173 thoughts on “What are race relations like among Puerto Ricans on the island and in the U.S.?”
RE: Boricuas and Race
Your experiences and studies have made you very wise. Your post touched on a lot of important issues, race and class,”flavor of the month”, that are crucial to general discussions on this issue.
However, I am inclined to think that your experiences were somewhat unique, correct me if I’m wrong. as a general rule, people of a lighter complexion do receive preferential treatment from all races. they might have the same amount of difficulty as a darker person navigating through black and white worlds in the US- when they might think they would have it easier because of their color. besides, i wonder if have the same mindset of a lot of white Americans who think that they aren’t beneficiaries of white priveledge…(i don’t know and i’m not trying to offend you)
i’m black, (african american) and it saddens me the amount of misunderstandings between people because of race. (look below at Ms. Black’s postings for reference) in fact, all of this has nothing to do with race- it has to do with human nature and what is right and what is wrong. the fact of the matter is that it is a basic human sickness to think someone is inferior because they are different- in any way. it just so happens that in the New World, race/ culture became that difference when melanin-deprived (European) individuals just decided they were better. they felt the need to have someone to look down on.
in the end, every person will be held accountable, through divine retribution, for his/her actions, not the actions of his/her ancestors or his/her country…we owe ourselves and our Creator to be the best humans we can be, and that supercedes race.
Peace…
Reply
Mr. Acevedo Puig,
I am proud to be an “independentista”. I believe that every country has the fundamental right govern itself. That is why is will dedicate my life to the struggle for the independence of my country.
Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo, Director Harvard University Students for Peace in Vieques, Now!
Reply to Frank C
Dear Frank C:
I have traveled extensively throughout Latin America. Some countries have been succesful governing themselves, some other countries have had greedy leaders (supported by the United States) that have led their poor to economic ruin. Do you know that 12 Caribbean nations have a higher per-capita income than Puerto Rico? I hope that confronting this fact will make you reconsider your errouneous belief that independence will make us a poor country. We already are a poor country, only independence would permit us the liberty to prosper and improve our economy and our quality of life. Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo
Reply
Mr. Acevedo Puig,
I am proud to be an “independentista”. I believe that every country has the right to govern itself. That is why I will dedicate my life to the struggle for the independence of my country.
Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo
RE: Reply
Dear Hans Perl-Matanzo,
For my Spanish class we had to research the issue of Puerto Rico as a territory, and current opinions on whether it should become a state, become independent, or remain as it is. It would be nice if some people could reply with more information on this subject. Thank You!
~ student
Message Board
why do you, the administrators of this message board erase my messages??? do they raise too serious questions???or are you a bunch of indepestistas tryingto make sure your message comes through loud and clear??? I believe the qusetion of how the ground water got contaiminated and gave the people of vieques cancer, when the water gets piped in from the main island is a valid question, how does that happen? and what about the navy building a bridge to vieques, and handing over the west side?? you must comprimise, billions of dollars in aid must account for something,,look at my other messages under the name of “freedom”. oh and by the way the military is not occuping PR, when a military force occupies a country there are road blocks and tanks in the streets, solmalia, kosavo, etc.. get the point?
Sources of contamination
Not everyone in Vieques has the priviledge of having running water pumped in from Humacao, some people in Vieques have to drink water from the wells in their property, this water can easily be contaminated by toxic waste from the bombing range. Secondly, a recent study showed that the average person in Vieques consumes fish twice a week. The same study demonstrated that fish and seafood in Vieques are contaminated with abnormaly high levels of lead and other toxic metals. But even if the water was not the primary accomplice of transporting toxic material to the general population, there are othe mediums through which contaminants travel. You should note that most people in Vieques ingest the contaminants through breathing, not through the water. When the uranium coated bullets puncture the armor of tanks, the uranium disolves into fine dust. Studies have demonstrated that this dust can travel distances of 26 miles. It should not surprise us that the types of cancer that are most abnormaly high in Vieques are throat and esophagous cancer, which would be explained by the toxic dust from the uranium coated shells, which is eventually breathed in by residents of Vieques. Finally, Puerto Rico is an island occupied by a foreign nation. Road blocks are not what defines an occupied nation. What defines an occupied nation is the presence of an invading armed force. And, in fact, that is the case of Puerto Rico.
On July 25, 1898 the United States invaded Puerto Rico, and their troops have never left our island. Thus, we are an invaded and occupied nation.
Regards, Hans Perl-Matanzo / Director, Harvard Students for Peace in Vieques, Now!
Puerto Rico: an invaded island
Dear Student:
For 400 plus years after the Spanish arrival and military conquest of Puerto Rico, our island remained a Spanish colony with few rights and self-governing powers. In 1897 the Spanish Government granted Puerto Ricans a limited autonomous govenment, similar to the one which exists now. Until 1901 Puerto Rico was ruled by a Militay-Governor who had close to unlimited powers, and islanders were even refused the right to be protected by the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1901, Puerto Rico the Congress passed the Foraker Act which determined that the President of the United States would appoint the Governor of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was a classic colony with no sovereignty or power over its own govenment. I can not provide you with a complete account of XX Century history of Puerto Rico, but I can tell you that the U.S. Congress has never legislated to provide the opportunity to vote in a U.S. Congress-sanctioned plebiscite were Congress commits itself to accept whatever option Puerto Ricans might chose. After 101 years of U.S. military occupation, and the construction in Puerto Rico of the biggest military base outside of continental United States, Puerto Rico has become extremely dependant on the U.S. economy. This would not need to be the case, but the U.S. has no interest in promoting the independence and prosperity of our economy, and so our country has become, to a large degree, dependant on U.S. welfare. It is remarkable that about 5% of the voting population still support independence.
Independence would entail risks, it would entail assuming the responsability of caring over our own future, and thus many people fear this option. Countless factors have contributed to the fear of independence: U.S. anti independence propaganda, persecution and assasinations of Puerto Ricans who support independence and finally, the fear of the unknown, since Puerto Rico has not been independent since 1493.
Puerto Rico is the oldest colony in the world. As a colony our economy has not prospered, we continue to be a poor country with 51% of the population living under the poverty level. The right to be free is a right of every nation in the world. Independence does not mean that we will become a poor nation, independence would mean that it is our responsability to work hard to become a prosperous nation. In fact, 12 other nations in the Caribbean have a considerably higher per capita income
than Puerto Rico. That means that on average, their citizens have a higher economic standard of living than we do.
It also shows that colonial ties with the United States are not necessily the answer to our economic woes. With the dawn of a new millenium in sight it is time for Puerto Ricans to brave the eality of taking responsability over their own government, and become an independent nation. Only when we are given the same chance the United States was given after its 1776 Declaration of Independence, can people honestly claim that independence would mean our economic downfall. In 1776 2/3 of the U.S. residents opposed independence. Most enslaved nations fear the idea of independence because its residents fear the unknown. As an independence supporter I only ask that we are given the same right which was obtained by the United States more than 250 years ago. If the United States fought a bloody war to become an independent nation, if it is truely the land of the free, why doesn’t it give us the chance to be free. Afteral would you want the United States to be the colony of England? If you do not want to live under colonialism, than you understand why I don’t want to live under that sad state either. We want to be free, as most citizens of the United States want to be too. We can only hope that the people of the United States understand that the U.S.A. has become what it fought in 1776: an imperial state like England. Thus, it is time for the United States to free Puerto Rico from its colonial status and grant us independence. Regards, Hans Perl-Matanzo
RE: RE: eufemismos
Las palabras en si no son malas. Las palabras son malas cuando son manifestaciones de una manera de ver las cosas incorrectas. Lo que pretendia con mi comentario es criticar precisamente la manera de ver las cosas en los EEUU en donde todo el mundo tiene un color, blanco , negro etc. Y cuando eso no sirve, se inventan cosas como “Asian” e Hispanic. Que en realidad no tienen que ver nada con color. No me molestaria que le dijeran blancos a los estadounidenses blancos si ellos fueran los unicos blancos, pero no lo son. De la misma manera si uno se pone a decirle moreno a los negros, esta cayendo en eufemismos. Y eso si perpetúa el ciclo. Hay que ser razonable y tener en cuenta que el idioma es un ente dinamico que cambia, y que en un contexto una palabra puede ser ofensiva y en otra estar bien. Pero , creo yo, que (no se si estoy logrando entenderme) el concepto de raza de EEUU es totalmente ridiculo, y todos esos embelecos de hispanic, etc , son intentos para remendarlos. (Que conste, que no estoy en contra del afirmative action, estoy en contra de las actitudes de la gente que se dividen la gente en categorias y que hacen el afirmative action necesario.)
RE: Message Board
As the history of the last two centuries has demonstrated there are far more efficient types of colonialism than direct control, military control if you will over people. In fact, if you study the history of the European empires of the 19th century you will find that the British model was much more succesful than the French was so much so because it gave its colonies a certain degree of flexibility.
Colonialism doesn’t have to be physical. It is far more effective when it is indirect, such as in the case of US imperialism. The present status of PR is an ingenious ploy created by the US to coerce the United Nations into eliminating Puerto Rico from the list of colonies, all of this in the context of the cold war. Colonialism in PR, although it definitely has a tangible component – 10% of our land is owned by the armed forces and we get practically no payments in return (I recommend that you find out how much Spain gets paid for bases in its national territory that are far smaller than those located in Puerto Rico), is more psychologican than enything else.
RE: Reply
I have several questions for you, Hans-
What does the U.S. have to gain as holding Puerto Rico as a territory?
I have read some statistics about the U.S. giving so many millions of dollars in aid, (U.S. taxpayers money), while Puerto Ricans do not have to pay taxes. This makes it seem as if it is much more to Puerto Rico’s benefit than the U.S.’s to remain a territory.
Do you consider the word “colony” more appropriate than the word “territory”? Usually, when I think of colonialism, I think of Africa, in which the colonized African countries were practically forced to speak the language of the “Mother Country”, name their children French and English names, and use these countries rich resources (oil, diamonds, gold) to make their countries rich. What does that have in common with U.S.-Puerto Rico relations? Extremely curious.
