JACKSONVILLE, FLa. - A Jacksonville restaurant owner is celebrating the long-awaited return of a Puerto Rican beer he says is symbolic of the island itself.
“Every place you go in Puerto Rico, you see somebody with a Medalla beer in their hand,” Harold Santana, owner of Lechonera el Coqui on Blanding Boulevard, said. “That’s part of the culture. It’s inside our blood. Even though it’s a beer but it means more than that for us.”
Santana moved from Puerto Rico to Jacksonville nearly 17 years ago, but much of his family, including his mother and brothers, still lives on the island.
When Hurricane Maria roared across Puerto Rico, Santana had to watch helplessly from afar.
“It’s like you’re lost in time,” he said of the days when he was unable to contact his family. “You don’t have answers, you cannot make contact with anybody through internet, satellite radio, satellite cell phone, nothing was working at that time.”
Santana said at first, he and other Puerto Ricans in the Jacksonville area struggled with how to help. But now, with Medalla’s return to Florida after five years, it’s easy.
“Every person that’s gonna buy a beer in our location is giving something back to the people in Puerto Rico and helping tons of people that need it,” he said.
People started arriving at the restaurant by mid-morning, awaiting the arrival of the beer. One of them was Kim Sears, who drove into town from the beaches.
Sears visits Puerto Rico three-to-five times a year, including after Hurricane Maria.
“There’s still devastation,” she said. “It’s very sad. They’re keeping a positive attitude and they’re all helping each other.”
With one sip, she was transported back to the island she loves to much.
And that’s really the whole point.
“When you drink it, you forget where you are,” Santana said. “And you think about your land, you think about your family, you think about your friends.”
