July: Best of Bitter End
North Soundings is back! Each month we're highlighting the best of Bitter End, plus introducing new ways to capture the Caribbean spirit at home.
What We're Reading: La Finca: Love, Loss, and Laundry on a Tiny Puerto Rican Island
At age forty, Parker surrendered to her Swept Away meets Swiss Family Robinson fantasy of running an inn far from her home in the Pacific Northwest. For the next twenty-plus years Parker ran La Finca Caribe, an eco-lodge in Vieques, Puerto Rico. What started as a rough-and-tumble dream grew into a paradise enjoyed by guests from around the world. Sketchbook in hand, Parker chronicled her daily adventures living with the land.
Bitter End Beats! Tito Puente: The Mambo King
Born in Spanish Harlem to Puerto Rican immigrant parents, the percussionist, composer and bandleader helped define Latin jazz and lay the groundwork for 1970s salsa. His irresistible swirl of energy helped make his main instrument, the timbales, emblematic of Latin music in the mid-20th century.
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