Summary: <p><em><a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/la-brega">La Brega</a> is a seven-part podcast series hosted by OTM producer/reporter Alana Casanova-Burgess. The series uses narrative storytelling and investigative journalism to reflect and reveal how la brega has defined so many aspects of life in Puerto Rico, and is <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/la-brega/episodes">available in English and Spanish</a>. This is episode five.</em></p> <p>In this episode: David and Goliath play basketball in Athens. </p> <p>Despite being a U.S. colony, Puerto Rico competes in sports as its own country on the world stage. Since the 70s, Puerto Rico’s national basketball team has been a pride of the island, taking home trophy after trophy. But in the 2004 at the Athens Olympics, the team was up against the odds, with an opening game against a U.S. Dream Team stacked with players like Lebron James and Allen Iverson. Futuro Media’s Julio Ricardo Varela tells the story of a basketball game that Puerto Ricans will never forget, and why he thinks now, more than ever, is a crucial moment to remember it. </p> <p><em>The documentary "Nuyorican Basquet" <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nuyorican-B%C3%A1squet-Raymond-Dalmau/dp/B08B1K5ZG8">is here</a>.</em></p> <p><em>If you want to see the famous photo of Carlos Arroyo, <a href="https://www.elnuevodia.com/deportes/baloncesto/notas/una-foto-que-le-dio-la-vuelta-al-mundo/">click here</a>. </em></p> <p><em>To read more about sovereignty and sports, we recommend <a href="https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803278813/">The Sovereign Colony: Olympic Sport, National Identity, and International Politics in Puerto Rico</a>, by Antonio Sotomayor. </em></p>