Thanks!
Reply to LOVE
As the history of the last two centuries has demonstrated there are far more efficient types of colonialism than direct control, military control if you will over people. In fact, if you study the history of the European empires of the 19th century you will find that the British model was much more succesful than the French was so much so because it gave its colonies a certain degree of flexibility.
Colonialism doesn’t have to be physical. It is far more effective when it is indirect, such as in the case of US imperialism. The present status of PR is an ingenious ploy created by the US to coerce the United Nations into eliminating Puerto Rico from the list of colonies, all of this in the context of the cold war. Colonialism in PR, although it definitely has a tangible component – 10% of our land is owned by the armed forces and we get practically no payments in return (I recommend that you find out how much Spain gets paid for bases in its national territory that are far smaller than those located in Puerto Rico), is more psychologican than enything else.
RE: RE: Racist policy against Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, although definitively a Latin American country, does not share many of the characteristics that have made Latin America poor. We don’t have caudillismo, we have a government that although not perfect is largely democratic (in some ways even better than the US, people actually vote and care in PR) We don’t have anything close to the big class and racial divisions that exist in Latin America (although, yes, there is racism, but so there is in the US) and we are already industrialized. Puerto Rico would not become a dictatorship, simply because we would not permit it. And about the Natural Resources, we DO have natural resources, if not, what are our beaches, Vieques, San Juan. We have a pretty good infrastructure. In fact, in the modern world the wealth of nations is not based on their mineral rights, look at Japan, Singapur, or the US for that matter, they have all economies that are increasingly based on information and services, they buy the materials they need from someone else. In fact, a big chunk of the oil in the US is not American, it comes from Venezuela. Venezuela has natural resources but can’t administer, the US has them and administers fairly well, Japan does not have them, but it buys them from someone else. Your arguments about the bad things of independence are largely obsolete and take for granted many conditions that don’t really apply to Puerto Rico.
Regards,
Daniel
RE: Message Board
What does this comment have to do with the question of race among Puerto Ricans?
I care too but you’re in the wrong board
It seems to me that this discussion is going off into other areas, unfortunately. You know, you can make suggestions for topic discussions. The Forum index page tells you how. I’ve been coming to this board since–I guess since it’s been up and I’ve never seen anything erased. But maybe if you’re comments don’t pertain to the subject, they are removed. The index page, again, offers an explanation. Paranoia and accusations are not the direction to go in.
RE: RE: Reply
Good question! Puerto Rico is a colony of the U.S. just as many African nations were colonies of different European nations. The U.S. has invested a great deal of money in Puerto Rico as a way of creating a new market for its products. As a colony, Puerto Rico can only trade with the U.S. or those the U.S. deems appropriate. The federal benefits extended to Puerto Ricans, which were actually an accident, because when Puerto Ricans were made citizens in order to have more soldiers/bodies in WWI, there were no social benefits. But those benefits actually serve to subsidize American products in Puerto Rico today. Let me be clearer. The U.S. gives Puerto Ricans money and then orders them to buy U.S. products. The U.S. training base in Vieques is rented out to foreign nations at the tune of 80 million dollars a year! As one of the U.S. top trading partners (remember we are a closed market for exclusively American goods), Puerto Ricans provide billions of dollars in revenues to the U.S. If you ever travel to Puerto Rico, you will find that consumer goods costs just as much there as in New York. Some products cost even more, and yet Puerto Ricans command half to 3/4 of the pay that Americans do. This type of economic imbalance, coupled with the lack of political power, is what makes Puerto Rio a colony. And it is what made nations in Africa colonies or today neo-colonies. But this is another story. The public outcry about Puerto Ricans receiving federal benefits is unfounded upon analysis. Firstly, because those who receive veterans benefits or social security benefits either risked their lives in the battlefield or worked all their lives for the meager sums. Secondly, those who receive welfare there are really subsidizing American products. That is American businesses directly benefit from having Puerto Ricans on the island on welfare. The status quo is maintained by basically neutralizing a politically and economically extreme situation of unemployment, joblessness and increasing crime. Welfare, which happily is being phased out, has perpetuated the semblance of the stable and good colony.
While Puerto Rico’s economy was integrated into the U.S. economy for light industries–pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles–the main emphasis is really in what the U.S. exports to Puerto Rico. How the island is used militarily. The largest naval base outside the continental U.S. is in Puerto Rico. It’s the Roosevelt Roads naval base. And as you can see, all the ruckus over Vieques is not a small deal. The Pentagon is directly concerned about its training base there. Many military actions to other Latin American countries have been launched from Puerto Rico. As an appendage to the U.S., Puerto Rico’s agricultural base was completely obliterated so that a great amount of food is imported from–you guessed it, the U.S. Have there been benefits, of course there have been. Materially, Puerto Ricans a better off than their Latin American brothers and sisters. A modern infrastructure was built. Puerto Rico began to look more and more like Florida and less and less like Puerto Rico. High unemployment, crime and drugs have become major problems on the island. The question now is, what is the next step for Puerto Rico? As far as language is concerned, the U.S. attempted to make Puerto Ricans speak English but failed. Puerto Ricans pulled their children out of the schools and resisted this kind of cultural intrusion.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
Well, I don’t buy the notion of a divine anything, let alone divine retribution, so I can’t respond using the religious viewpoint. In fact, one of my points was that the religious viewpoint (in this case, Christianity) was responsible in no small part for the horrors visited upon others with a different religion.
As to “human nature,” I don’t think one can point to behavior as proof of a “nature.” It seems to me humans are “by nature” more cooperative than agressive, but that’s a long story.
Though we are not reponsible for what was done, we are accountable–in other words, claiming ignorance is inexcusable.
TODAY: Protest in New York
>>>
!Not one More Bomb in Vieques!
The VIEQUES SOLIDARITY NETWORK is calling an Emergency Demonstration
tomorrow, Wednesday, February 2, 2000 in front of the Puerto Rico Federal
Affairs Offices in New York to protest Governor Rosselló’s betrayal of the
will of the people of Puerto Rico that the Navy stop bombing Vieques.
Governor Rosselló consented to the continuation of Navy bombing in
Vieques. Protest against the actions of the governor and demonstrate your
support for the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico!
PLACE: 33rd Street and Park Avenue
TIME: Starts at 5:00 PM
RE: Boricuas and Race
You indicate that Puerto Rico is a “white island” among other things and direct us to check the history books. What history books? Could you be more specific? Could you give titles and authors, so that we can have a more serious discussion?
Now, to start with, I will give you some titles and authors that challenge your misguided view about race relations in Puerto Rico. Let us Start with El Pais de los Cuatro Pisos by Jose Luis Gonzalez where he states that for historical, cultural and political reasons afropuertorican culture is the most important element in Puertorican culture. There is not enough space to delve in this particular book but this is a beginning.
Let us now turn our attention to Narciso descubre su trasero by Isabelo Zenon Cruz, perhaps the most important book published in Puerto Rico regarding race relations. In this book you will see how racism continues to be prevalent in Puerto Rico. Suffice to say that this two books can give you a much clearer perspective than what you have right now.
The truth of the matter is that we are a mulato nation, where the african influence is as deep as the ancestral land. And it is also true that because of racism this influence has been diminished, not taught in the schools or universities, and presented to us as something from the past, without any relevance to the present.
More recent studies indicate that rascism is still prevalent in all areas of our Puertorican society, from education to employment to government and housing. It is no wonder that the strongholds of puertorrique~nos negros, are isolated, take Loiza for example. Now, it is also true that we must not view Puertorican race relations through the same framework as North American race relations, but that is radically different than saying that there is no racism in Puerto Rico or that race relations in Puerto Rico are well resolved.
Perhaps this few thoughts can serve to engage in a more constructive dialogue, one marked by serious historical investigation and less on anecdotal, and perhaps misguided subjective views.
Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Is the acceptance of mainland Puerto Ricans by island Puerto Ricans and visa versa off the topic? I have observed and experienced distinct differences (if not sheer clickishness) to the point of standoffishness on the part of both groups when they are brought together… Pesonally I remember going to Puerto Rico and visiting a small restaurant in the Sardinero in Fajardo and being made to feel like a total foreigner by the staff. By the same token, I have observed how people that come from the island (especially if they don’t speak English) are sometimes treated like they are some second class citizen or just downright unwelcomed… Any thoughts?
RE: RE: RE: Reply
Thank you so much for your reply; I was truly in the dark… now i see what is really going on…
Sincerely,
susan caldwell aka LOVE
RE:U.S. vs Island Puerto Ricans?
I would not refer to the U.S. as the Puerto Rican mainland. Really! I have never experienced any kind of standoffishness from Puerto Ricans on the island. I have always felt them to be quite friendly. Equally, U.S. Puerto Ricans can be more edgey, but I also find them cariñosos. I think you’ve really got to work more on an individual basis. There are a variety of types everywhere. But you’re right this is definitely off the point of race.
RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Saludos,
First of all I want to appoligice for all the grammatical and syntactical errors, I am a Puertorrican from the island who hasn’t worked as hard as he should on his English.
The issue which Gloria Feliciano adresses is one of the most important (if not the most) ones for the Puerto Rican community. It cannot be underestimated because how are we going to accomplish anithing if we keep dividing our force by half and we don’t unite behind common interests. I know that it gets hard because of the different views regarding Puerto Rico’s political future but the problem’s roots are deeper. As a Puerto Rican from the island I know the coldness of many (but not all) of us toward the Boricuas from The States. We seem not to understand that the migrations were almost “forced”
because under the economic development programs (el dichoso ELA) it would have been imposible to raise the quality of life indexes with out them. It is true that the problems feeds on ignorance and missconceptions but even “educated” people fail to view the big picture.It is up to each individual to decide if they are North American or Puerto Rican.
A decission for wich you don’t have to speak a given language or been born in certain place (Luis Rosa had never been to PR and he gave 19 years of his life for it).
La Patria se hace no se nace.
