When Will Puerto Rico Have Power?

Miriam Sierra Burgas will never forget the man who walked into her bakery in the small mountain town of Castañer, Puerto Rico, pleading for a days-old fritter. It was five days after Hurricane Maria passed, and Castañer, like the rest of the island, was without power. Supermarkets were out of food, and water had stopped flowing from taps.

“It’s no good; it’s cold,” Burgas said of the fritter. “And the person told me, ‘Miss, you don’t know what’s cold; hunger is cold. That’s food, and food is never cold. It’s never gone bad.’”

After him came people with medications to store in Burgas’ refrigerator, one of the few still running thanks to her generator. Then came residents of the nearby nursing home in search of power for their medical...

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