Puerto Rican hip-hop artist Tego Calderon outside his studio, El Sitio, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption
Puerto Rico: A Disenchanted Island Popularly known as the "island of enchantment," Puerto Rico is grappling with a shattered economy and a swelling crime rate. In search of brighter shores, many Puerto Ricans are fleeing the island for the U.S. mainland.
Special Series
Puerto Rico: A Disenchanted Island
In search of brighter opportunities, Puerto Ricans are fleeing the island for the U.S. mainland.
Luis Romero looks out over the ocean to a view that includes the Coast Guard station where his son, Julian, was in the auxiliary. Romero started the anti-violence organization Basta Ya after Julian was murdered. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption
Edward Bonet, 23, lives in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, and works on the dive team at the Copamarina Beach Resort & Spa in the town of Guanica. He lives with his grandmother, while his mother and sister live in Central Florida. Coburn Dukehart/NPR hide caption
Arlene Bonet settled in Orlando, Fla., after her Puerto Rico real estate business crashed. She's now working for a Puerto Rican cultural organization in Orlando, while her son and mother still live in her hometown, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption