Hi there,
Are you enjoying your day? Here’s something to make it much more better.
This was written for you. To have an impact on your life and make you appreciate life.
Let me take you on a walk through the La Perla neighbourhood located in Old San Juan , Puerto Rico.
From what I was told , La Perla means THE PEARL in Spanish.
La Perla (The Pearl) was originally the site of a slaughterhouse in San Juan ,called El Matadero.
This neighbourhood is considered as one of the most dangerous places in the city due to is past history of violence in the 1960s and 70s.
If you didn’t know , the music video for the 2017 Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee megahit was shot in the La Perla neighbourhood and this gave the neighbourhood recognition across the globe.
I didn’t even know about this until I was told.
This neighbourhood is located on the seafront and the view is very amazing.
Even though the neighbourhood is considered as a dangerous place and a slum , what I saw there was different.
Totally heart warming.
The lady in blue in the picture above is Mrs Lourdes Diaz Fabon the CEO of La Fondita De Jesus , an organisation that helps the poor and homeless in Puerto Rico.
She invited us to experience how the people live in la Perla.
Join me as we explore and have a chat with the people of La Perla.
Our Uber arrived at the said location at around 5:50pm.
We didn’t know where we were going so she assigned a guide to show us around.
We walked along the street and then took a turn leading us down a flight of stairs.
There we saw a view of the neighbourhood. Hidden in a place no one would find it.
The houses looked as though the were not situated very well but the paintings were very bright and colourful.
We walked down so many steps and came across so many buildings. Who would have thought people lived in a place like this?
At the end of one particular stairs in the neighbourhood we came across a wall with some sort of weeds all over it.
It looked like it had been there for so long and it served a good purpose.
I thought we were finally done with stairs for now as we got to a street
And then, oh no!
Stairs again:(
At this point I was very exhausted and I wanted to rest but everyone was leaving me behind so I had to tag along.
As the saying goes, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I finally saw the light.
This is La Perla!
A place where love exists and hopes are kept alive.
With all their struggles you could see smiles on the faces of everyone, young or old.
The people from the neighbourhood meet here every Friday to sing, dance and interact with each other after a long and stressful week. No one is left out.
In the pictures above you can see the kids playing joyfully and the drummers doing their own thing.
The neighbourhood had a car park and playground for their kids.
The people of La Perla welcomed us with open arms.
The singing and dancing began. Everyone came to do their own dance.
Even those that didn’t know how to dance like myself did their own thing as they were not left out.
And to the good part, there was food.
A lot of it.😌🥳
People were also selling their goods and advertising their products.
There were chitchats here and there as the dance was going on.
There was so much joy in the atmosphere.
This wasn’t just a walk, it was an experience.
I experienced how people strive through all the hardship they face. With smiles on their faces as though everything was okay.
Today I want to tell you this, you are stronger than you think you are! You are smarter than you think you are and YOU are also beautiful in your own way.
Do not let anyone’s hate dampen your spirit. You are where you are today because you worked hard to get there.
You didn’t just sit and all you had came to you. You took that step .
Even when you were at your worst you still went to school, you went to work , you called that customer, you delivered that package, you had the meeting, you met with that person to talk business and you made it.
It was all you my dear.
Let the people of La Perla inspire you.
Regardless of your situation , have faith in yourself and keep going.
This is where we end our walk. Our walk through life.
With love.🫶🏻