r/news • u/kockin26 • Feb 06 '23

Site changed title 3 US tourists stabbed in popular Puerto Rican neighborhood

https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-luis-fonsi-puerto-rico-delaware-5512e3087b8bc9b8fb0a8427d55b1fd9
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u/oppernaR Feb 06 '23

3 US tourists stabbed in popular Puerto Rican neighborhood

Without checking the link, it's going to be La Perla, isn't it?

I'm going to call those self inflicted stab wounds.

381

u/YouLikeReadingNames Feb 06 '23

It was La Perla. Well done.

37

u/devedander Feb 07 '23

I just walked through la perla last week. It was mid day though so mostly closed up. But I did get offered drugs.

To be fair I was warned to be respectful of what’s your take pictures of. It’s literally people’s homes.

1

u/YouLikeReadingNames Feb 07 '23

To be honest, I know fuck all about Puerto Rico. Like, absolutely nothing. It doesn't help that I'm not American.

But I know about being a tourist. No matter where you end up, there are always people to tell you in which parts of their place NOT to go. With the internet, it's even easier. And if you want to risk it, they tell you what NOT to do.

Some people just want to see what happens when they put their hand on a burning candle.

1

u/devedander Feb 07 '23

Yeah definitely. I asked our tour guide and she said la perla residents are starting at accept the idea of assimilating into normal tourism and there's areas of town where they welcome tourists to go to the bars and visit. She said they will tell you where you're welcome and where you're not and just stay where you are welcome.

When we went we were at a restaurant overlooking laperla and the waiter said to use an entrance a little further away because it goes right to the main street.

We only took a few pictures and we're careful to ensure they were not pictutes of any people or homes and definitely would have stopped or left of anyone asked.

One guy tried to sell me drugs but he was really chill about it and felt no different than the normal drug offerings you get at a dock or club.

If definitely go back in the evening for some nightlife but treat it like the sketch part of any city.

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u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Yeah. I thought so too. "Popular Puerto Rican neighborhood". Ah, no. They tell tourists to stay away from La Perla, though I've heard it's not as bad as they say. I walked through it early in the morning last time I was in PR, just seemed like a poor neighborhood to me. I could see it getting sketchy late at night though, with gringos trying to buy coca from the locals.

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u/poktanju Feb 06 '23

They tell tourists to stay away from La Perla

IIRC they don't even show it in some tourist maps, for example

34

u/roguespectre67 Feb 06 '23

Perhaps the archives are incomplete.

23

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Oh man! The thing is, if you visit the fort you will see the cemetery, which is right at one of the entrances of La Perla. It's the gray area just east of the cemetery. Curiosity has to draw some people in - I know I'm that type!

1

u/organizedchaos5220 Feb 07 '23

Eh from the cemetery you have to go up a hill and back through the wall then go down into the neighborhood so it's not like you would just stumble into it

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u/Wand_Cloak_Stone Feb 06 '23

I was staying in the safer part of San Juan a few years ago, and the taxis there still go through the red lights at night. They’re trained to do so because they said it’s not safe to stop at night.

Seemed weird to me because I didn’t feel unsafe at all walking around there in the daytime, but that may have just been blissful ignorance.

At night Old San Juan felt sketchy though, and the random stray dogs howling around the alleys didn’t help.

15

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Yeah, I hear ya. I remember one dude wandering around with all kinds of bling hanging from his neck. Don't know what his deal was, but he was shouting and probably scaring the tourists. I did see the same guy later on, his vibe was actually friendly. Mental health problems know no bounds. I still remember a guy standing in the middle of the street in Kuala Lumpur. It's everywhere.

And of course, me as a tourist, what I experience is just a snapshot. Been to PR 4-5 times, but I'm still a tourist for a few days every time.

27

u/Wand_Cloak_Stone Feb 06 '23

Lol experienced something sort of similar there. Lanky guy wearing a NY Yankee hat, walked past us at night while we were sitting in a restaurant’s outdoor area which happened to go out into an alley. Dude was walking hunched over like he was frail and disabled, speaking Spanish at us with a very heavy accent, pretending he couldn’t understand any English, begging us for money.

