The History and Culture of Puerto Ricans
ETHNICITY AND EMPOWERMENT IN THE MIGRATION EXPERIENCE
The Puerto Rican people have a rich history of culture and ethnicity. Despite the many migrations of the Puerto Ricans, an intense spirit of ethnicity and cultural pride has followed these people wherever they have gone, whether that be migrations from rural areas to industrialized cities or from the small island of Puerto Rico to the vast mainland of the United States. However, the struggles of these people have become obscured over the passing of generations. As evidenced by Shakira Ramos, generations of Puerto Ricans born and raised in the United States aren't always well informed of the rich history of their ancestors. Shakira admits that she too was unaware of such cultural aspects before reading about the struggles and political movements of generations past (http://frontpage.trincoll.edu/sramos/puerto.htm). Regardless of the present obscurity of this history, the idea of ethnicity and identity has long been an influential factor in the lives of Puerto Ricans, especially those who have resolved to become actively involved in bettering their situations and those of generations to follow. The activism of the Puerto Rican people is evident in their migrations to the United States and their involvement in politics faced with the difficulties of living in America.
Beginning as early as the late nineteenth century, Puerto Ricans began to migrate within the island of Puerto Rico, shifting from areas of coffee production to those of sugar production. This relocation of much of the labor force became a prevalent internal migration and "the circulation of the Island’s labor force through the international plantation system bega...
... middle of paper ...
...equal opportunity even more intensely than the previous migrants of Bernardo Vega’s generation had. The spirit of the Puerto Rican people encouraged their undying quest for rights and fair treatment while attempting to live the American dream that influenced Puerto Ricans to migrate to the U.S. in the first place.
WORKS CITED
Cruz, Jose E. Identity and Power. (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1998).
Iglesias, Cesar Andreu, ed. Memoirs of Bernardo Vega. (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1984).
Lopez, Adalberto, ed. "The Policies of Exploitation and Racism: Puerto Ricans in Hawaii" from The Puerto Ricans: Their History, Culture and Society. (New York: Shenkman, 1980).
Seidl, Tom, Janet Shenk, and Adrian DeWind. "The San Juan Shuttle: Puerto Ricans on Contract" from The Puerto Ricans: Their History, Culture, and Society. (New York:
Shenkman, 1980).
Puerto Rico. The. Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2007. 2.
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.
The intention of this essay is to demonstrate to a vision rational, concordant political leader to the Puerto Rican, American and worldwide reality. It responds to the necessity that to the statehood it is necessary to imagine it and to expose it with all the evidence available, since many Puerto Ricans, including many political leaders, do not know like defending it or exposing it before the peculiar ones or our adversaries.
Trías-Monge, José. "The Shaping of a Colonial Policy," from Trías-Monge, Puerto Rico:The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World (New Haven: Yale U Press, 1997)45-121.
The events of 7 June 1969 were but one of many moments in the history of New York City's Puerto Rican community that gave rise to and lent support for the Young Lords Party.[4] Indeed over the course of the next five years this ethnic group of radical intellectuals would help bring attention to the plight of the Puerto Rican community in New York City. This essay explores the history of the late twentieth century Puerto Rican migrants in New York City through an examination of the Young Lords Party (1969 to 1974). In doing so, it examines several significant topics, including the growth of the Puerto Rican population in New York City; the unique challenges this ethnic group faced, and the origins, growth and decline of the Young Lords Party.
The key points of the readings was to address the hardships of the immigrants, immigration trends. In Harvest of Empire the author talked about the difficult times and why his family had left Puerto Rico in the first place. The author also divided the struggles amongst generations the first generation had difficulty because of their rapid expansion. The second generation had trouble because of the remaining prejudices from the previous generation. Another key point that was brought up in Harvest of Empire was the immigration waves and the varying difficulties that each wave faced. For example the immigration trends with Cubans. The first immigration group of Cubans moving into Miami was widely successful helping to build up some of the major profitable companies in the Miami area. This group had little difficulty assimilating into the United States mainly because of their lighter complexion. In addition the second generation had darker complexions making it more difficult to assimilate. The major difficulty for both groups was trying to gain access to America. The second wave had greater difficul...