RE: Puerto Rico: an invaded island
Companero Hans,
I totaly agree with you but I think it may be important to say that the 5% that the Puerto Rican Independist Party (PIP) gets in the general elections is not by any means representative of the total Puerto Rican independist movement. The PIP isolates it self from many other “independentistas” like me and my family, and many others. Besides most of the autonomists in the Popular Democratic Party are actually “independentistas” in the long term.Sincerely, Oscar Miranda-Miller
Everyone get’s a free copy…
of the book I will probably never write. Then again, I dont think there is alot of information out there on Puerto Rican and race… and, obviously, there seems to be a need for it. Maybe you can write it! 🙂
In this instance (thank God), I agree with your flower analogy. I have always felt that way – that “race” doesn’t exist. But everytime I have voiced my opinion that we are all just a different shade of brown, people jump all over me.
I disagree that race should be an area where humanity should be allowed to disagree. (Does that make any sense?) What I mean to say, is that the concept of race should not be left up to ambiguity. Race does not exist. Punto y se acabo. Once we get that through our thick skulls, racism can finally be cured.
Now I’m going to go on some wierd tangent (not unlike any other time)… Did anyone see the movie, “Matrix.” Well, racism is like the created reality used to manipulate the masses into submission and complacency. In the real world, the only thing that exists is a struggle for power… acheived by the Oppressor by the easiest and most useful means. If the Oppressor (the one in power) needs an underclass to do their work. If the Oppressor’s skin color is purple, then it would be really easy and useful to create a society where anyone other than purple will be on the bottom part of the hierarchy (of power). It is a visual signal that is easily recognized. It is useful because segregation and differential treatment can be accomplished quickly and would not involve much thought.
Our society doesn this not only with “race” but with many other variables. The point is for us to be constantly conscious of our own actions and whether the decisions we make on an individual basis are truly our own or are pre-programmed. Only through the cultivation of consciousness (which encompasses spiritual awakening and development) can we pull humanity away from self-sabbotage.
Okay… this is totally off the point… but, what the heck, everyone else has done it!!! No soy la unica loca. Ha, ha, ha.
RE: RE:U.S. vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Sorry if I gave the impression that I believe Puerto Ricans on the island or in the US are less than carinoso because I do not feel that way at all. I think we are a very warm and caring people and have always felt welcome when I visit the island. The incident I shared was an isolated one but having witnessed similar behavior from both sides in the past, (here in NY, I might add)I recognize it when I see it. thanx for your feedback!
RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
I know exactly what you mean. There is anomosity between Native Puerto Ricans and those born in the USA. I also have been to PR and once you leave San Juan and go out to the country some native Puerto Ricans treated me like a foreigner who they felt didn’t belong there. I also have friends that were born and raised in PR and we have gotten into arguements because they don’t consider me Puerto Rican because I wasn’t born there. I told them I my parents raised me and installed the PR culture in me and I can read, write, and speak spanish, so I consider myself a Puerto Rican just like them. I also told them to watch the Puerto Rican parade in NYC so they can see how much pride those US born Puerto Ricans that they don’t respect have.Hopefully some of the prejudices between Native and American PR’s can cease and we can unite because there is strength in numbers and thats only way we can make changes on the island and in the USA for our people.
Down these Mean Streets
We’ve exhausted the conversation on race–or have we? If I remember Piri Thomas’ book “Down These Mean Streets” correctly, he talks about being singled out because he was darker than his siblings. Perhaps someone can refresh my memory about this.
Well said!
Soft power is much more effective than military power. Marketing McDonalds, Coca Cola and Levis is more influential and longer lasting than sending rifle-carring soldiers that impose curfew upon strangers in a foreign land. The whole structure of Western Society was built upon idea-control. (Check out the Republic by Plato).
Unique Experience
Hi Love!
I appreciate your reply. I gave me alot to think about. Please allow me to make one clarification – I know that the reality of US society is that darker skinned folks (of whatever culture/nationality) are, for the most part, treated according to prejudices held by this bigotted society. I also understand that because of my white skin, I am probably able to “pass” into white society. (As a side note, because you can’t hear the sound of my voice, you dont know that I have an accent that gives me away all the time!) But when we talk about Puerto Ricans and race, the experience is distinct from that of African Americans because in the US Anglo Americans and African Americans have different cultures. A lighter skinned Puerto Rican and a darker skinned Puerto Rican have the SAME culture. We all eat rice and beans, our families sing “aginaldos” at Christmas, and we dance to salsa, bomba, plena and an occassional sei’ choriao’! White folks and black folks in the US eat different foods, dance to different music and even have different styles of religious worship. Because Puerto Rico is so small, we dont have any dialects. In the US, each region of the country has a different accent. African and Anglo Americans even have different ways of speaking English.
The only thing that unites US residents on an every-day basis is pop culture. As you know, in alot of ways this has been beneficial in bringing together the different segments of US society. Rock music as well as Hip Hop have infiltrated mainstream Anglo America and thus has promoted some elements of African American culture.
In Puerto Rico the different elements of Native American, African and European culture began to weld together from the very biginning of colonization. It is true that the Spaniard colonialists felt superior to Tainos and Africanos, but that whole structure did not last very long. Since, Puerto Rico was practically abandoned by the Spanish crown for about 150 years, the mixed Creole people formed a society where it mattered less (I am not saying it did not matter at all) what color your skin was than how much land, power and money you had.
Like you said, my personal experience is very unique since I grew up in the inner city… but so is that of Puerto Ricans in general.
I’d like to add one more note… A very popular term of endearment for Puerto Ricans is “negra/o” or “negrita/o.” It is literally translated as black or blackie. I read someplace that this terminology arose from the common Spanish practice of having an African mistress. Somehow it became a universal expression of warmth and love. A Puerto Rican man will call his blonde-haired, blue-eyed wife, “Negra.” Some Puerto Ricans refuse to use the term in order to acknowledge the infamous practice of sexual use of African slave women by European slave owners. I have chosen to continue to use it. Why? Because I think it’s kind of cool how human beings are able to turn ugly experiences into beautiful ones.
Anecdotal is Historical
When I said Puerto Rico is a “white island” and followed up with a reminder about white (practically slave) labor, I was responding to Hector Rosario’s post entitled “Racismo en Puerto Rico” where he cited Diaz Blanco as saying that “Puerto Rico is the most white island of the antilles” and to Victor Padilla’s post entitled, “Historical View of Slavery.” I was not making an assertion, I was trying to explain one aspect of a unique caribbean racial phenomenon.
You wrote, “Now, it is also true that we must not view Puertorican race relations through the same framework as North American race relations. Now that is radically different than saying that there is no racism in Puerto Rico or that race relations in Puerto Rico are well resolved.” I was not making either assertion.
In fact I agree that racism exists in Puerto Rico, and that steps should be taken to erradicate the vestiges of the slave-owning societal mentality.
I think you have contradicted yourself when you say that the strongholds of Puerto Riquenos negros are isolated and in the next paragraph assert that “we are a mulatto nation where the African influence is as deep as the ancestral land.” Make up your mind. Either African culture is isolated or is an essential and integral part of our culture. Once we try to separate the African experience and relegate it to our darker brothers and sisters alone, we buy into the sick racial segregation upheld in North America.
I met Jose Luis Gonzalez in 1989 shortly after he wrote El Pais de Cuatro Pisos. I told him the book was long overdo. But I would like to point out that his book is made up of “anecdotal” facts. Whether presented in statistical form or as academic study, history IS anecdotal. History is the compliation of individual stories and accounts of the human economic, soical, political, artistic and spiritual experience. I posted my experience in order to participate in this process, not to imply that my experience was the only or the right one.
Here’s one more anecdote for you: I was talking to a cousin of mine about this topic, and she told me that she did not realize until she came to this country that there were “blacks” and “whites.” Not until she moved to Buffalo, New York, did she realize that her father in the U.S. would be considered “black” (atough he is actually a product of Taino, East Indian, Spanish and African predecessors) and that unlike him (with her red hair and hazel eyes), she was “white” (like her blue-eyed mother). She tells me she never accepted either concept because it was not representative of her reality. Her reality growing up in Puerto Rico was that she and her best friend (who’s African ancestry was more evident) were the same. There were people who were econmically worse off and many others who were better off. What kind of shoes you wore mattered more than what color your skin was.
Sources:
Carrion, History of Puerto Rico
Wagenheim, The Puerto Ricans
Rosario Morales, “Crossroads”
Raphael Hernandez, “Lamento Boricano”
Mami y Papi
Abuela
Tio
Prima
yo misma, etc. etc.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
Thanks, Kiwi, I really enjoy reading your posts too!
A Quote for you
“Aquel que no esta orgulloso de su origen no valdra nunca nada, porque empieza pro despreciarse a si mismo.”
-Pedro Albizu Campos
RE: RE: RE: RE: Reply
Thanks for being open to discussion and contributing to this board.
RE: Down these Mean Streets
I am Black hispanic. Born and raised in NY. However, I was 16 attending Catholic High School when a Afro American student brought to my attention that I was indeed Black. I remeber telling her she was mistaken. Yet from that moment on I felt different. When I was outside of my community, I felt alone with nowhere nor no one to hang out with.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
thank you for discussing this issue so openly. I have to sleep on some of the posting and will return with an opinon.
But again thanks to the community.
Questions
Hi Bette!
I’m glad you decided to participated in this discussion. I was hoping for a post like yours… a “black” Latina/o who was willing to put there personal experience “out there”, so to speak. I’m interested in finding out more about your experience.
You say you were 16 years old when you realized you were “black.” Why did it take 16 years? Why did you tell the other student she was mistaken? Was it that your family didn’t identify themselves as “black”, was it that culturally you did not identify with African Americans, or are there other reasons?
Why did you feel “different” after the conversation? What happened after your conversation with the other student? Did you become friends with her? Did you begin to identify with the African American experience? Where you more aware of discrimination against you (by other Latinos, African Americans or Anglo Americans, etc.)?
Are you Puerto Rican? Do you know if your ancestory is mostly African? Have you ever been to Puerto Rico? If you have, was your “racial experience” different or the same as in the US?
I hope you get a chance to respond to this post… I’ll be looking for your reply! 🙂
RE: Unique Experience
Cotorrita,
Very true and very interesting. and 99% of human experiences go beyond race, and even culture!
