Washington D.C. is not an enormous city. But somehow, it feels enormous.
Maybe it is the monuments. Maybe it is the museums, the government buildings, the portraits of presidents, or simply knowing that decisions made along these streets have affected people thousands of miles away.
Including us in Puerto Rico.
For this episode of Chronicles & Cocktails, Mariela and I returned to Washington D.C. and nearby Alexandria, Virginia. But instead of simply checking landmarks off a list, we slowed down.
We walked the National Mall. We stood outside the White House and Capitol. We explored the magnificent Library of Congress and saw a Gutenberg Bible. We visited the National Portrait Gallery and spent hours inside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
And, naturally, we bought books.
There was also plenty of eating and drinking.
We grabbed seats at the bar at Washington's historic Old Ebbitt Grill, explored the taverns and restaurants of Old Town Alexandria, drank Virginia bourbon, ate inside buildings that have witnessed centuries of American history, and visited Gadsby's Tavern—where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other figures from the nation's earliest years once gathered.
On New Year's Day, we attended Mass at Alexandria's historic Basilica of Saint Mary, a Catholic community whose origins include a contribution from George Washington himself.
And Alexandria surprised us.
Its old streets, brick buildings, taverns, waterfront, churches, and layers of history occasionally reminded me of Boston, New Orleans—and even Old San Juan.
That comparison raises an interesting question.
What Exactly Connects Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico?
The relationship is older and more complicated than it first appears.
Before there was a United States, Puerto Rico and the British colonies that eventually became the United States already occupied the same contested Atlantic world.
Then came 1898.
The Spanish-American War fundamentally changed Puerto Rico's history and created a direct political relationship with the United States. American citizenship followed in 1917. Puerto Rico's Constitution and Commonwealth government followed in 1952. More than a century after 1898, PROMESA again demonstrated just how consequential decisions made in Washington can be for people living in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Ricans are American citizens. We can move freely throughout the United States, serve in its armed forces, and participate in countless parts of American civic, economic, and cultural life.
Yet residents of Puerto Rico cannot vote for president in the general election and do not have voting representation on the final passage of legislation in Congress.
Washington D.C., interestingly enough, has its own unusual relationship with American political power.
So what happens when you walk through the nation's capital looking at it through Puerto Rican eyes?
You begin noticing things.
Including Puerto Rico itself.
We found the island represented inside the Smithsonian's telling of American history. And beside the National Christmas Tree, among the trees representing the states and territories, there it was:
Puerto Rico.
A small detail, perhaps.
But history is often hiding in small details.
And Then History Interrupted the Trip
While we were in Washington, events involving the United States and Venezuela suddenly dominated the news.
Caribbean air travel was disrupted. San Juan's airport was affected. And suddenly, while standing in the city where so much American power is concentrated, we weren't entirely certain when we were getting home.
That changed the atmosphere of the trip considerably.
History was no longer something confined to the Smithsonian.
It was happening around us.
And, Of Course, There Is a Cocktail
This is still Chronicles & Cocktails.
For this story, I went back to the great 19th-century tradition of the Cobbler and created one using Puerto Rican rum, sherry, and American whiskey.
Three histories meeting in one glass.
Because this episode isn't really about choosing sides.
It's about understanding how San Juan, Alexandria, and Washington became connected—and why that relationship still matters today.
There is history.
There are museums.
There are old taverns, books, bourbon, rum, food, churches, presidents, politics, a little travel chaos, and quite a few miles walked in the January cold.
And somewhere between Washington and San Juan is a complicated American story that is still being written.
Watch the full episode of Chronicles & Cocktails: Washington D.C. & Puerto Rico — A Relationship Before, During, and After Power.
History is better when you actually go looking for it. A good drink afterward doesn't hurt either.
