Feature
MAYAGUEZ, PUERTO RICO — A good Puerto Rican chinchorro must
have one thing and lack another: cheap beer and air conditioning. Louis O'
Halloran, an Irishman who has lived in Puerto Rico for 30 years, explains
this to me as we drink a local Medalla beer and ignore the sweat dripping
from our foreheads. "The chinchorro, this is the heart and soul of Puerto
Rico," he says.
We are at Carbon de Palo, a chinchorro in this west coast town of Puerto
Rico. A chinchorro, I learn soon after arriving here, is basically a bar with
inexpensive booze and food. Carbon de Palo's Facebook page declares that
"NO SOMOS UN RESTAURANT, SOMOS EL MEJOR SPOT DEL
CHINCHORREO." In other words, "We're not a restaurant. We're the best
