Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

With Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria shutting down all power and most communication, many Puerto Ricans in Minnesota are still awaiting word from friends and family on the island.

Rapper, singer and songwriter Maria Isa was married in Puerto Rico on July 29th.

It was a celebration with friends and family — many of whom she hasn't heard from since the category 4 storm made landfall Wednesday.

"That's the main thing. I want to know if my great aunt is okay at 82. I want to know if my cousin who lives by herself in the montes (hills) in Vega Baja is okay," she said. "Any Puerto Rican around the world right now is just in extreme devastation because we cannot communicate with our families."

 the entire electrical grid for the island territory. 

Isa said, like other Puerto Ricans in Minnesota, she is sleeping in short fits, not wanting to miss any calls from family and friends. She's been able to make contact with one cousin through Facebook.

She joined several local politicians and leaders in urging Minnesotans and Minnesota companies to do what they can to help.

The are an estimated 13,000 Puerto Ricans living in Minnesota, including DFL State Sen. Melisa Franzen of Edina, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Minnesota in 2001. 

"The situation is dire, there are 3.5 million U.S. citizens on the island of Puerto Rico, which is a U.S. Commonwealth," she said. 

She just got back from Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

"My grandmother, who's 94, who's on oxygen, and lives on a remote part of the island, and there's no communication there, and she needs medical assistance," she said. "It's really devastating and catastrophic — what I'm seeing on Facebook, which has been the medium of communication for folks from outside."

She urged donations, but said people should research where they are donating relief funds. She vouched for El Fondo Boricua, or the Boricua Fund for Hurricane Relief, a fund that is being operated by the St. Paul Foundation and can be donated to at 

Even before Maria hit, Puerto Rico was dealing with a financial crisis that prompted austerity measures.

DFL State Representative Carlos Mariani of St. Paul said that will add to the challenge of rebuilding. 

"Florida can do that, Texas can do that, it's going to be a big lift," he said. "Puerto Rico simply does not have the financial tools to be able to rebuild the same way that those fellow Americans are going to be able to rebuild in the coming months and years."

Mariani says donations are very much needed, but he also urged political action.

"Donations that are being asked for are needed for immediate humanitarian help, but our voices and our political actions are also needed to produce U.S. federal action that resolves the financial crisis in such a way that Puerto Rico can indeed, realistically rebuild," he said.

There are also efforts underway to collect goods to send them to Puerto Rico. Isa and other artists are also organizing a benefit concert for Oct. 19 at the Black Dog Cafe in St. Paul.

Disasters

Peter Cox

Author

With Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria, shutting down all power and most communication, many Puerto Ricans in Minnesota are still awaiting word from friends and family on the island.

Rapper/singer Maria Isa speaks about the devastation in Puerto Rico.

Peter Cox | MPR News

State Sen. Melisa Franzen of Edina talks about need for aid to Puerto Rico.

'We cannot communicate with our families': Puerto Ricans in Minnesota push for aid

Go Deeper.

Like this?