SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� On a recent morning in an Afro-Caribbean community in northeast Puerto Rico, Dr. Pedro Juan V谩zquez went door-to-door as part of his medical rounds. He greeted the elderly residents the town with a cheerful 鈥淕ood afternoon!鈥� and a smile and casually asked if they鈥檇 like their vitals taken.
Many were surprised at being approached with an offer of medical care. A man in a gray tank top opened his screen door and said, 鈥淥f course,鈥� and took a seat on his porch to be checked out.
Though a physician, V谩zquez is better known in as a rapper who uses the stage name PJ Sin Suela.
The 34-year-old is trying to fulfill his passion for music while helping those in need 鈥� and raise awareness about a health crisis on the island of 3.2 million residents. The U.S. territory is facing as well as a shortage of medical professionals, with many having fled to the U.S. mainland for better wages.
Puerto Rico lost over 8,600 doctors out of nearly 18,800 in just over a decade, according to a 2023 report by the think tank The Center for a New Economy. The problem is expected to grow more dire in coming years.
鈥淲e have a huge exodus of young people,鈥� V谩zquez told The Associated Press. 鈥淚n Puerto Rico, we have a crisis much bigger than people think.鈥�
He travels from San Juan, the capital, to the island鈥檚 remote areas at least once a week to treat underserved communities struggling in the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes and a frail economy.
After hanging up his doctor鈥檚 scrubs, V谩zquez spends his time producing and performing music that grapples with issues like social inequality, poverty and gun violence, with many deaths in Puerto Rico caused by domestic violence and stray bullets hitting innocent victims.
鈥淎 bullet is flying, lost like a child ... the wind caresses it, seeks to make news, falling into a skull, without any kind of justice,鈥� he raps in 鈥淟as Balas Lloran鈥� (鈥淏ullets Cry鈥�).
In 鈥淪omos M谩s鈥� ("We are More") he taps into the distressing economic conditions on the island, singing: 鈥淭he debt has been placed before the worker, the one who goes outside under the rain and the sun, public servers, teachers and nurses."
His focus on social inequality resonates at home and with homesick Puerto Ricans abroad.
V谩zquez comes from a background of leaving and returning to the island, a back-and-forth familiar to many Puerto Ricans since they hold U.S. passports. He doesn't criticize those who have left Puerto Rico for the U.S. mainland, though he has done the reverse.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 judge anybody, everybody has their story,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 blessed to have two careers that I can do and live off of.鈥�
He was born in the Bronx in New York City, but moved with his family to the southern town of Ponce, Puerto Rico. He later went to Pennsylvania, then returned to Bayam贸n, Puerto Rico, to study medicine, becoming a doctor in 2015.
V谩zquez became a household name for a younger generation in Latin America in 2018 with the single 鈥淐u谩l Es Tu Plan?鈥� The song was a collaboration with Puerto Rican icon and reggaeton singer 脩ejo. The recognition he gained led to collaborations with Broadway star and the frontman of the former reggaet贸n duo
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, he switched from holding a microphone to a stethoscope, working full-time at a hospital in Ponce for a year. As a general practitioner, he treated patients of all ages excited to be cared for by the popular rapper.
V谩zquez said some doctors at first doubted his qualifications after years of touring and rapping, despite him keeping up his medical qualifications.
鈥淎fter a month, everybody knew that this wasn鈥檛 a joke for me, and that I鈥檓 really good at what I do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 shut up whoever doubted me.鈥�
Dr. Carlos D铆az V茅lez, president of Puerto Rico鈥檚 Association of Surgical Doctors, said V谩zquez has helped put a spotlight on Puerto Rico鈥檚 health crisis.
鈥淗e鈥檚 expressed his criticism about what鈥檚 happening here because he himself knows what the problems are within the health system,鈥� D铆az said.
In 2023, V谩zquez鈥檚 work earned him a humanitarian award in the Premios Tu M煤sica Urbano, an awards ceremony that recognizes urban music artists.
Milagros Mart铆nez, a community leader in the western town of Hormigueros, recalls when V谩zquez arrived in September 2022 after to provide medical check-ups to families without power or water.
鈥淭he younger people recognized him,鈥� Mart铆nez said. 鈥淏ut he knew how to separate his medical role from his role as an artist.鈥�
Since then V谩zquez has been working on an album he hopes to release soon, reducing his shifts as a doctor from full time to once or twice a week in a mobile clinic with a nonprofit called Direct Relief.
Meanwhile, V谩zquez faces a problem that plagues both his clinic and his recording studio: frequent power outages.
He鈥檚 had to leave his studio several times because it has no generator, but what troubles him most are the outages that affect his patients.
In June, towns in central and southern parts of the island faced a prolonged power outage
鈥淵ou鈥檒l go and see people don鈥檛 have power for two days, going through the heat we have, and we have a huge transportation problem that people don鈥檛 talk about, where a lot of people can鈥檛 reach hospitals,鈥� V谩zquez said.
Now more than ever, he feels the need to juggle his passion to sing and care for others, something that鈥檚 come easier with time.
When he needs an extra set of hands, he calls for volunteers to assist with mobile clinics in Puerto Rico, and his fans step up.
鈥淭hey sign up to treat patients for free all day with me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 come out of (the clinic) crying sometimes."
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Associated Press videographer Alejandro Granadillo contributed to this report.
Coral Murphy Marcos, The Associated Press
