National Hispanic Heritage Month

'Puerto Ricans are Americans, too'

Town honors former E.M. Chamber president during Hispanic Heritage Month ceremony

Posted

Part 3 in a Hispanic Heritage Month mini-series.

When William Miranda II could not communicate with his relatives in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria tore across the island — leaving 3.4 million people without electricity or running water — he sprang into action. 

“Right now we’re looking down six months to one year before there’s any electricity so I need to help,” Miranda, 42, said in his first-ever Facebook live video on Sept. 26, only 12 hours before he flew to Puerto Rico to check on family and aid in the relief effort. His voice cracked with emotion as he pleaded for donations.

“This is very difficult for me,” he continued. Overwhelmed, he briefly walked out of sight. 

His wife, Jen, recorded the emotional plea. Just a week earlier, on Sept. 19, William had been honored with the Town of Hempstead’s Hispanic Heritage Month Award and described himself as a proud puertorriqueño. But his family lingered in his mind. 

Going back home

Miranda, who owns Madison Pierce Real Estate in East Meadow and is a former East Meadow Chamber of Commerce president, was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Although his parents moved to New York when he was 6 years old in order to have better health care, Miranda always embraced his roots — especially since his grandmother, cousins, aunts and uncles still call Puerto Rico home. After Maria pummeled the island, Miranda feared for his family, and hundreds of others who live in remote areas with no access to food or water. 

Because Aguadilla, a town on the island’s northwest tip, is more than 100 miles from the San Juan Airport — the only airport currently operating in Puerto Rico — Miranda worried that his family would not immediately receive aid. After streaming the Facebook video, Madison Pierce, where Jen also works, was flooded with donations from friends and strangers. With Jen’s help, he hopped on a friend’s 10-passenger chartered plane from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to San Juan the following day. He packed four 50-pound boxes filled with batteries, solar-powered lanterns and food. 

Although Jen warned him to prepare for the worst, William said his experience was intense. Shade trees, which once provided relief from the searing heat, were now scattered on roads, fields and homes. What was usually a two-hour drive from San Juan to Aguadilla took Miranda nearly five hours. At night, not one ray of light pierced the darkness. 

“Some shacks in the cerro” — a hill or countryside — “had no roofs,” Miranda recalled. “They were completely blown over.” 

Miranda distributed between 35 and 45 care packages, with water, nutrition bars, flashlights, batteries and basic toiletries, around his hometown. His son, William III, flew to Puerto Rico a day later with eight more boxes. 

“Each household was receiving four little bottles of water and a tiny pack of Pringles from other organizations,” Miranda said in disbelief. He saw families ask for more, but they were turned down. “So those little care packages we handed out…” he said, trailing off. 

“It’s amazing what we take for granted,” he continued a minute later. 

Latinos helping Latinos

After spending roughly 12 days in Puerto Rico, Miranda returned to Jen and their four children in East Meadow. While he was away, Jen, who continued to work at the Madison Pierce office, coordinated several donation drop-offs around the community. The younger William set up a donation box in East Meadow High School’s reception area, and the rest of the family sorted through items to create more care packages. 

“I knew Will was anxious about traveling to Puerto Rico,” Jen said. “He’s never been one to sit still. He’s a very determined man.” 

Nervous because she spoke to her husband only once a day, Jen said she admired his tenacity. The couple wed in 2000, after meeting in the early ’90s at a concert. Jen is originally from Ecuador, so they speak Spanish at home.

When William received a notice that he would be honored with the town’s Hispanic Heritage Month Award, both were elated, surprised and humbled. He was elected president of the chamber last year, and spearheaded efforts to encourage the community to shop locally, and to increase the chamber’s presence across East Meadow by setting up booths at festivals and races in Eisenhower Park, and at other community events. 

“I’m very proud to be Latino,” Miranda said. “Puerto Ricans are Americans, too. These days, you see Latinos coming together. You see that we’re growing in numbers in every aspect — professionally or in business — and that makes me proud.” 

He plans to return to Puerto Rico with Jen in early November. Until then, the Mirandas will continue to collect donations. William, who had hired crews for personal construction projects in Puerto Rico prior to the hurricane, said he would now instruct them to replace roofs of homes in rural areas that were destroyed by the wind using personal and donated funds. 

Los povres get the raw end of the stick,” Miranda said, pointing out that natives who live in rural areas either do not have access to cars, or cannot afford gas because they need money for food. This problem, Miranda said, is all too common. “These are the people I want to help when I go back,” he added.

Miranda plans to collect solar-powered lanterns, or any solar-powered light source. His goal, he said, is to see every home on the cerro illuminate the hills at night.