Welcome to El Barrio

About Welcome to El Barrio

“Welcome to El Barrio” is a vibrant new podcast about Puerto Rican identity — our stories, finally told by us. Hosted by award-winning producer Becca Ramos, this series blends laugh-out-loud interviews with artists, scholars, creators, tastemakers, and everyday Boricuas to illuminate the stories the textbooks left out. Each week, Becca dives into the history, culture, politics, spirituality, and pop-culture moments that shape what it means to be Puerto Rican today — from the roots of brujería and ancestral healing, to the global impact of Bad Bunny, to the hidden history behind Operation Bootstrap, Hurricane Maria’s aftermath, and the evolution of the diaspora. This show is unapologetically for us. For the kids who grew up “ni de aquí, ni de allá.” For everyone who felt their culture reduced to stereotypes, mispronounced in classrooms, or left out of the narrative entirely. Through humor, heart, research, and community storytelling, Becca invites listeners on a journey of self-discovery — and a celebration of La Isla del Encanto in all its complexity. Featuring a lineup of powerful Boricua voices across film, music, academia, design, and activism, Welcome to El Barrio is a love letter, an archive, and an invitation. Come learn, laugh, heal, and say it with us. WEPA!

Publisher

iHeartPodcasts

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

27 Jan 2026

Latest episode

1 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

5 of 23 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   1 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   "What is going ON in Puerto Rico?" Part 2: Featuring Beatriz Llenín Figueroa y Hugo Delgado

   Host Becca interviews activist Beatriz Llenín Figueroa and educator Hugo Delgado about current movements and colonial control in Puerto Rico.

2. 

   23 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   "What is going ON in Puerto Rico?" Part 1: Featuring Mikey Cordero and Aliana Margarita

   Host Becca interviews Mikey Cordero and Aliana Margarita about current movements and colonial governance impacting Puerto Rico.

3. 

   16 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   "Puerto Rico is ... Whoville?" w/ Kennya Rivera

   Host Becca interviews content creator Kennya Rivera about her journey from Puerto Rico to LA, exploring Afro-Latina identity and the colonial realities of her homeland.

Inside a recent episode

"What is going ON in Puerto Rico?" Part 2: Featuring Beatriz Llenín Figueroa y Hugo Delgado

Published 1 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] I work as an editor and translator and writer. So I pay attention to this, right? Words are not meaningless, right? And within the framework of the 2016 imposition of the Fiscal Control Board by the U.S. Congress to Puerto Rico via De Promesa law or promise law, we have seen an increasing pattern of foreign-led real estate speculation and foreign-led so-called investments that are really actually through things like Act 60, which was imposed in Puerto Rico a few years ago, and other legislative measures and practices, we have seen an increasing pattern of real estate speculation and so-called investment that actually means just tax evasion for multimillionaires and the takeover of our communities and barrios for the rampant supposed development of unregulated short-term rentals, and also this pattern of ultra-luxury projects. […]

Who has been a guest on Welcome to El Barrio

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Beatriz Llenín Figueroa
• Hugo Delgado
• Mikey Cordero
• Aliana Margarita
• Kennya Rivera

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

57 ratings

Contact Welcome to El Barrio

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about Welcome to El Barrio