It was January 24, 2022. The King of Spain was coming to Puerto Rico. But everyone woke up to unexpected news: the statue of the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León in Old San Juan had been toppled. When the mayor promised to restore it that same day, it raised questions: Who deserves to be put up on a pedestal? Who are our champions?

Today, we bring you the first episode of the newest season of La Brega, a podcast from our own Futuro Studio. This season looks at Puerto Rico through the people who represent boricuas and asks: What does it take to champion Puerto Rico?

Original episode art by Tania M. González. You can find her Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/petupetin/

Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S., centering Latino stories and hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.

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