Brooklyn HITN TV – the leading Spanish-language network that offers educational and entertainment content to more than 44 million households across the United States through TV cable providers, will launch its new series, Puerto Rico Contigo on July 1st.
“Puerto Rico Contigo, our new show on HITN, was created to share the stories of recovery on the island told by Puerto Ricans who endured and survived Hurricane Maria,” said Michael D. Nieves, President and CEO of HITN. “Each episode has exclusive interviews with the Puerto Ricans who are committed to the island’s recovery and are making a difference on the island.”
This original programming has roots in a one-hour special HITN aired shortly after Hurricane Maria reached Puerto Rico. Soon after the special aired, HITN engaged in a variety of relief efforts for the island. The Brooklyn-based cable channel helped secure shipping containers for the community of New York City and Hartford, Connecticut so cases of bottled water, batteries, canned foods, and clothing could be sent to Puerto Rico. “HITN also purchased and installed water filters in schools located in Vieques,” added Nieves.
Today, months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, HITN wants to highlight all the progress being made by local government officials, civil organizations, private companies, small and medium companies, local non-for-profits, foundations and civil entities about the island’s economic recovery. Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation (WIPR) will showcase the program on Sunday, July 1st at 10:00 p.m. EST, with a rebroadcast of the thirteen half-hour episodes of the series every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
The President for WIPR, Rafael Batista said, “Puerto Rico Contigo will be HITN’s very first production that will air regularly in WIPR. For us is key to collaborate with HITN not only showcasing this special program, but in the future with similar co-productions that help present Puerto Rico’s real economic situation. It is very important because we want to reach to the big Puerto Ricans community living in USA. We are very pleased to see that with this presentation of Puerto Rico Contigo, the partnership between both networks will be finally materialize, sharing the common vision to inform and offer educational and entertainment content“.
José Hernández, General Manager of HITN Puerto Rico said, “After the initial emergency response process caused by Hurricane Maria, the government, the private sector, public institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce and local non-for-profits, started shifting from the recovery efforts to try to incentivize local small businesses and the economic sector. It’s important to accentuate the resiliency of the local businessmen and women and the overall positive effect that the dissemination of these stories will have on the economic recovery of the Island,” Hernández added, “We’d like to highlight that, regardless of the hardship due to the situation in the island, there are many initiatives and local companies with strong and creative business plans in place that will help them to get over all obstacles in their way to the economic recovery.”
The program Puerto Rico Contigo features thirteen 30-minute episodes, which capture a message of strength and stories of hope and economic recovery told by the people who endured and survived the Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico Contigo is scheduled to air through WIPR, Channel 6, every Sunday at 10:00 p.m. EST, with a rebroadcast every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST, starting next Sunday July,1st .
