Posted by Vato on July 10, 2009 at 07:48:09:
I found this an interesting read. It's obviously outdated, but kind of a cool background to a guy we only know about as a "taco fighter"..
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The �Freakin�� Puerto Rican
November 6, 2006
After finishing her early morning shift at a Chelsea produce wholesaler, Luc Maria Torres puts on her sweatsuit and goes to the health club. It�s an unexpected luxury: The children are all grown now, and the days of hurrying home, only to rush off to a second job, are a distant memory. She and her husband Ramiro Sr. have paid their dues, and now they have a modest home in Everett and a handful of grandchildren. She has time to cook plantains and alcapurrias; time to chat with amigos and familia about her son Ramiro. Or, as he is known to thousands of radio listeners on Jamn� 94.5, the �Freakin� Puerto Rican.�
�My son is a D.J.,� she says proudly. �God help him. He�s doing good.�
Ramiro, who shares the 6 a.m.�10 a.m. slot with sidekick Pebbles, spins blazing hip-hop and R&B. He is a slick urban persona on the FM dial. But cool guy Ramiro with tattoos and
And never tell Luc Maria that Puerto Ricans aren�t really immigrants. She may not have needed new citizenship, but she still struggled with an unfamiliar language and culture. �It has not been easy,� she says. �But I did it. What I didn�t have, I try to give to my kids.�
And the Freakin� Puerto Rican? The moniker was a nickname first used by a station co-worker. �At first I didn�t like to be called that, but I found that it�s catchy, so it stuck. It�s who I am,� says Ramiro.
Luc Maria says that she enjoys the attention she gets when people find out she�s Ramiro�s mother. �It�s a really a nice sensation.� Although she tunes into the radio and listens to her son whenever she can, she hedges about whether she likes the rap and hip-hop music he plays. �There was one song I heard that reminded me of something I used to hear in Puerto Rico,� Luc Maria says diplomatically. �But the rest? I don�t know.�
� Copyright Boston Globe.