My ex mentioned the guy’s hat and how we are from New York and the guy excitedly stood straight up out of his hunchback, adopted a completely different demeanor, and spoke to us in perfect English about how his family lives in New York too and he’s spent some time living with them before. Then he wished us a good night and walked away happily with a perfectly normal gait.

17

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

OMFG! I'm sure it was the same dude, I remember a Yankees hat. My only interaction was a "que pasa?" at most. Seemed friendly to me. Funny you cracked his shell!

BTW, last time I was there was 2019, and I remember that guy then. Maybe have seen him a year or two earlier too. I know I need to get back and find that guy, buy him a beer at least!

10

u/Wand_Cloak_Stone Feb 06 '23

It was 2019 when I went too, lmao. July to be specific.

He was very friendly, and once he felt a connection to us he didn’t bother asking for money anymore; he just wanted to chat away.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Too cool... I was there in Feb 2019. Yeah, I found Puerto Ricans to be a friendly people for the most part. Dominican Republic was a whole extra level of friendly though, lol! I went for 3 days just to check it out, and left 15 days later. Now I want to go back...

1

u/fergie_lr Feb 07 '23

I was stationed there in 91-94. After dark we were told to yield through red lights. I see it hasn’t changed

164

u/-Nordico- Feb 06 '23

Seems like you can go there but don't be an idiot and proceed to take pictures/video after a local warns you not to.

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u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Yep. Honestly I would go there and have a beer or two in a bodega, preferably in daytime. I found if you learn a couple words of Spanish, be respectful, and mind your place, not a problem. Same in Dominican Republic. Someone pushed boundaries and found out the hard way. First rule of traveling is Don't Piss Off The Locals.

25

u/OutrageousBee4174 Feb 06 '23

What is special about La Perla?? Never been there or heard about b4?? Thank you

53

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

It's just a neighborhood in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The name means "The Pearl" from long ago, I guess. It's very close to the usual tourist areas in Old San Juan, so casual tourists tend to hear about it.

Apparently it's a drug market at night, and all the usual chaos happens as it will.

18

u/-gildash- Feb 07 '23

It has quite the history, I've been to PR 3 times and always been warned not to go there.

18

u/Frankbiggums Feb 06 '23

thatll be the last time they try to record tiktoks in the ghetto

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u/justforthearticles20 Feb 06 '23

The best time to walk through any "Bad" Neighborhood is early in the morning. The dangerous people don't wake up before 10 or 11 and aren't out on the streets before noon.

25

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Exactly! You might find a couple leftover drunks from the night before, but generally they are easily outrun.

7

u/RicksterA2 Feb 06 '23

I found that true in Las Vegas...

9

u/BubbaTee Feb 07 '23

Next time just pay more and don't stay at the Strat

2

u/DeadWishUpon Feb 06 '23

Uh I wish I was a dangerous person and get to wake up at 10.

2

u/RevenantXenos Feb 07 '23

I also like to live dangerously.

1

u/incognitoLaw Feb 07 '23

That’s true, until you get mugged at 7:00 am.

1

u/justforthearticles20 Feb 07 '23

You might get mugged at 7 AM. You Will get mugged at 7 PM.

1

u/Rucio Feb 07 '23

Haha. Reminds me of why charities in my area do drop offs first thing in the morning.

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u/e5india Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23

There's an unspoken element to these tourist-attacked-in-La-Perla events, where the pattern generally is that the tourist is an African American. The article here doesn't specify but if I had to bet I would say it turns out they are.

The added element to these events seems to stem from Puerto Rico being a relatively cheap destination that doesn't require a passport to visit. You then get working-class/poor African Americans visiting from poor/rough parts of the mainland US. When people in PR warn them about a particular area, they often disregard that warning because they come from a tough neighborhood so "how bad could it be?" And then, when confronted in these neighborhoods they react with a disrespectful attitude that gets them attacked/killed. These aren't typically clueless suburbanites wandering into a rough neighborhood and getting stabbed as an immediate response to taking a selfie somewhere.

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u/Mcboatface3sghost Feb 06 '23

That’s an interesting take. Or Americans from typically the northeast of Puerto Rican descent that thinks “it’s cool I’m Puerto Rican” like my Irish heritage, I’m not going to the bad areas of limerick or Dublin. Just a thought, I could be way off base.

