The film condenses a great deal of history, conveys many shocking truths, and yet maintains a calm, measured voice. There is a quiet authority inside this film. It speaks with the power of incontrovertible truth. Even the closing shot of the hurricane cloud, contributes to this quiet authority. The title is properly ironic...it reminds me of José Trías Monge's book - Puerto Rico Rico: Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Unfortunately, Monge wrote this after a lifetime of hypocrisy and opportunism. Also ironic, is that the US Supreme Court and the Obama administration also agreed that Puerto Rico is a colony. The Sanchez Valle case invoked the Supremacy and Territorial clauses of the US Constitution, to assert that Puerto Rico was, and continues to be, a territorial possession of the United States. On the same day that Sanchez Valle was decided, US Congress passed the PROMESA bill. So all three branches of the US federal government acted in unison, on the same day. Don Pedro was right: according to the US government, owning one man (slavery) makes you a scoundrel, but owning an entire nation (Puerto Rico) makes you a colonial benefactor.
“I salute and support your courageous and truthful film. It is a necessary film, a powerful film, and the entire world should see it.”
--Nelson Denis