Peace!
RE: RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Carlos: Oscar tiene razón, y tú tambien.
¿Cuantos puertorriqueños nacidos y criados en la isla reniegan y se averguenzan de ser puertorriqueños? ¡Muchos! Desgraciadamente. Y sin embargo, ¿Cuantos nacidos y criados en los EE.UU. se sienten tan puertorriqueños y hasta mas que michos en la isla? ¡Tambien un montón! Y lo puedo decir yo con autoridad pues nací y me crié toda la vida en Puerto Rico. Y he vivido en NY y ahora mismo vivo en Los angeles, Califronia, donde he visto boricuas que son tan puertorriqueños como cualquiera. asi que no le hagas caso a tus “amigos”. Recuerda el poema de don Juan Antonio Corretjer; BORICUA EN LA LUNA, al que Roy Brown le puso música y que dice “Yo sería borincano aunque naciera en la luna”. La patria se lleva en el corazón y la conciencia y eso NADIE te lo puede negar o quitar. Cuídate y pa’lante boricua. Iván
RE: RE: Message Board
Probablemente no mucho pero…. la conversación se desvió por ahí. Aún asi sigue siendo interesante. Iván
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
La gente “Blanca” o de piel clara (aunque no sean europeos) no tienenuna “deficiencia”, como tú dices de melalina. La razón de tener la piel clara,u obscura o lo que sea es por selección natural, para protejernos del medio en que nuestros ancentros vivierón y se desarrollarón hace miles, (o millones) de años. Lo mismo es válido para el resto de las características de cada grupo humano al que comúnmente llamamos “raza”.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
The melanin-deprived Europeans, as you call them, did not decided that they were better and needed to look down at someone else. I belive it has to do with how centuries ago the dominat class of the European contries decided to exploit people who were easer to exploit than their own. It is, as always, economics lead by greed. I think racisim came latter as a byproduct of this. Iván
(Please excuse my terrible written English)
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
El elemento africano en Puerto Rico es y ha sido, definitivamente, de vital importancia en el desarrollo de nuestro país. Yo he leído “El País de los Cuatro Pisos” y estoy de acuerdo con muchas de las cosas que José Luis Gonzáles expone. Pero definitivamente adjudicarle “rango” de importancia a una de nuestras raíces sobre otra, en este caso decir que la raíz africana es la mas importante es tan incorrecto como decir que la raíz europea, representada mayormente por los españoles, es mas importante. Joé Luis Gonzáles, mencionó muchas cosas importantes en el libro, lo cual no da espacio aqui para discutir, y abrió un debate que hacía tiempo había que discutir y se sigue discutiendo, pero lamentablemente,creo yo, racionalizó muchas cosas desde su punto de vista como negro boricua, de igual forma que muchos “blancos” puertorriqueños tambien lo hacen al querer pretender que la herencia europea es mas importante que la africana.. Yo no puedo concebir a Puerto Rico sin su herencia Taína, sin su herencia africana y sin su herencia española, porque sino, simplemente no sería Puerto Rico, sería otra cosa, o al menos no el Puerto Rico nuestro que conocemos. Tampoco se puede decir que una raíz es mas importante que otra. Iván
RE: RE: Hans Perl-Matanzo is an Independentista
¡Bien dicho!
RE: Hans Perl-Matanzo is an Independentista
La verdad mi’jo… es que tienes el espiritu enfermo y el alma torcida. ¡Típico colonizado! Pero para tu felicidad te sujiero que, si aún no vives en los EE.UU, te mudes para cualquiera de los “estados” para que seas felíz y nos dejes a los puertorriqueños que sí queremos y amamos a nuestro país, ser lo que somos; PUERTORRIQUEñOS. Permíteme sugerirte algunos estados de TU nación a los cuales te puedes ir a vivir: Mississippi, Alabama o Georga. Estoy seguro que serias muy felíz allí.
Respuesta a Franck C
Estimado Franck C: Sin querer ser irrespetuoso debo decirle que muchos puertorriqueños tienen todavía, desgraciadamente, las mismas ideas retrógradas y oscurantistas del tipo colonizado como usted. Esto se explica solo de una manera: Ignorancia.
¿No se ha dado cuenta usted que la “crema”, es decir los hombres y mujeres mas sabios e ilustres de Puerto Rico han sido y son independentistas? ¿Cómo es posible que todos ellos esten equivocados? y… ¿Sabe usted porqué esos países latinoamericanos estan en tan malas condiciones? Sencillamente porque las élites económicas que controlan a los EE UU. en consorcio con las élites económicas y traidoras de esos países no permiten el desarrollo de los mismos. ¿Quién usted creé es el dueño de todos esos recursos de países latinoamericanos tan grandes como por ejemplo, Brazil? ¿Los brasileños? NO lo son las corporaciones multinacionales de los EE.UU. Y cada vez que hay un cambio a favor de que esos recursos sean para el pueblo y a favor de que haya mas democracia, ¿Qué es lo que sucede? Bueno…. Golpes de estado auspiciados y financiados por el gobierno de los EE.UU. Escuadrones de la muerte que asesinan y aterrorizan a la población subscidiados por el gobirno asesino de los EE.UU. Y para eso usan a la élite adinerada y traidora como mayordomo. Revise bien la historia y encontrará que durante todo el siglo 20 los EE.UU. lo que ha hecho es invadir a esos países cuando ha habido reformas a favor de la población. De los ejemplos mas recientes le puedo dar el de el derrocamiento de Jacobo Arbenz en Guatemala durante los 50, Juan Bosch en la República Dominicana en los 60 y Salvador Allende en Chile en a pricipio de los 70. Es increíble que a estas alturas haya gente todavía pensando como usted. Yo no creo que sea que no entienda, sino mas bien que no quiere entender. Pero si me equivoco y usted todavía tiene algo de capacidad para abrir su mente le sugiero que lea Cualquier libro de Noam Chomsky o Michael Parenti. Ambos estadounidenses. tambien puede leer ‘LAS VENAS ABIERTAS DE AMERICA LATINA” por el uruguayo Eduardo Galeano. Y recuerde que los independentistas son mas de lo que las cifras ofiales dicen. Y no todo independentista es del PIP. Y piense que mientras usted esta rezsando para que sean menos los independentistas, hay otros Puertorriqueños con conciencia rezando y trabajando para que puertorriqueños como usted salgan de la oscuridad y sean mas y mas los independentistas.
RE: eufemismos
¡Diste en el clavo Daniel! Estoy totalmente de acuerdo. Ademas la palabra
trigueña(o) se refiere en Puerto Rico al que no es ni negro ni blanco, sino producto del mestizaje entre el español, el indio y el africano. Es inclusive un término que se ha usado hasta poéticamente para describir a la mujer puertorriqueña, presisamente, trigueña. Por ejemplo recordemos que la música de nuestro himno nacional viene de una danza que se llama “Bellísima trigeña”. Lo que sí esta mal, y con lo que yo tengo problemas al igual que tú es que se le esté diciendo “trigueño” a alguien que es negro. ¡Como si ser negro fuese malo! y esto lo he visto yo en el mismo Puerto Rico.
RE: Race relations among Puerto Ricans
Yes we are imitaiting the racist of the US. Just like we were imitaiting and wanted to be Spaniards when Spain colonized us. The colonized do not have a sense of self worth therfore he or she wants to be like colonizer, the one who has the power. Even some black Puerto Ricans and trigueños discriminate agaist other blacks or trigueños. Some think that by maring a “white” they will improve the race by diluting their african genes in a caucasian gen pool. Tha’s the sad mentality of the one who has being colonized.
A note: There is NO “mainland”. There is the United States and there is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a country of its own. If someone is going to use the term “mainland” I guess it will be the people of Vieques, Culebra… (or maybe even the iguanas at Mona island) in reference to the “big island” of Puerto Rico .
Island vs U.S. Puerto Ricans?
I love Juan Antonio Corretjer and what he represents for all of us. And I agree that this transcendent sense of being Boricua is always present. However, I also believe that there are real differences among us–culturally. And, in fact, to stay true to this topic, I believe the differences between island Puerto Ricans and U.S. Puerto Ricans are greater than any racial differences that may exist among island Puerto Ricans of different racial groups or mixed categories. There is a unifying experience to being from the island, just as there is unifying experience to being born/raised in the U.S. This can not be denied. It is ironic and yet it seems to make sense that Boricuas from the island might feel inhibited about themselves and might feel inferior to Americans, and therefore would feel embarassed about who they are. It is sad but true. Here in the States, I think a lot of Puerto Ricans feel inferior–this has been statistically shown–especially among our youth and children. But there is an ongoing attempt to address this by pushing this sense of PRIDE. However, I have found that most Puerto Rican youths know very little about their mother culture and are more steeped in African American culture which they seem to ignorantly equate with Puerto Rican culture. They too seem embarassed when a distinction is made between Puerto Ricans and African Americans. I am of course talking about mostly our inner city youth. The more educated and older Puerto Ricans stateside who have always been really connected to some aspect of the Puerto Rican culture–however much it may be from the fifties and sixties, when their families arrived here,–are the one’s who are most PRIDEFUL. And for them, it is an ongoing learning process. They even take lessons in playing the cuatro and speaking Spanish!
The Puerto Rican Day Parade–which is by far the largest in New York City–exemplifies our need to have una cosa nuestra. Pa’lante–yes–but really try to learn and respect the culture of your family. Anyway, those are my reflections for now!
For Americans we are basically black
The reality is that race relations among Puerto Ricans are highly complex and they are further complicated by having been taken over by the U.S. We are considered black by the Americans and their English-derivative race system. We see this everyday in New York, where Puerto Rican youth act “black” or really African American. It really isn’t accidental. The way social programs were implemented and even the way history is taught in the public schools–moved from let’s say a ‘white’ history to, not a multicultural history at all, but a ‘black’ history. As if we never learned to have an honest sense of multiculturalism but only of carrying on politics as usual which in the U.S. has always been a “black and white thing.”
