Category Archives: puerto rico

Puerto Rican Film Review: Maldeamores

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This coming Sunday Boricuas will celebrate the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. I thought I would commemorate the event with my very first film review. I recently saw on DVD a great Puerto Rican movie entitled Maldeamores (lovesickness.) The 2007 film was directed and co-written by Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz and was executively produced by Oscar-winning Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro. Luis Guzmán, a well-known Puerto Rican actor that appeared in the movie Carlitos Way and the HBO series OZ, leads a stellar class of actors in this film about the ups and downs of love. Maldeamores was filmed in 18 days in Aquadilla, Santurce, and Salinas, Puerto Rico.

The film is beautifully Puerto Rican, with specific cultural sayings like “revulú” and “guagua.” It is a Spanish-language film with English subtitles available, but some Puerto Rican Spanish slang just does not translate well. Puerto Rico and its culture are clearly main “characters” in the film. The superb acting all-around, the island setting, music, dialogue, and family drama was culturally entertaining. Senior actress Silvia Brito steals a few hilarious scenes and I was impressed with the serious acting of Luis Gonzaga.

If you would like to see an excellent Puerto Rican film check out Maldeamores on DVD. The movie/DVD was made possible by the hard work and dedication of people from the Puerto Rico Film Commission and Maya Entertainment.

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Congressman Luis Gutiérrez: Fighting for Immigrant Rights

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Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, one of only three Puerto Rican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, was arrested on May 1 in Washington, D.C. while protesting Arizona’s new controversial illegal immigrant legislation bill, SB 1070. Representative Guiterrez, the first Latino elected to Congress from the Midwest, has a long-time commitment and passion for protecting and advocating for the nation’s immigrant community.

Outraged by a controversial Arizona immigration law signed on April 23, tens of thousands of protesters — including 50,000 alone in Los Angeles — rallied in cities across America demanding that President Barack Obama tackle national immigration reform immediately.

Congressman Gutiérrez was among 35 activists arrested and taken away in plastic handcuffs by U.S. Parks Police for failing to move from a sidewalk outside the White House.

Immigration reform is Rep. Gutiérrez’s greatest legislative passion. He has held public forums around the country to build a grass-roots movement in support of overhauling the existing immigration laws. His efforts led to President Obama expressing support in May 2009 for rewriting the immigration laws, however Gutiérrez is not satisfied with the lack national advancement on the issue.

In December 2009 Gutiérrez introduced his own immigration reform bill focusing on border security, detention, and enforcement. The proposed bill also includes employment verification and an earned legalization program for the country’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants.

For more information on Congressman Gutiérrez please read the May political column at ElBoricua.com.

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Island-born Puerto Ricans Will Need New Birth Certificates as of July 1, 2010

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In December 2009 the government of Puerto Rico enacted a new law that would require all Puerto Rican-born citizens to apply for a new birth certificate. The law, which becomes effective on July 1, 2010, aims to fight fraud and prevent identity theft.

Puerto Rico’s legislature passed the law (Law 191 of 2009) after raids earlier in the year broke up a criminal ring that had stolen thousands of birth certificates and other identifying documents from several different schools in Puerto Rico.

As of July 1, 2010 the birth certificate of all Puerto Rican born citizens will become invalid. People born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, are U.S. citizens at birth.

U.S. residents born in Puerto Rico will need to download an application and mail it to San Juan along with a copy of a U.S. photo ID, a return self-addressed stamped envelop, and a $5 filing fee. The law only waives the fee for a new birth certificate for people over 60 and for veterans. There is no replacement exemption for age.

The Puerto Rican government will not accept any applications until after July 1. Officials note that only persons expecting to present a valid birth certificate after July 1 should apply. Others, who do not need to present a new birth certificate for any official reason, should wait.

For more information on how to request a new Puerto Rican birth certificate visit http://www.prfaa.com/birthcertificates/.

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Immigration to Puerto Rico

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Puerto Rico’s history of immigration may make Boricuas the most ethnically diverse people of the Caribbean. Puerto Ricans know about the three main ethnic backgrounds that make-up the Puerto Rican people: the indigenous Taíno Indians, Spaniards, and Africans. However other ethnicities have and continue to contribute to the Puerto Rican culture.

By the early 19th century Spain had lost most of its possessions in the New World except for Puerto Rico and Cuba. In hopes of securing these areas, Spain announced the Royal Decree of Graces in 1815, which granted the Caribbean territories the right to have commercial ties with countries that were in good standing with Spain.

Hundreds of French (especially Corsican,) German, and Irish families soon immigrated to Puerto Rico. They were later followed by smaller waves of Dutch, Greek, Italian, Maltese, and Portuguese immigrants who adopted the language and customs of the island and were completely integrated into the society.

An increase of immigration to Puerto Rico occurred when the U.S. acquired the territory from the Spaniards after winning the Spanish-American War of 1898. Immigrants from China, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic soon became part of the Puerto Rican community.

Dominicans have lived on the island of Puerto Rico since colonial time with immigration coinciding with political upheavals. Today about 200,000 Dominicans live in Puerto Rico.

The large number of undocumented residents in Puerto Rico has become a hot political issue. The U.S. has yet to begin a serious conversation about immigration reform, however it will be interesting to see how new regulations will affect immigration in Puerto Rico. The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti is sure to affect further immigration of both Haitians and Dominicans to Puerto Rico.

In any event, U.S. and Puerto Rican officials should keep in mind that we have always been a nation of immigrants. Current U.S. citizens and political leaders should find ways to fairly welcome those seeking a better life and those who have already contributed greatly to the U.S. and Puerto Rican cultures.

For more on the history of immigration to Puerto Rico you can read the February political column at ElBoricua.com.

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Congressman José E. Serrano

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José Enrique Serrano, a New York politician who has represented Bronx residents and Boricuas for more than 35 years, is presently the most senior Member of Congress of Puerto Rican descent. As one of only two Puerto Rican-born members of the House of Representatives, Serrano has long been known to take the lead on Puerto Rican-related issues.

Serrano has long pushed for more federal support for Puerto Rico and considers Puerto Rico to be a colony of the U.S. He has repeatedly offered bills calling for a referendum in Puerto Rico to change its political status. The last time the question was put to a vote, Puerto Ricans narrowly voted against statehood and for keeping their status as a commonwealth. “I’m against the colony and I can live with whatever replaces it, either statehood or independence,” Congressman Serrano was quoted as saying in 2006.

In 2007, Serrano introduced a bill entitled the Puerto Rico Democracy Act. The bill would provide for a referendum that would give Puerto Ricans living on the island the choice between maintaining their present political status or choosing a new status. If a new status is chosen Puerto Ricans would have the option of being admitted as a U.S. State “on equal footing with the other states,” or becoming a “sovereign nation, either fully independent from or in free association with the United States.”

For more on U.S. Congressman José E. Serrano you can read the current political column at El Boricua.

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