy Puerto Rican history, genealogy, culture, travel, food, cocktails, and discovering the incredible stories that shaped our island...

you're in the right place.

Salud!

Subscribe for new episodes on Puerto Rico’s past, its spirits, and the stories that connect them.

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Cocktail and Event Experiences
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Weddings in a 500 year old city
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Get my books:
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Find your family history with an Ancestry DNA Test
Buy Here: https://amzn.to/4xndycN

Josué is a Puerto Rican historian, writer, and mixologist — founder of Chronicles & Cocktails, UTUADOHOY.COM, and Fiesta Bar PR. Through stories, books, and drinks, he explores the culture, history, and spirit of Puerto Rico — one conversation at a time.

Theme Music by @AGY - Follow on Instagram also: https://www.instagram.com/agypticus_98/

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