Bronx-born rap star and entrepreneur, Fat Joe, sips on a coconut cocktail at the launch of the newest Puerto Rican rum, Sonrisa, which he partnered with this year.
Photo ET Rodriguez
Salsa, reggaeton and freestyle music blasted as hundreds gathered at Con Sofrito’s Puerto Rican Day parade after-party on Sunday, June 9, where a sea of people wearing and waving red, white and blue enjoyed free food, free drinks and the newest Puerto Rican rum to hit the market in partnership with Bronx-born rapper and entrepreneur, Joseph Cartagena — also known as Fat Joe.
“It gives back to Puerto Rico, every bottle that’s sold, a dollar goes back to mom-and-pop businesses,” Fat Joe told the Bronx Times regarding his reason to invest in Sonrisa rum.
As part of its initiative to give back to the island, Sonrisa, meaning “smile” in Spanish, established “From Puerto Rico, For Puerto Rico,” which gives $1 of every bottle sold to the people of Puerto Rico, but more specifically, to small business owners; many who are still trying to recover from the affects of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“They are our forgotten American brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico that no one is caring about,” said Sonrisa co-founder and co-CEO Shareef Malnik from Miami, who calls Puerto Rico “our sister city” and often visited the island as a child. “The FEMA money never gets to them, they never survived Hurricane Maria, COVID — so we’re going to donate millions of dollars to those people along with our partners.”
Said partners include co-founder and co-CEO, Jae Goodman who grew up in Puerto Rico by way of a flight attendant mother; MLB catcher for the Chicago White Sox, Martin Maldonado; singer Llandel Veguilla Malavé, known professionally as Yandel; and Fat Joe.
“They’re all our partners. They’re not celebrity endorsers,” Malnik added.
According to Puerto Rico’s tourism website, 70% of the rum consumed in the U.S. comes from the island, with…
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