Question 1: Puerto Ricans, just like many other ethnic groups, are victims of stereotypes and prejudices. These individuals have been labeled as lazy, submissive, etc. However, one of the main stereotypes that affects Puerto Ricans, to this day, is the one that labels them as criminals. There are many media representations that continue to identify Puerto Ricans as criminals, even though that may not be the case. Unfortunately, for many ethic groups, the media plays a major role in regards to their stereotypes. As mentioned in earlier lessons, Native Americans have been labeled as lazy, drunk, savage, etc. The main reason that these stereotypes persist is because of how they are represented by the media. Usually hollywood portrays them according …show more content…
After the Spanish-American war, Spain granted the United States with full ownership of the island of Puerto Rico, which largely benefited the United States with profitable agricultural land, in the same way, Puerto Rican citizens were all benefited when they received U.S. citizenship, this granted them with greater opportunities that awaited them in the United States. However, despite their citizenship, Puerto Ricans are yet to have a vote in national U.S. elections. The ownership of the island has mostly benefited the United States as it is able to control the land, and impose tax and restrictions. Due to this, Puerto Rico transformed from a local economy, to one that is dominated by external U.S. companies. Because of many programs that have been implemented in order to stimulate economic development, the economy has progressed. However, one of the negative side effects left the population dealing with high income tax, as well as leading the economy further away from the local farmers and into the capitalist economy of the United States. It seems as if the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico benefit the capitalist country and its economy but fails to befit much of the islands population as they are later faced with high income tax and high unemployment rates. Because of the high unemployment, the Puerto …show more content…
Just like other immigrating Latino groups, Cubans share the same stereotypes when they are categorized as criminals, violent and others as well as having to face barriers for employment, housing and economics. However, most of the discrimination that Cuban Americans face is due to their ties to their home country. For example, most Cubans are stereotyped as extremists who despise Fidel Castro. The main push factor for Cuban immigrants was the regime of Castro in their home country. In contrast, other Latino immigrants are mainly pushed out of their country because of economic reasons. Therefore, while Cuban immigrants are seen as extremists or anti-Castro activists, most other Latino immigrants are merely seen as immigrants who come to “take jobs”. As mentioned, Cubans are not categorized as immigrants who come to the United States in hopes for a better economic life, they are seen as political refugees who are in search of better political conditions. This is one of the main differences between Cubans and other Latinos, because of this, Cubans are thought to be more prosperous than other Latino groups. However, this is a faulty stereotype because, although some Cuban Americans are better off economically than most other Latino groups, the majority of them still face countless amounts of
The features of the formation of the Puerto Rican people under Spanish rule are therefore critical in addressing questions on Puerto Rican identity. The migration of thousands of Spaniards both from the mainland and its islands to Puerto Rico, the development of subsequent Creole populations, the formation of the agricultural sectors and their labor needs are some of the contributing features that will hopefully lead toward a better understanding of the complexities that surround the concept of Puertoricaness.
In the histories of Colonial Latin America there is one common aspect and that is the importation of slaves as a labor force. The resulting consequences for the territory are vital if we are to understand the development of the society. In Puerto Rico these consequences deal mainly with African influence on the peasantry, the corrective measures taken thereafter to negate the African influence, and the results of these corrective measures.
Puerto Ricans will have more opportunities as a state and it would bring more federal help for PR. As a state, Puerto Rico will rise from the poverty since they are below the poverty line and American statehood could be the answer to many of the problems the Island is facing. Zach Patton, author of ¨Does Puerto Rico really want to be the next state?¨ writes, ¨Puerto Rico 's economy is in crisis. The territory of 3.7 million residents is now in the seventh year of a persistent downturn, a recession that 's much deeper--and broader--than the one on the mainland...Roughly 45 percent of Puerto Ricans live in poverty, three times the national rate. More than a third of the territory 's residents are on food stamps. Unemployment last year topped 15 percent¨. Proving that Puerto Rico could be beneficial not only financially but in many other aspects in which both Puerto Ricans and Americans can
They also experienced severe economic setbacks. Under the domination of the United States, Puerto Rico did not have control over their means of production. Instead, the United States possessed that power and transformed their island into a metropolitan economy. Workers were subjected to the changing demands of US capital expansion, and their migratory movements were shaped accordingly.
