Category Archives: puerto rico

Boricua Pride

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(Photo by Phil Velez)

On Sunday, June 14, 2009, I marched for the first time in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. Thanks to my sister-in-law, who is an employee of Goya Foods, I joined her, my brother, sister, aunt, niece and about a hundred others in the Goya contingent down Fifth Avenue. The sea of red, white, and blue was magnificent, filled with prideful Boricua smiles and eyes of all ages. It was an experience of a lifetime.

The word Boricua is derived from the original Taíno name for Puerto Rico, Borikén: Land of the Brave Noble Lord. Boricua represents a proud sense of identity. Some people use the word interchangeably with Puerto Rican and others use the word to refer specifically to people native to Puerto Rico.

The most accurate definition of the word, in my opinion, is found in Roberto Santiago’s Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings – An Anthology. Santiago writes, “Boricua is what Puerto Ricans call one another as a term of endearment, respect, and cultural affirmation; it is a timeless declaration that transcends gender and color. Boricua is a powerful word that tells the origin and history of the Puerto Rican people.”

I am presently reading Santiago’s anthology and recommend it to any one who wants to obtain a better sense and understanding of Boricuas: the valiant people.

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Puerto Rico’s Political Status?

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(I recently joined the Facebook group “I Support the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009” and wrote a column in EL BORICUA about the unresolved issue of Puerto Rico’s political status. Here’s a synopsis – )

The future of Puerto Rico has been in status quo limbo since the 1952 constitution that officially created an unincorporated territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status. Puerto Rico’s political status is an emotionally charged and often culturally sensitive issue for Puerto Ricans on the island and mainland.

To understand the future of Puerto Rican politics one must visit the island’s past and present political status. Votes expressing opinions on political proposals, known as plebiscites, were held in 1967, 1993, and 1998, and Puerto Rican residents chose not to alter the existing commonwealth status over the possible independence of Puerto Rico or statehood.

Puerto Rico today does not stand unified toward a collective political status. Puerto Ricans must define Puerto Rico’s future. Commonwealth status was not intended to be a final political destination. It is time for Boricuas to move from the status quo and find strength to become the 51st U.S. state, or an independent nation.

(To read the full column in EL BORICUA click here.)

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Judge Sonia Sotomayor, future US Supreme Court Justice

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I am extremely excited about President Obama’s United States Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who would be the first Latina to hold a seat on the highest court of the land. There has been much written about Judge Sotomayor since her nomination was made public on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. As a person of Puerto Rican descent I strongly support Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination, not only because her family is Puerto Rican, but because she is also qualified to hold the position and will bring a unique legal and personal perspective to our judicial branch of government.

According to Wikipedia, Hispanics/Latinos constitute 15.1% of the total US population or 45.4 million people. Hispanics/Latinos have lived in the US since the 1565 founding of St. Augustine, Florida by the Spanish, the longest among European American ethnic groups and second–longest of all US ethnic groups, after American Indians. The Latino presence can even be said to date from half a century earlier than St. Augustine, if San Juan, Puerto Rico is considered to be the oldest Spanish settlement, and the oldest city, in the US.

There have been a total of 110 Supreme Court Justices, of which two were African-American and two have been women. We are long overdue for a Hispanic person on the US Supreme Court. There have already been several negative stories published about Sotomayor’s Latina pride and temperament and some Republicans have even gone as far as calling her a member of the Latino KKK. This is a desperate Republican tactic and shows us how low some conservatives may go to fight Sotomayor’s confirmation. I hope all Latinos and like-minded allies will come together to rebut these smear campaigns and ensure that Judge Sotomayor’s nomination is confirmed.

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YERBABUENA at the Nuyorican Poets Café

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Last Saturday my sister and brother-in-law invited me to see Tato Torres and YERBABUENA at the Nuyorican Poets Café. I hadn’t been to the Nuyorican Poets Café in years and felt it was the right time to revisit the legendary stronghold of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City. The Nuyorican Poets Café, a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, has become a forum for poetry, music, hip-hop, video, visual arts, comedy, and theatre.

I learned of YERBABUENA (which means “good herb”) a few months ago from reading blog posts but did not know much about the group. YERBABUENA plays Boricua (Puerto Rican) roots music and is composed of musicians, singers, and dancers from the New York City area who share an intense passion for the musical traditions of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

A new Boricua generation is embracing the group’s music that promotes the Puerto Rican musical traditions of bomba, plena and música jíbara. Seeing and feeling YERBABUENA for the first time at the Nuyorican Poets Café stirred a strong sense of cultural pride. It was like being around family you hadn’t seen in a long time. People danced in the aisle and I could not help but move to the music. I’m now a fan. If you get a chance, check out Tato Torres and YERBABUENA.

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U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

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Nydia Velázquez is a Latina of many firsts. She has been a member of Congress since 1992. She is the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. The Congresswoman, who represents sections of Brooklyn, Queens, and Lower Manhattan, was also the first Latina to hold a seat on the New York City Council. Velázquez is Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and was named Chair of the House Small Business Committee, making her the first Latina to chair a full Congressional committee.

As Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus she is setting an agenda to ensure that Latinos are leading the way “Towards 2030,” when the Latino population will make up 25 percent of the U.S. population. U.S. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez is the subject of a recent political biography written for EL BORICUA, an electronic monthly cultural publication for Puerto Ricans. I will be writing future articles on Puerto Rican island politics for EL BORICUA. If you have a topic you would like to read about please feel free to contact me via email or leave a comment on my blog.

EL BORICUA’s website and monthly magazine are dedicated to Puerto Rican descendants – where ever they might be – so that they can remember our culture, learn about their roots and history, and be proud to call themselves Boricuas and Puertorriqueños.

(Photo courtesy of Sourcewatch.org.)

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