RE: Boricuas and Race
Your experiences and studies have made you very wise. Your post touched on a lot of important issues, race and class,”flavor of the month”, that are crucial to general discussions on this issue.
However, I am inclined to think that your experiences were somewhat unique, correct me if I’m wrong. as a general rule, people of a lighter complexion do receive preferential treatment from all races. they might have the same amount of difficulty as a darker person navigating through black and white worlds in the US- when they might think they would have it easier because of their color. besides, i wonder if have the same mindset of a lot of white Americans who think that they aren’t beneficiaries of white priveledge…(i don’t know and i’m not trying to offend you)
i’m black, (african american) and it saddens me the amount of misunderstandings between people because of race. (look below at Ms. Black’s postings for reference) in fact, all of this has nothing to do with race- it has to do with human nature and what is right and what is wrong. the fact of the matter is that it is a basic human sickness to think someone is inferior because they are different- in any way. it just so happens that in the New World, race/ culture became that difference when melanin-deprived (European) individuals just decided they were better. they felt the need to have someone to look down on.
in the end, every person will be held accountable, through divine retribution, for his/her actions, not the actions of his/her ancestors or his/her country…we owe ourselves and our Creator to be the best humans we can be, and that supercedes race.
Peace…
Reply
Mr. Acevedo Puig,
I am proud to be an “independentista”. I believe that every country has the fundamental right govern itself. That is why is will dedicate my life to the struggle for the independence of my country.
Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo, Director Harvard University Students for Peace in Vieques, Now!
Reply to Frank C
Dear Frank C:
I have traveled extensively throughout Latin America. Some countries have been succesful governing themselves, some other countries have had greedy leaders (supported by the United States) that have led their poor to economic ruin. Do you know that 12 Caribbean nations have a higher per-capita income than Puerto Rico? I hope that confronting this fact will make you reconsider your errouneous belief that independence will make us a poor country. We already are a poor country, only independence would permit us the liberty to prosper and improve our economy and our quality of life. Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo
Reply
Mr. Acevedo Puig,
I am proud to be an “independentista”. I believe that every country has the right to govern itself. That is why I will dedicate my life to the struggle for the independence of my country.
Sincerely, Hans Perl-Matanzo
RE: Reply
Dear Hans Perl-Matanzo,
For my Spanish class we had to research the issue of Puerto Rico as a territory, and current opinions on whether it should become a state, become independent, or remain as it is. It would be nice if some people could reply with more information on this subject. Thank You!
~ student
Message Board
why do you, the administrators of this message board erase my messages??? do they raise too serious questions???or are you a bunch of indepestistas tryingto make sure your message comes through loud and clear??? I believe the qusetion of how the ground water got contaiminated and gave the people of vieques cancer, when the water gets piped in from the main island is a valid question, how does that happen? and what about the navy building a bridge to vieques, and handing over the west side?? you must comprimise, billions of dollars in aid must account for something,,look at my other messages under the name of “freedom”. oh and by the way the military is not occuping PR, when a military force occupies a country there are road blocks and tanks in the streets, solmalia, kosavo, etc.. get the point?
Sources of contamination
Not everyone in Vieques has the priviledge of having running water pumped in from Humacao, some people in Vieques have to drink water from the wells in their property, this water can easily be contaminated by toxic waste from the bombing range. Secondly, a recent study showed that the average person in Vieques consumes fish twice a week. The same study demonstrated that fish and seafood in Vieques are contaminated with abnormaly high levels of lead and other toxic metals. But even if the water was not the primary accomplice of transporting toxic material to the general population, there are othe mediums through which contaminants travel. You should note that most people in Vieques ingest the contaminants through breathing, not through the water. When the uranium coated bullets puncture the armor of tanks, the uranium disolves into fine dust. Studies have demonstrated that this dust can travel distances of 26 miles. It should not surprise us that the types of cancer that are most abnormaly high in Vieques are throat and esophagous cancer, which would be explained by the toxic dust from the uranium coated shells, which is eventually breathed in by residents of Vieques. Finally, Puerto Rico is an island occupied by a foreign nation. Road blocks are not what defines an occupied nation. What defines an occupied nation is the presence of an invading armed force. And, in fact, that is the case of Puerto Rico.
On July 25, 1898 the United States invaded Puerto Rico, and their troops have never left our island. Thus, we are an invaded and occupied nation.
Regards, Hans Perl-Matanzo / Director, Harvard Students for Peace in Vieques, Now!
Puerto Rico: an invaded island
Dear Student:
For 400 plus years after the Spanish arrival and military conquest of Puerto Rico, our island remained a Spanish colony with few rights and self-governing powers. In 1897 the Spanish Government granted Puerto Ricans a limited autonomous govenment, similar to the one which exists now. Until 1901 Puerto Rico was ruled by a Militay-Governor who had close to unlimited powers, and islanders were even refused the right to be protected by the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1901, Puerto Rico the Congress passed the Foraker Act which determined that the President of the United States would appoint the Governor of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was a classic colony with no sovereignty or power over its own govenment. I can not provide you with a complete account of XX Century history of Puerto Rico, but I can tell you that the U.S. Congress has never legislated to provide the opportunity to vote in a U.S. Congress-sanctioned plebiscite were Congress commits itself to accept whatever option Puerto Ricans might chose. After 101 years of U.S. military occupation, and the construction in Puerto Rico of the biggest military base outside of continental United States, Puerto Rico has become extremely dependant on the U.S. economy. This would not need to be the case, but the U.S. has no interest in promoting the independence and prosperity of our economy, and so our country has become, to a large degree, dependant on U.S. welfare. It is remarkable that about 5% of the voting population still support independence.
Independence would entail risks, it would entail assuming the responsability of caring over our own future, and thus many people fear this option. Countless factors have contributed to the fear of independence: U.S. anti independence propaganda, persecution and assasinations of Puerto Ricans who support independence and finally, the fear of the unknown, since Puerto Rico has not been independent since 1493.
Puerto Rico is the oldest colony in the world. As a colony our economy has not prospered, we continue to be a poor country with 51% of the population living under the poverty level. The right to be free is a right of every nation in the world. Independence does not mean that we will become a poor nation, independence would mean that it is our responsability to work hard to become a prosperous nation. In fact, 12 other nations in the Caribbean have a considerably higher per capita income
than Puerto Rico. That means that on average, their citizens have a higher economic standard of living than we do.
It also shows that colonial ties with the United States are not necessily the answer to our economic woes. With the dawn of a new millenium in sight it is time for Puerto Ricans to brave the eality of taking responsability over their own government, and become an independent nation. Only when we are given the same chance the United States was given after its 1776 Declaration of Independence, can people honestly claim that independence would mean our economic downfall. In 1776 2/3 of the U.S. residents opposed independence. Most enslaved nations fear the idea of independence because its residents fear the unknown. As an independence supporter I only ask that we are given the same right which was obtained by the United States more than 250 years ago. If the United States fought a bloody war to become an independent nation, if it is truely the land of the free, why doesn’t it give us the chance to be free. Afteral would you want the United States to be the colony of England? If you do not want to live under colonialism, than you understand why I don’t want to live under that sad state either. We want to be free, as most citizens of the United States want to be too. We can only hope that the people of the United States understand that the U.S.A. has become what it fought in 1776: an imperial state like England. Thus, it is time for the United States to free Puerto Rico from its colonial status and grant us independence. Regards, Hans Perl-Matanzo
RE: RE: eufemismos
Las palabras en si no son malas. Las palabras son malas cuando son manifestaciones de una manera de ver las cosas incorrectas. Lo que pretendia con mi comentario es criticar precisamente la manera de ver las cosas en los EEUU en donde todo el mundo tiene un color, blanco , negro etc. Y cuando eso no sirve, se inventan cosas como “Asian” e Hispanic. Que en realidad no tienen que ver nada con color. No me molestaria que le dijeran blancos a los estadounidenses blancos si ellos fueran los unicos blancos, pero no lo son. De la misma manera si uno se pone a decirle moreno a los negros, esta cayendo en eufemismos. Y eso si perpetúa el ciclo. Hay que ser razonable y tener en cuenta que el idioma es un ente dinamico que cambia, y que en un contexto una palabra puede ser ofensiva y en otra estar bien. Pero , creo yo, que (no se si estoy logrando entenderme) el concepto de raza de EEUU es totalmente ridiculo, y todos esos embelecos de hispanic, etc , son intentos para remendarlos. (Que conste, que no estoy en contra del afirmative action, estoy en contra de las actitudes de la gente que se dividen la gente en categorias y que hacen el afirmative action necesario.)
RE: Message Board
As the history of the last two centuries has demonstrated there are far more efficient types of colonialism than direct control, military control if you will over people. In fact, if you study the history of the European empires of the 19th century you will find that the British model was much more succesful than the French was so much so because it gave its colonies a certain degree of flexibility.
Colonialism doesn’t have to be physical. It is far more effective when it is indirect, such as in the case of US imperialism. The present status of PR is an ingenious ploy created by the US to coerce the United Nations into eliminating Puerto Rico from the list of colonies, all of this in the context of the cold war. Colonialism in PR, although it definitely has a tangible component – 10% of our land is owned by the armed forces and we get practically no payments in return (I recommend that you find out how much Spain gets paid for bases in its national territory that are far smaller than those located in Puerto Rico), is more psychologican than enything else.
RE: Reply
I have several questions for you, Hans-
What does the U.S. have to gain as holding Puerto Rico as a territory?
I have read some statistics about the U.S. giving so many millions of dollars in aid, (U.S. taxpayers money), while Puerto Ricans do not have to pay taxes. This makes it seem as if it is much more to Puerto Rico’s benefit than the U.S.’s to remain a territory.
Do you consider the word “colony” more appropriate than the word “territory”? Usually, when I think of colonialism, I think of Africa, in which the colonized African countries were practically forced to speak the language of the “Mother Country”, name their children French and English names, and use these countries rich resources (oil, diamonds, gold) to make their countries rich. What does that have in common with U.S.-Puerto Rico relations? Extremely curious.
Thanks!