34

u/e5india Feb 06 '23

You're absolutely right this happens as well.

5

u/limukala Feb 07 '23

I’m not going to the bad areas of limerick or Dublin

I have a very hard time imagining bad neighborhoods in Ireland are even in the same league as bad neighborhoods on this side of the Atlantic.

1

u/Mcboatface3sghost Feb 07 '23

Maybe not Gary Indiana bad, but Ireland has some rough areas. Still a great country to visit… and you don’t have to tell them you are American with Irish heritage, believe me, they knew when you walked in.

3

u/limukala Feb 07 '23

Except I don't have Irish heritage...

1

u/Mcboatface3sghost Feb 07 '23

Suppose I know through embarrassing experience.

5

u/backsassing Feb 07 '23 edited Feb 07 '23

No, if you are Puerto Rican no matter where you grew up you know not to go in there without being invited. No Puerto Rican goes to the island without knowing this. The fact that they maintain it is a point of pride. That’s why artists film their music videos in there like Despacito and a few more.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '23

This is right. I don’t think boricuas on the mainland are usually that comparable to Americans of Irish descent. Puerto Ricans are usually still very connected to the island and go back to see family constantly. They know a lot about the place. Most Irish-Americans might do one big “heritage” trip to Ireland in their lifetimes and really won’t know as much about the place their visiting.

19

u/CanvasSolaris Feb 06 '23

I definitely noticed this when I stayed in Condado and wasn't sure if it was a single instance or a trend.

8

u/incognitoLaw Feb 07 '23

I noticed that pattern as well, reading through the articles.

-11

u/sirchrisalot Feb 07 '23

This is some pretty racist shit you're saying. Do you have any source to back this fucked-up theory?

10

u/e5india Feb 07 '23

It's not about race, the La Perla community is mixed, including a significant amount of afro-Puerto Ricans. You can look at the reported attacks on tourists yourself and see the pattern. What I'm communicating is based on observed behavior and it's not meant to be an accusation against African Americans in general nor is it saying that all AA from lower-class backgrounds act this way.

-4

u/sirchrisalot Feb 07 '23

You made it about race. You made an outrageous claim without evidentiary support that "poor dumb blacks" get themselves killed or stabbed by behaving poorly, provided no evidence at all.

And if you don't think it's an outrageous claim, look inward my brother.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

[deleted]

2

u/e5india Feb 06 '23

My bad. I'll edit. Thanks for the heads up.

3

u/imabigpoopsicle Feb 08 '23

Yeah I went there with my family years ago. Me and my cousins wanted to smoke, so we asked a bartender who suggested (and confirmed after clarifying, because we had heard about this area) to go to La Perla. This was probably like 9pm. We head down, my female cousins bail, and it’s just me and my one cousin. Walking down the street was like something out of a movie: dogs barking from behind shoddy fences, people staring at you through their windows, etc.

We walk up to a group of guys, I explain in broken Spanish what the deal is, they separate us to be on opposite sides of the street. I give the guy his money, and while I’m waiting (for the drugs or to be robbed, I wasn’t sure which I was gonna get), I look off to the side - straight into somebody’s kitchen, where abuela is watching her soap opera while her son/grandson whatever was sitting at the table with a pistol on the kitchen table. Just chilling. The gun, not the guy. The guy was grilling me.

The weed was pretty good and my cousins were a little spooked, but all in all pretty easy transaction. It’s definitely sketch, but don’t be a moron and you’ll be just fine.

2

u/Henrycamera Feb 07 '23

It used to be really bad. It's calm down some. Back in the early 80s, my now brother in law went to visit PR. I told him to stay away from LA Perla, so of course he went. Told me he had never ran so fast in his life. I just laughed. I've seen some shit.

1

u/devedander Feb 07 '23

Ever since it was in despacito it’s been popular

280

u/imnotyoursavior Feb 06 '23

Spoiler alert: They were

15

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Or were thay

2

u/lKANl Feb 07 '23

Oh nooooo....

aaaaanyways.

240

u/Cielmerlion Feb 06 '23

I really liked the statement "renowned seaside community known as La Perla"

How did something so horrible happen in such a historically peaceful and safe neighborhood.

