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KPBS Midday Edition

First Person: ‘San Diego Has Become My New Puerto Rico’

Singer and songwriter Laura Reyes, who moved from Puerto Rico to San Diego after Hurricane Maria, in an undated photo.
Laura Reyes
Singer and songwriter Laura Reyes, who moved from Puerto Rico to San Diego after Hurricane Maria, in an undated photo.
First Person: ‘San Diego Has Become My New Puerto Rico’
First Person: ‘San Diego Has Become My New Puerto Rico’ GUEST: Laura Reyes, singer/songwriter

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, singer and songwriter Laura Reyes had just landed her dream job.

She was a professor at her alma mater, the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, giving voice lessons to aspiring singers. The storm nearly destroyed the school and ultimately she lost her job. She thought her dream was over, but a year after Maria, she’s continuing to pursue her passion more than three thousand miles away in San Diego.

Reyes is one of the tens of thousands of people who left Puerto Rico after Maria for the continental United States. She now lives in San Diego with her two kids and gives voice lessons online to students all over the world.

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One year after Maria, Reyes shares her story in her own words.

KPBS Midday Edition's First Person series tells the stories of average and not-so-average San Diegans in their own words. Their experiences, both universal and deeply personal, offer a unique lens into the news of the day.

Corrected: October 5, 2021 at 11:12 AM PDT
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