Reply to LOVE
As the history of the last two centuries has demonstrated there are far more efficient types of colonialism than direct control, military control if you will over people. In fact, if you study the history of the European empires of the 19th century you will find that the British model was much more succesful than the French was so much so because it gave its colonies a certain degree of flexibility.
Colonialism doesn’t have to be physical. It is far more effective when it is indirect, such as in the case of US imperialism. The present status of PR is an ingenious ploy created by the US to coerce the United Nations into eliminating Puerto Rico from the list of colonies, all of this in the context of the cold war. Colonialism in PR, although it definitely has a tangible component – 10% of our land is owned by the armed forces and we get practically no payments in return (I recommend that you find out how much Spain gets paid for bases in its national territory that are far smaller than those located in Puerto Rico), is more psychologican than enything else.
RE: RE: Racist policy against Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, although definitively a Latin American country, does not share many of the characteristics that have made Latin America poor. We don’t have caudillismo, we have a government that although not perfect is largely democratic (in some ways even better than the US, people actually vote and care in PR) We don’t have anything close to the big class and racial divisions that exist in Latin America (although, yes, there is racism, but so there is in the US) and we are already industrialized. Puerto Rico would not become a dictatorship, simply because we would not permit it. And about the Natural Resources, we DO have natural resources, if not, what are our beaches, Vieques, San Juan. We have a pretty good infrastructure. In fact, in the modern world the wealth of nations is not based on their mineral rights, look at Japan, Singapur, or the US for that matter, they have all economies that are increasingly based on information and services, they buy the materials they need from someone else. In fact, a big chunk of the oil in the US is not American, it comes from Venezuela. Venezuela has natural resources but can’t administer, the US has them and administers fairly well, Japan does not have them, but it buys them from someone else. Your arguments about the bad things of independence are largely obsolete and take for granted many conditions that don’t really apply to Puerto Rico.
Regards,
Daniel
RE: Message Board
What does this comment have to do with the question of race among Puerto Ricans?
I care too but you’re in the wrong board
It seems to me that this discussion is going off into other areas, unfortunately. You know, you can make suggestions for topic discussions. The Forum index page tells you how. I’ve been coming to this board since–I guess since it’s been up and I’ve never seen anything erased. But maybe if you’re comments don’t pertain to the subject, they are removed. The index page, again, offers an explanation. Paranoia and accusations are not the direction to go in.
RE: RE: Reply
Good question! Puerto Rico is a colony of the U.S. just as many African nations were colonies of different European nations. The U.S. has invested a great deal of money in Puerto Rico as a way of creating a new market for its products. As a colony, Puerto Rico can only trade with the U.S. or those the U.S. deems appropriate. The federal benefits extended to Puerto Ricans, which were actually an accident, because when Puerto Ricans were made citizens in order to have more soldiers/bodies in WWI, there were no social benefits. But those benefits actually serve to subsidize American products in Puerto Rico today. Let me be clearer. The U.S. gives Puerto Ricans money and then orders them to buy U.S. products. The U.S. training base in Vieques is rented out to foreign nations at the tune of 80 million dollars a year! As one of the U.S. top trading partners (remember we are a closed market for exclusively American goods), Puerto Ricans provide billions of dollars in revenues to the U.S. If you ever travel to Puerto Rico, you will find that consumer goods costs just as much there as in New York. Some products cost even more, and yet Puerto Ricans command half to 3/4 of the pay that Americans do. This type of economic imbalance, coupled with the lack of political power, is what makes Puerto Rio a colony. And it is what made nations in Africa colonies or today neo-colonies. But this is another story. The public outcry about Puerto Ricans receiving federal benefits is unfounded upon analysis. Firstly, because those who receive veterans benefits or social security benefits either risked their lives in the battlefield or worked all their lives for the meager sums. Secondly, those who receive welfare there are really subsidizing American products. That is American businesses directly benefit from having Puerto Ricans on the island on welfare. The status quo is maintained by basically neutralizing a politically and economically extreme situation of unemployment, joblessness and increasing crime. Welfare, which happily is being phased out, has perpetuated the semblance of the stable and good colony.
While Puerto Rico’s economy was integrated into the U.S. economy for light industries–pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles–the main emphasis is really in what the U.S. exports to Puerto Rico. How the island is used militarily. The largest naval base outside the continental U.S. is in Puerto Rico. It’s the Roosevelt Roads naval base. And as you can see, all the ruckus over Vieques is not a small deal. The Pentagon is directly concerned about its training base there. Many military actions to other Latin American countries have been launched from Puerto Rico. As an appendage to the U.S., Puerto Rico’s agricultural base was completely obliterated so that a great amount of food is imported from–you guessed it, the U.S. Have there been benefits, of course there have been. Materially, Puerto Ricans a better off than their Latin American brothers and sisters. A modern infrastructure was built. Puerto Rico began to look more and more like Florida and less and less like Puerto Rico. High unemployment, crime and drugs have become major problems on the island. The question now is, what is the next step for Puerto Rico? As far as language is concerned, the U.S. attempted to make Puerto Ricans speak English but failed. Puerto Ricans pulled their children out of the schools and resisted this kind of cultural intrusion.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
Well, I don’t buy the notion of a divine anything, let alone divine retribution, so I can’t respond using the religious viewpoint. In fact, one of my points was that the religious viewpoint (in this case, Christianity) was responsible in no small part for the horrors visited upon others with a different religion.
As to “human nature,” I don’t think one can point to behavior as proof of a “nature.” It seems to me humans are “by nature” more cooperative than agressive, but that’s a long story.
Though we are not reponsible for what was done, we are accountable–in other words, claiming ignorance is inexcusable.
TODAY: Protest in New York
>>>
!Not one More Bomb in Vieques!
The VIEQUES SOLIDARITY NETWORK is calling an Emergency Demonstration
tomorrow, Wednesday, February 2, 2000 in front of the Puerto Rico Federal
Affairs Offices in New York to protest Governor Rosselló’s betrayal of the
will of the people of Puerto Rico that the Navy stop bombing Vieques.
Governor Rosselló consented to the continuation of Navy bombing in
Vieques. Protest against the actions of the governor and demonstrate your
support for the people of Vieques, Puerto Rico!
PLACE: 33rd Street and Park Avenue
TIME: Starts at 5:00 PM
RE: Boricuas and Race
You indicate that Puerto Rico is a “white island” among other things and direct us to check the history books. What history books? Could you be more specific? Could you give titles and authors, so that we can have a more serious discussion?
Now, to start with, I will give you some titles and authors that challenge your misguided view about race relations in Puerto Rico. Let us Start with El Pais de los Cuatro Pisos by Jose Luis Gonzalez where he states that for historical, cultural and political reasons afropuertorican culture is the most important element in Puertorican culture. There is not enough space to delve in this particular book but this is a beginning.
Let us now turn our attention to Narciso descubre su trasero by Isabelo Zenon Cruz, perhaps the most important book published in Puerto Rico regarding race relations. In this book you will see how racism continues to be prevalent in Puerto Rico. Suffice to say that this two books can give you a much clearer perspective than what you have right now.
The truth of the matter is that we are a mulato nation, where the african influence is as deep as the ancestral land. And it is also true that because of racism this influence has been diminished, not taught in the schools or universities, and presented to us as something from the past, without any relevance to the present.
More recent studies indicate that rascism is still prevalent in all areas of our Puertorican society, from education to employment to government and housing. It is no wonder that the strongholds of puertorrique~nos negros, are isolated, take Loiza for example. Now, it is also true that we must not view Puertorican race relations through the same framework as North American race relations, but that is radically different than saying that there is no racism in Puerto Rico or that race relations in Puerto Rico are well resolved.
Perhaps this few thoughts can serve to engage in a more constructive dialogue, one marked by serious historical investigation and less on anecdotal, and perhaps misguided subjective views.
Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Is the acceptance of mainland Puerto Ricans by island Puerto Ricans and visa versa off the topic? I have observed and experienced distinct differences (if not sheer clickishness) to the point of standoffishness on the part of both groups when they are brought together… Pesonally I remember going to Puerto Rico and visiting a small restaurant in the Sardinero in Fajardo and being made to feel like a total foreigner by the staff. By the same token, I have observed how people that come from the island (especially if they don’t speak English) are sometimes treated like they are some second class citizen or just downright unwelcomed… Any thoughts?
RE: RE: RE: Reply
Thank you so much for your reply; I was truly in the dark… now i see what is really going on…
Sincerely,
susan caldwell aka LOVE
RE:U.S. vs Island Puerto Ricans?
I would not refer to the U.S. as the Puerto Rican mainland. Really! I have never experienced any kind of standoffishness from Puerto Ricans on the island. I have always felt them to be quite friendly. Equally, U.S. Puerto Ricans can be more edgey, but I also find them cariñosos. I think you’ve really got to work more on an individual basis. There are a variety of types everywhere. But you’re right this is definitely off the point of race.
RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Saludos,
First of all I want to appoligice for all the grammatical and syntactical errors, I am a Puertorrican from the island who hasn’t worked as hard as he should on his English.
The issue which Gloria Feliciano adresses is one of the most important (if not the most) ones for the Puerto Rican community. It cannot be underestimated because how are we going to accomplish anithing if we keep dividing our force by half and we don’t unite behind common interests. I know that it gets hard because of the different views regarding Puerto Rico’s political future but the problem’s roots are deeper. As a Puerto Rican from the island I know the coldness of many (but not all) of us toward the Boricuas from The States. We seem not to understand that the migrations were almost “forced”
because under the economic development programs (el dichoso ELA) it would have been imposible to raise the quality of life indexes with out them. It is true that the problems feeds on ignorance and missconceptions but even “educated” people fail to view the big picture.It is up to each individual to decide if they are North American or Puerto Rican.
A decission for wich you don’t have to speak a given language or been born in certain place (Luis Rosa had never been to PR and he gave 19 years of his life for it).
La Patria se hace no se nace.