The Pandora’s box of information that I have discovered about Puerto Rico under early U.S rule provide some fascinating details on the background of contradictions that characterize debates on the political, economic and social issues concerning the island. Since its invasion in 1898, the United States has shaped the policies of the island according to its own discretion in spite of the people of Puerto Rico. The country did not have time to shed the skin of Spanish colonial rule before the United States set foot on the island to add its own layer of imperial legacy. The island was taken as a compromise to end the Spanish American War. How the newly acquired territory would take shape, and some of the local and international influences that might have contributed to the evolution of the Puerto Rican political, social and economical structure are some of the issues that I hope to address. As is customary an attempted commentary of this sort cannot be complete without the subject of identity, after all, this issue seems to be at the core of the status of the island.
Intermarriage between Puerto Rico’s original Indians, Whites, and Black inhabitants has made Puerto Rican society a mixture of races.
According to census research at Lehman College (1), during 1945 to the 1950’s more than half a million Puerto Rican natives migrated to several parts of the USA, originally from their own homeland, Puerto Rico. Several of the locations that Puerto Ricans migrated to include Chicago, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. One of the cities that experienced a large boom of Puerto Rican population was New York. This period was known as the “Great Migration” and had several factors that led to the mass migration. Some of these major events include the 1917 signing of the Jones-Shafroth Act by Woodrow Wilson, and the Great Depression. Afterwards, Puerto Ricans were permanent citizens of the US From these events. This still poses the questions as to why did a large portion of Puerto Ricans decide to migrate to the US, how did Puerto Ricans develop their identities in New York after the migration and what effect it had towards New York.
Imagine being at risk of being pulled over at any given time, the only reason? The color of your skin. “2010, the state of Arizona passed a law authorizing local police to check the immigration status of anyone they reasonably suspect of being in the United States illegally.” (11 Facts...). The ability to pull people over for the sole reason of looking illegal. This seems aimed at Latinos because they are the ones that are easily recognizable, and often stereotyped as not being legal residents of the United States. For example, if two people were lined up and one had a light complexion and light features, and one had tan skin and darker skin, when asked who looked like an immigrant, a large majority would choose the individual with the tan
which is a predominantly Hispanic area of the city. I myself am also a Roman
Emilio Pantojas-García. “The Puerto Rican Paradox: Colonialism Revisited, 2005.” University of Texas Press Latin American Research Review 40.3 (2005) 163-176
In order to understand the current situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their history and retrace the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto Rico spent under Spanish rule. Studying this portion of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An example of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled "Puerto Rico : Th Four Storied Country". In the article Gonzales points out what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the first Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Africans were the first group to come to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a "motherland" because they were slaves. This is unlike the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the culture of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture.
The colonization of Puerto Rico by the Americans resulted to a decline in the economy; the presence of the American took every opportunity that the people of Puerto Rico had. In addition, colonization made Puerto Rico a foreign country; this made the import tax to increase rapidly. The Americans took the economy of that country from their hands and into their own; they controlled everything for the time that they colonized the country. In addition, all the farmers were forced to work for the Americans under severe conditions and less wages, thus declining the economy of Puerto Rico. Below is a picture of the people of Puerto Rico on the streets demonstrating on the declining economy under
The United States played an important role in the evolution of Puerto Rican culture, more specifically music. While Puerto Rican culture remains distinct from that of American culture, its historical progression is forever tied with that of the United States. This is evident in the evolution of Puerto Rican music. It is also evident in the experience of Puerto Rican musicians both on the island and in the Diaspora. U.S rule was in part responsible for Puerto Rican migration both within the island and off the island. This is so due to the political and economic relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. As a result new genres, or styles of Puerto Rican music were created. The U.S also controlled how the music of the island would be communicated to the rest of the world. This effected the way Puerto Ricans expressed their identity through music.
Generally speaking, the Cuban people that have been subjected to this oppression have been after the Elite immigrants were no longer part the of the population of immigrants. Gonzalez says that almost overnight in 1980 the Mariel boat wave of immigrants was broadcasted on television and then people realized that this was no longer the Elite but black, poor, and unskilled and in some cases the mentally ill or dangerous felons (112). This way of thinking is similar to what Mexican Americans have experienced since Texas gained independence from Mexico. Mexicans have been subjected to violence, deportation and have been cheated out of their land. In “Harvest of Empire” by Gonzalez it is stated that a corpus Christi correspondent wrote that, “The whole race of Mexicans here is becoming a useless commodity, becoming cheap, dog cheap” (109). This of course is disturbing to think that Mexicans have been regarded in such a
Now on to the next point of the paper, the major problems that occur in Puerto Rico. Behind its beauty the territory has many problems, one being is lack of structure which leads to a horrible political status. The Washington Post states that, “ As long as Puerto Rico remains a territory – deprived of equal treatment under federal programs, forced to borrow heavily to male up the difference and without the ability to vote for the national le...