In this story, the reader can see exactly how, many Puerto Ricans feel when living on other grounds. Throughout this time, the boy that Rodriguez presents us realizes he has his culture and that he wants to preserve it as much as he can. “Because I’m Puerto Rican”. I ain’t no American. And I’m not a Yankee flag-waver”
Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States which makes it easy for natives to travel back and forth. Puerto Ricans first began to arrive in the United States to fill the work void left but those who went on to fight in World War I. Operation Bootstrap was a series of projects that attempted to turn Puerto Rico; a known agricultural economy to one that would concentrate on industrialization and tourism. Puerto Rico enticed many U.S companies with tax exemptions and differential rental rates on industrialized properties and so the shift in the economy had commenced. The shift however did not help the high unemployment rate on the island. Rather than having to deal with the droves of people seeking work they noticed the active recruitment of Puerto Rican workers by U.S. employers. The government began to encourage the departure of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. by requesting the Federal Aviation Administration to lower the airfares between Puerto Rico and the United States. This was an attempt to ch...
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. "The Myth of the Latina Woman." Bullock, Richard, Maureen Daly Goggin and Francine Weinburg. The Norton Field Guide to Writing. Ed. Marilyn Moller. 3rd. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. 806-812. Print.
The thought of life coming to an end is a scary thought for anyone, but for someone who is depressed and suicidal it may seem to them as a release of some kind. In reality is suicide going to solve these patient’s problems? The patient may think so, but it will not solve any issues or problems. Suicide is a pertinent solution that no one can return from. My experience with depressed and suicidal people or patients is small. This is why I chose to write about patients who are depressed and suicidal. Even though my experience is small. I want to learn what can be done for these patients, and how I can be a better advocate for them.
Since 1840 the Hawaiian Islands have been an escape to a tropical paradise for millions of tourists. People all over the world encounter alluring, romanticized pictures of Hawai'i's lush, tropical vegetation, exotic animals, beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and fantastical women. This is the Hawai'i tourists know. This is the Hawai’i they visit. However, this Hawai'i is a state of mind, a corporate-produced image existing on the surface. More precisely, it is an aftermath of relentless colonization of the islands' native inhabitants by the United States. These native Hawaiians experience a completely different Hawai'i from the paradise tourists enjoy. No one makes this as clear as Haunani-Kay Trask, a native Hawaiian author. In her book, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i and through her poetry in Light in the Crevice Never Seen, Trask provides an intimate account of the tourist industry's impact on native Hawaiian culture. She presents a negative perspective of the violence, pollution, commercial development, and cultural exploitation produced by the tourist industry. Trask unveils the cruel reality of suffering and struggling through a native Hawaiian discourse. Most of the world is unaware of this.
In Puerto Rican Obituary, the Puerto Rican people from New York City struggle to attain
Every day , Puerto Rico is slowly adapting into the American way of life and is gradually losing what is left of their culture. Perhaps this is because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. The poem “ Coca Cola and Coco Frio” by Martin Espada is a great example of someone who encounters the Americanized culture of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is struggling to preserve their own identity.
The history of narco-analytic interrogation dates back to the early centuries when doctors used induced to induce a sleep- like feeling for different operations. These drugs were then strictly used for medical reasons but with time and evolution came different usages of this drugs. Later on in the year 1922 for the first time in history these drugs were used for police investigation. Robert House, a Texas based obstetrician did an experiment with two prisoners where interviewed two scopolamine-induced prisoners, whose guilt seemed clearly confirmed. With this came the historic case of aurora massacre where for the first time the judge ruled that to prove the wrong-doer’s insanity a medically appropriate drug would be used. This may be the first time that a court has mandated use of so-called "truth serum" in a sanity evaluation after this there were many cases where the truth serum has b...
The brain is an astonishing product of evolution. This can be seen by our numerous technological developments and society structure. The brain has always been the most important organ for species that had developed past the cellular stage and has always performed the same functions that it does now but has developed constantly to where it is now through growth and a reorganization of its’ primary functions and gained the ability to learn has been something that the human brain does better than other brains. Our brains have not always been like this and many social and biological factors have led us to where they are now.