RE: Puerto Rico: an invaded island
Companero Hans,
I totaly agree with you but I think it may be important to say that the 5% that the Puerto Rican Independist Party (PIP) gets in the general elections is not by any means representative of the total Puerto Rican independist movement. The PIP isolates it self from many other “independentistas” like me and my family, and many others. Besides most of the autonomists in the Popular Democratic Party are actually “independentistas” in the long term.Sincerely, Oscar Miranda-Miller
Everyone get’s a free copy…
of the book I will probably never write. Then again, I dont think there is alot of information out there on Puerto Rican and race… and, obviously, there seems to be a need for it. Maybe you can write it! 🙂
In this instance (thank God), I agree with your flower analogy. I have always felt that way – that “race” doesn’t exist. But everytime I have voiced my opinion that we are all just a different shade of brown, people jump all over me.
I disagree that race should be an area where humanity should be allowed to disagree. (Does that make any sense?) What I mean to say, is that the concept of race should not be left up to ambiguity. Race does not exist. Punto y se acabo. Once we get that through our thick skulls, racism can finally be cured.
Now I’m going to go on some wierd tangent (not unlike any other time)… Did anyone see the movie, “Matrix.” Well, racism is like the created reality used to manipulate the masses into submission and complacency. In the real world, the only thing that exists is a struggle for power… acheived by the Oppressor by the easiest and most useful means. If the Oppressor (the one in power) needs an underclass to do their work. If the Oppressor’s skin color is purple, then it would be really easy and useful to create a society where anyone other than purple will be on the bottom part of the hierarchy (of power). It is a visual signal that is easily recognized. It is useful because segregation and differential treatment can be accomplished quickly and would not involve much thought.
Our society doesn this not only with “race” but with many other variables. The point is for us to be constantly conscious of our own actions and whether the decisions we make on an individual basis are truly our own or are pre-programmed. Only through the cultivation of consciousness (which encompasses spiritual awakening and development) can we pull humanity away from self-sabbotage.
Okay… this is totally off the point… but, what the heck, everyone else has done it!!! No soy la unica loca. Ha, ha, ha.
RE: RE:U.S. vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Sorry if I gave the impression that I believe Puerto Ricans on the island or in the US are less than carinoso because I do not feel that way at all. I think we are a very warm and caring people and have always felt welcome when I visit the island. The incident I shared was an isolated one but having witnessed similar behavior from both sides in the past, (here in NY, I might add)I recognize it when I see it. thanx for your feedback!
RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
I know exactly what you mean. There is anomosity between Native Puerto Ricans and those born in the USA. I also have been to PR and once you leave San Juan and go out to the country some native Puerto Ricans treated me like a foreigner who they felt didn’t belong there. I also have friends that were born and raised in PR and we have gotten into arguements because they don’t consider me Puerto Rican because I wasn’t born there. I told them I my parents raised me and installed the PR culture in me and I can read, write, and speak spanish, so I consider myself a Puerto Rican just like them. I also told them to watch the Puerto Rican parade in NYC so they can see how much pride those US born Puerto Ricans that they don’t respect have.Hopefully some of the prejudices between Native and American PR’s can cease and we can unite because there is strength in numbers and thats only way we can make changes on the island and in the USA for our people.
Down these Mean Streets
We’ve exhausted the conversation on race–or have we? If I remember Piri Thomas’ book “Down These Mean Streets” correctly, he talks about being singled out because he was darker than his siblings. Perhaps someone can refresh my memory about this.
Well said!
Soft power is much more effective than military power. Marketing McDonalds, Coca Cola and Levis is more influential and longer lasting than sending rifle-carring soldiers that impose curfew upon strangers in a foreign land. The whole structure of Western Society was built upon idea-control. (Check out the Republic by Plato).
Unique Experience
Hi Love!
I appreciate your reply. I gave me alot to think about. Please allow me to make one clarification – I know that the reality of US society is that darker skinned folks (of whatever culture/nationality) are, for the most part, treated according to prejudices held by this bigotted society. I also understand that because of my white skin, I am probably able to “pass” into white society. (As a side note, because you can’t hear the sound of my voice, you dont know that I have an accent that gives me away all the time!) But when we talk about Puerto Ricans and race, the experience is distinct from that of African Americans because in the US Anglo Americans and African Americans have different cultures. A lighter skinned Puerto Rican and a darker skinned Puerto Rican have the SAME culture. We all eat rice and beans, our families sing “aginaldos” at Christmas, and we dance to salsa, bomba, plena and an occassional sei’ choriao’! White folks and black folks in the US eat different foods, dance to different music and even have different styles of religious worship. Because Puerto Rico is so small, we dont have any dialects. In the US, each region of the country has a different accent. African and Anglo Americans even have different ways of speaking English.
The only thing that unites US residents on an every-day basis is pop culture. As you know, in alot of ways this has been beneficial in bringing together the different segments of US society. Rock music as well as Hip Hop have infiltrated mainstream Anglo America and thus has promoted some elements of African American culture.
In Puerto Rico the different elements of Native American, African and European culture began to weld together from the very biginning of colonization. It is true that the Spaniard colonialists felt superior to Tainos and Africanos, but that whole structure did not last very long. Since, Puerto Rico was practically abandoned by the Spanish crown for about 150 years, the mixed Creole people formed a society where it mattered less (I am not saying it did not matter at all) what color your skin was than how much land, power and money you had.
Like you said, my personal experience is very unique since I grew up in the inner city… but so is that of Puerto Ricans in general.
I’d like to add one more note… A very popular term of endearment for Puerto Ricans is “negra/o” or “negrita/o.” It is literally translated as black or blackie. I read someplace that this terminology arose from the common Spanish practice of having an African mistress. Somehow it became a universal expression of warmth and love. A Puerto Rican man will call his blonde-haired, blue-eyed wife, “Negra.” Some Puerto Ricans refuse to use the term in order to acknowledge the infamous practice of sexual use of African slave women by European slave owners. I have chosen to continue to use it. Why? Because I think it’s kind of cool how human beings are able to turn ugly experiences into beautiful ones.
Anecdotal is Historical
When I said Puerto Rico is a “white island” and followed up with a reminder about white (practically slave) labor, I was responding to Hector Rosario’s post entitled “Racismo en Puerto Rico” where he cited Diaz Blanco as saying that “Puerto Rico is the most white island of the antilles” and to Victor Padilla’s post entitled, “Historical View of Slavery.” I was not making an assertion, I was trying to explain one aspect of a unique caribbean racial phenomenon.
You wrote, “Now, it is also true that we must not view Puertorican race relations through the same framework as North American race relations. Now that is radically different than saying that there is no racism in Puerto Rico or that race relations in Puerto Rico are well resolved.” I was not making either assertion.
In fact I agree that racism exists in Puerto Rico, and that steps should be taken to erradicate the vestiges of the slave-owning societal mentality.
I think you have contradicted yourself when you say that the strongholds of Puerto Riquenos negros are isolated and in the next paragraph assert that “we are a mulatto nation where the African influence is as deep as the ancestral land.” Make up your mind. Either African culture is isolated or is an essential and integral part of our culture. Once we try to separate the African experience and relegate it to our darker brothers and sisters alone, we buy into the sick racial segregation upheld in North America.
I met Jose Luis Gonzalez in 1989 shortly after he wrote El Pais de Cuatro Pisos. I told him the book was long overdo. But I would like to point out that his book is made up of “anecdotal” facts. Whether presented in statistical form or as academic study, history IS anecdotal. History is the compliation of individual stories and accounts of the human economic, soical, political, artistic and spiritual experience. I posted my experience in order to participate in this process, not to imply that my experience was the only or the right one.
Here’s one more anecdote for you: I was talking to a cousin of mine about this topic, and she told me that she did not realize until she came to this country that there were “blacks” and “whites.” Not until she moved to Buffalo, New York, did she realize that her father in the U.S. would be considered “black” (atough he is actually a product of Taino, East Indian, Spanish and African predecessors) and that unlike him (with her red hair and hazel eyes), she was “white” (like her blue-eyed mother). She tells me she never accepted either concept because it was not representative of her reality. Her reality growing up in Puerto Rico was that she and her best friend (who’s African ancestry was more evident) were the same. There were people who were econmically worse off and many others who were better off. What kind of shoes you wore mattered more than what color your skin was.
Sources:
Carrion, History of Puerto Rico
Wagenheim, The Puerto Ricans
Rosario Morales, “Crossroads”
Raphael Hernandez, “Lamento Boricano”
Mami y Papi
Abuela
Tio
Prima
yo misma, etc. etc.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
Thanks, Kiwi, I really enjoy reading your posts too!
A Quote for you
“Aquel que no esta orgulloso de su origen no valdra nunca nada, porque empieza pro despreciarse a si mismo.”
-Pedro Albizu Campos
RE: RE: RE: RE: Reply
Thanks for being open to discussion and contributing to this board.
RE: Down these Mean Streets
I am Black hispanic. Born and raised in NY. However, I was 16 attending Catholic High School when a Afro American student brought to my attention that I was indeed Black. I remeber telling her she was mistaken. Yet from that moment on I felt different. When I was outside of my community, I felt alone with nowhere nor no one to hang out with.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
thank you for discussing this issue so openly. I have to sleep on some of the posting and will return with an opinon.
But again thanks to the community.
Questions
Hi Bette!
I’m glad you decided to participated in this discussion. I was hoping for a post like yours… a “black” Latina/o who was willing to put there personal experience “out there”, so to speak. I’m interested in finding out more about your experience.
You say you were 16 years old when you realized you were “black.” Why did it take 16 years? Why did you tell the other student she was mistaken? Was it that your family didn’t identify themselves as “black”, was it that culturally you did not identify with African Americans, or are there other reasons?
Why did you feel “different” after the conversation? What happened after your conversation with the other student? Did you become friends with her? Did you begin to identify with the African American experience? Where you more aware of discrimination against you (by other Latinos, African Americans or Anglo Americans, etc.)?
Are you Puerto Rican? Do you know if your ancestory is mostly African? Have you ever been to Puerto Rico? If you have, was your “racial experience” different or the same as in the US?
I hope you get a chance to respond to this post… I’ll be looking for your reply! 🙂
RE: Unique Experience
Cotorrita,
Very true and very interesting. and 99% of human experiences go beyond race, and even culture!