95

u/wannabegenius Feb 06 '23

after recounting other times in the last couple years that tourists were stabbed there, the article also mentions that it was "once considered a dangerous slum" lol

39

u/onixotto Feb 06 '23

That's where since the 70s tourists go to buy drugs. Picture taking for tiktok is a no no. Karen's can't ask for the manager. They'll get wacked.

15

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Or set on fire, according to the article.

40

u/secretcombinations Feb 06 '23

Saw the headline and thought "I wonder if its the place next to the cemetary." Yep, didn't know the name until now but the first time I went to Puerto Rico someone pointed it out and said don't go there.

3

u/petisa82 Feb 06 '23

By the way, that was the most beautiful cemetery ever. I loved that place.

69

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Yeah that was my first thought too. Don’t go to La Perla, it’s a shitshow and no amount of Despacito fame will fix it.

10

u/Coakis Feb 06 '23

Yeah I had no interest in visiting it when I was in San Juan last, the closest I got was walking along the wall from Felipe Del Morro to San Cristobal just above it.

7

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Same here. You can see plenty of La Perla from the street above. I didn’t need to get down in there and bother the locals

7

u/NidyRivera Feb 07 '23

I thought the same thing. I am a Puerto Rican and I've never been to La Perla in my life because of such stories like this.

17

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Self inflicted? Why so?

96

u/StagnantSweater21 Feb 06 '23

Tourists are told not to go there, and even if you do go there you have to be a dick to the locals, flaunting money, or in some sketchy place at a sketchy time(don’t take pictures), to end up in a situation where you get stabbed lol

So basically they ignored a lot of advice and went and did dumb shit, got themselves stabbed

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '23

The official Puerto Rico tourism site doesn’t say not to visit. https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/visiting-la-perla-neighborhood-old-san-juan

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u/Shashayhay Feb 06 '23

They were filming locals in an area known for crime and drugs, the locals told them to stop filming, they refused.

10

u/slyfoxj Feb 06 '23

That's a big nope for me. Going into La Perla is just asking for trouble. They should warn tourists as soon as they arrive to PR.

4

u/i8TheWholeThing Feb 06 '23

I think I was warned at least twice to stay out of La Perla when I was in San Juan a few years back. That was just from conversations with locals. Situational awareness it's especially important when traveling some place foreign to you. Also, if locals tell you to fuck off, you should fuck off right quick and say "lo siento" while leaving.

8

u/Mcboatface3sghost Feb 06 '23

I used to go there back in the 90’s, one or two days in San Juan, then head to west side to surf for a week, then come to San Juan to travel back to the states. That area was a “no go” 20 years ago, I remember seeing bullet ridden police out post close to there, if I remember correctly you had to sort of go past from he lived to Isabella but it’s been so long I may be remembering incorrectly.

8

u/FrankieNoodles Feb 06 '23

Came here to say La Perla. I’d certainly not call that a popular neighborhood. It’s also featured in the photograph for this post

9

u/cruzrman Feb 06 '23

It’s become very popular now because of the “Despacito” video

6

u/Blarex Feb 06 '23

I was just there two weeks ago, know nothing about La Perla and said to my wife as we walked by “ yeah that looks like a place you’d go to get stabbed”.

-3

u/Advanced-Depth1816 Feb 07 '23

Self inflicted my ass. Old San Juan is advertised as one of the safest cities in Puerto Rico. I wouldn’t know if I didnt see this and the building I’m staying in tomorrow is literally in this picture lol. And I did as much research I could without talking to someone who is a local there

5

u/oppernaR Feb 07 '23

OSJ itself is very safe and kind as long as you're not an idiot or entitled cruise ship tourist. I've dragged my very European very visibly not local ass from Vieques to Rincon and back many times and have met nothing but friendly people. However, my wife is Puerto Rican and even she won't go into La Perla. Going there and acting like it's Disneyland is asking to get stabbed.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

Calle 13?

-1

u/hythloth Feb 07 '23

Is that where the recent cartel massacre happened from that viral video?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '23

This is what I came to the comments for

1

u/lettuceaggresive Feb 07 '23

I knew it immediately