Peace!
RE: RE: Mainland vs Island Puerto Ricans?
Carlos: Oscar tiene razón, y tú tambien.
¿Cuantos puertorriqueños nacidos y criados en la isla reniegan y se averguenzan de ser puertorriqueños? ¡Muchos! Desgraciadamente. Y sin embargo, ¿Cuantos nacidos y criados en los EE.UU. se sienten tan puertorriqueños y hasta mas que michos en la isla? ¡Tambien un montón! Y lo puedo decir yo con autoridad pues nací y me crié toda la vida en Puerto Rico. Y he vivido en NY y ahora mismo vivo en Los angeles, Califronia, donde he visto boricuas que son tan puertorriqueños como cualquiera. asi que no le hagas caso a tus “amigos”. Recuerda el poema de don Juan Antonio Corretjer; BORICUA EN LA LUNA, al que Roy Brown le puso música y que dice “Yo sería borincano aunque naciera en la luna”. La patria se lleva en el corazón y la conciencia y eso NADIE te lo puede negar o quitar. Cuídate y pa’lante boricua. Iván
RE: RE: Message Board
Probablemente no mucho pero…. la conversación se desvió por ahí. Aún asi sigue siendo interesante. Iván
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
La gente “Blanca” o de piel clara (aunque no sean europeos) no tienenuna “deficiencia”, como tú dices de melalina. La razón de tener la piel clara,u obscura o lo que sea es por selección natural, para protejernos del medio en que nuestros ancentros vivierón y se desarrollarón hace miles, (o millones) de años. Lo mismo es válido para el resto de las características de cada grupo humano al que comúnmente llamamos “raza”.
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
The melanin-deprived Europeans, as you call them, did not decided that they were better and needed to look down at someone else. I belive it has to do with how centuries ago the dominat class of the European contries decided to exploit people who were easer to exploit than their own. It is, as always, economics lead by greed. I think racisim came latter as a byproduct of this. Iván
(Please excuse my terrible written English)
RE: RE: Boricuas and Race
El elemento africano en Puerto Rico es y ha sido, definitivamente, de vital importancia en el desarrollo de nuestro país. Yo he leído “El País de los Cuatro Pisos” y estoy de acuerdo con muchas de las cosas que José Luis Gonzáles expone. Pero definitivamente adjudicarle “rango” de importancia a una de nuestras raíces sobre otra, en este caso decir que la raíz africana es la mas importante es tan incorrecto como decir que la raíz europea, representada mayormente por los españoles, es mas importante. Joé Luis Gonzáles, mencionó muchas cosas importantes en el libro, lo cual no da espacio aqui para discutir, y abrió un debate que hacía tiempo había que discutir y se sigue discutiendo, pero lamentablemente,creo yo, racionalizó muchas cosas desde su punto de vista como negro boricua, de igual forma que muchos “blancos” puertorriqueños tambien lo hacen al querer pretender que la herencia europea es mas importante que la africana.. Yo no puedo concebir a Puerto Rico sin su herencia Taína, sin su herencia africana y sin su herencia española, porque sino, simplemente no sería Puerto Rico, sería otra cosa, o al menos no el Puerto Rico nuestro que conocemos. Tampoco se puede decir que una raíz es mas importante que otra. Iván
RE: RE: Hans Perl-Matanzo is an Independentista
¡Bien dicho!
RE: Hans Perl-Matanzo is an Independentista
La verdad mi’jo… es que tienes el espiritu enfermo y el alma torcida. ¡Típico colonizado! Pero para tu felicidad te sujiero que, si aún no vives en los EE.UU, te mudes para cualquiera de los “estados” para que seas felíz y nos dejes a los puertorriqueños que sí queremos y amamos a nuestro país, ser lo que somos; PUERTORRIQUEñOS. Permíteme sugerirte algunos estados de TU nación a los cuales te puedes ir a vivir: Mississippi, Alabama o Georga. Estoy seguro que serias muy felíz allí.
Respuesta a Franck C
Estimado Franck C: Sin querer ser irrespetuoso debo decirle que muchos puertorriqueños tienen todavía, desgraciadamente, las mismas ideas retrógradas y oscurantistas del tipo colonizado como usted. Esto se explica solo de una manera: Ignorancia.
¿No se ha dado cuenta usted que la “crema”, es decir los hombres y mujeres mas sabios e ilustres de Puerto Rico han sido y son independentistas? ¿Cómo es posible que todos ellos esten equivocados? y… ¿Sabe usted porqué esos países latinoamericanos estan en tan malas condiciones? Sencillamente porque las élites económicas que controlan a los EE UU. en consorcio con las élites económicas y traidoras de esos países no permiten el desarrollo de los mismos. ¿Quién usted creé es el dueño de todos esos recursos de países latinoamericanos tan grandes como por ejemplo, Brazil? ¿Los brasileños? NO lo son las corporaciones multinacionales de los EE.UU. Y cada vez que hay un cambio a favor de que esos recursos sean para el pueblo y a favor de que haya mas democracia, ¿Qué es lo que sucede? Bueno…. Golpes de estado auspiciados y financiados por el gobierno de los EE.UU. Escuadrones de la muerte que asesinan y aterrorizan a la población subscidiados por el gobirno asesino de los EE.UU. Y para eso usan a la élite adinerada y traidora como mayordomo. Revise bien la historia y encontrará que durante todo el siglo 20 los EE.UU. lo que ha hecho es invadir a esos países cuando ha habido reformas a favor de la población. De los ejemplos mas recientes le puedo dar el de el derrocamiento de Jacobo Arbenz en Guatemala durante los 50, Juan Bosch en la República Dominicana en los 60 y Salvador Allende en Chile en a pricipio de los 70. Es increíble que a estas alturas haya gente todavía pensando como usted. Yo no creo que sea que no entienda, sino mas bien que no quiere entender. Pero si me equivoco y usted todavía tiene algo de capacidad para abrir su mente le sugiero que lea Cualquier libro de Noam Chomsky o Michael Parenti. Ambos estadounidenses. tambien puede leer ‘LAS VENAS ABIERTAS DE AMERICA LATINA” por el uruguayo Eduardo Galeano. Y recuerde que los independentistas son mas de lo que las cifras ofiales dicen. Y no todo independentista es del PIP. Y piense que mientras usted esta rezsando para que sean menos los independentistas, hay otros Puertorriqueños con conciencia rezando y trabajando para que puertorriqueños como usted salgan de la oscuridad y sean mas y mas los independentistas.
RE: eufemismos
¡Diste en el clavo Daniel! Estoy totalmente de acuerdo. Ademas la palabra
trigueña(o) se refiere en Puerto Rico al que no es ni negro ni blanco, sino producto del mestizaje entre el español, el indio y el africano. Es inclusive un término que se ha usado hasta poéticamente para describir a la mujer puertorriqueña, presisamente, trigueña. Por ejemplo recordemos que la música de nuestro himno nacional viene de una danza que se llama “Bellísima trigeña”. Lo que sí esta mal, y con lo que yo tengo problemas al igual que tú es que se le esté diciendo “trigueño” a alguien que es negro. ¡Como si ser negro fuese malo! y esto lo he visto yo en el mismo Puerto Rico.
RE: Race relations among Puerto Ricans
Yes we are imitaiting the racist of the US. Just like we were imitaiting and wanted to be Spaniards when Spain colonized us. The colonized do not have a sense of self worth therfore he or she wants to be like colonizer, the one who has the power. Even some black Puerto Ricans and trigueños discriminate agaist other blacks or trigueños. Some think that by maring a “white” they will improve the race by diluting their african genes in a caucasian gen pool. Tha’s the sad mentality of the one who has being colonized.
A note: There is NO “mainland”. There is the United States and there is Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a country of its own. If someone is going to use the term “mainland” I guess it will be the people of Vieques, Culebra… (or maybe even the iguanas at Mona island) in reference to the “big island” of Puerto Rico .
Island vs U.S. Puerto Ricans?
I love Juan Antonio Corretjer and what he represents for all of us. And I agree that this transcendent sense of being Boricua is always present. However, I also believe that there are real differences among us–culturally. And, in fact, to stay true to this topic, I believe the differences between island Puerto Ricans and U.S. Puerto Ricans are greater than any racial differences that may exist among island Puerto Ricans of different racial groups or mixed categories. There is a unifying experience to being from the island, just as there is unifying experience to being born/raised in the U.S. This can not be denied. It is ironic and yet it seems to make sense that Boricuas from the island might feel inhibited about themselves and might feel inferior to Americans, and therefore would feel embarassed about who they are. It is sad but true. Here in the States, I think a lot of Puerto Ricans feel inferior–this has been statistically shown–especially among our youth and children. But there is an ongoing attempt to address this by pushing this sense of PRIDE. However, I have found that most Puerto Rican youths know very little about their mother culture and are more steeped in African American culture which they seem to ignorantly equate with Puerto Rican culture. They too seem embarassed when a distinction is made between Puerto Ricans and African Americans. I am of course talking about mostly our inner city youth. The more educated and older Puerto Ricans stateside who have always been really connected to some aspect of the Puerto Rican culture–however much it may be from the fifties and sixties, when their families arrived here,–are the one’s who are most PRIDEFUL. And for them, it is an ongoing learning process. They even take lessons in playing the cuatro and speaking Spanish!
The Puerto Rican Day Parade–which is by far the largest in New York City–exemplifies our need to have una cosa nuestra. Pa’lante–yes–but really try to learn and respect the culture of your family. Anyway, those are my reflections for now!
For Americans we are basically black
The reality is that race relations among Puerto Ricans are highly complex and they are further complicated by having been taken over by the U.S. We are considered black by the Americans and their English-derivative race system. We see this everyday in New York, where Puerto Rican youth act “black” or really African American. It really isn’t accidental. The way social programs were implemented and even the way history is taught in the public schools–moved from let’s say a ‘white’ history to, not a multicultural history at all, but a ‘black’ history. As if we never learned to have an honest sense of multiculturalism but only of carrying on politics as usual which in the U.S. has always been a “black and white thing.”