Upon leaving my apartment in the New York City neighborhood nown as the Upper East Side, I see young children accompanied by their nannies on the way to school, businessmen walking briskly to the metro station, restaurants and privately owned cafes, supermarkets with fresh food, museums, schools, gyms, shops and much more. Everything a person could need is within reach. This is my neighborhood, it is considered to cover the area between the East River and Fifth Avenue, between 59th and 96th street. The Upper East Side is one of the most affluent neighborhoods of New York, and the United States. When I turn the corner of my block on 91st street, going north on Lexington Avenue, the comfort zone I know begins to change within minutes. I see bodegas, subsidized housing projects and unemployed people chatting on their stoops. This neighborhood is called East Harlem. It covers the area between the East River and Fifth Avenue, between 96th Street and the Harlem River. Today, East Harlem is better known as «Spanish Harlem» or «El Barrio.»
Spanish Harlem has been dominated by Puerto Ricans since the 50’s. It was in this neighborhood where Puerto Ricans established a cultural life of great vitality and sociability. To this day, Spanish Harlem remains the heart of Puerto Ricans and people of Puerto Rican descent living in New York. However, it also faces many social problems. Situated next to the Upper East Side, which has more than twenty private schools and good public schools, the schools in Spanish Harlem have a significantly higher rate of youth drop outs and incidents of violence. As I entered my school comfortably greeting my teachers and friends, five minutes to the north there were students walking through metal detectors for fear that someone would come to school with weapons. Schools in Spanish Harlem are also plagued by low scores and high truancy rates. In addition, the neighborhood has a lot of poverty, crime, and drug consumption and sale. Often, after growing up in Spanish Harlem, it can be hard to break this cycle of life.
The relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States began long before Spanish Harlem. The first group of Puerto Rican immigrants arrived in the mid 19 th century when Puerto Rico was still a Spanish colony, for this reason they were considered Spanish subjects. It is estimated that in 1900 there were 1,800 Puerto Ricans in New York. The second group arrived shortly after the Spanish-American War. This people of this group were no longer considered Spanish citizens but rather citizens of Puerto Rico under U.S. control. Therefore, they needed passports to enter the mainland of the country. However, in 1917 Jones-Shafroth Act was approved giving Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. Therefore, Puerto Ricans were no longer considered immigrants, they were now migrants. They could come and go anywhere in the country without a passport, creating a porous border between the island and the mainland.
The largest wave of Puerto Ricans, known as the Great Migration, occurred in the 1950s. In 1950, it is estimated that there were 31,000 Puerto Rican migrants in New York. Only ten years later, it is estimated that there were over 600,000 people living in New York born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican parentage. There were three main reasons: the Great Depression, World War II and the advent of air travel. Since the economy of Puerto Rico was, and remains dependent on the U.S. economy, the island was hit hard by the Great Depression. Consequently, unemployment increased and many families fled to New York in search of work. A decade later, the Second World War began. Since many men were sent to war there was a sudden need for manpower to fill the jobs left behind. Both Puerto Rican men and women were employed in factories and docks producing domestic and war products. Lastly, air transport was becoming increasingly common. This created a more affordable and faster method of traveling to New York. Although migrants from Puerto Rico had their personal reasons for leaving the island, most were motivated by poverty in Puerto Rico.
In addition, there were two events in 1948 that encouraged Puerto Rican migration. First, the Migration Division of the Department of Labor of Puerto Rico opened its offices in New York with a mission to mediate between the island and New York and the Puerto Rican community. Second, Operation Bootstrap, the name given to the ambitious projectss seeking to industrialize Puerto Rico, began. However, the industry did not promote enough jobs on the island. With an increasing population and the displacement of traditional industrial activities, there were not enough jobs for everyone. Therefore, much of the excess laborforce moved to New York where the mayor, Robert F. Wagner Jr., began a campaign to recruit workers from Puerto Rico to work in factories in New York. He imagined that the city would benefit greatly by the attraction of cheap labor.
Like most large groups of foreigners in the United States, Puerto Ricans faced discrimination. The discrimination was so rampant in some places they hung signs saying «No dogs or Puerto Ricans.» Although Puerto Ricans were technically Americans, they were and are still seen as «different.» Moreover, most Puerto Rican people feel part of a different culture. Naturally, some began to think about Puerto Rican nationalism. In 1922, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico was founded. Its main objective is to work for the independence of Puerto Rico.
One of the most famous Puerto Rican nationalist is Lolita Lebron. She is the leader of the group that attacked the U.S. House of Representatives in 1954. Her attack had a negative impact in terms of discrimination against Puerto Ricans because Americans began to consider Puerto Ricans as anti-American radicals. Lebron was jailed for 25 years for her actions. She was only freed because President Jimmy Carter issued a pardon for the group. However, the governor of Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero Barceló publicly opposed the pardons, saying it would encourage terrorism and undermine public safety. Although this claim seems exaggerated, Lebron received a hero’s welcome upon return to her country, showing that her actions are celebrated by many Puerto Ricans. She is a symbol of Puerto Rican strength and pride that most Puerto Ricans choose to express in other ways.
An important example of expressing Puerto Rican heritage is the Nuyorican Movement. Puerto Rican writer Jesus Colon founded this intellectual movement involving poets, writers, and musicians living in New York who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent. The Nuyorican phenomenon occurred when many migrants from Puerto Rico faced difficulties and racial discrimination. Their love of Puerto Rico and the situation of being away in a land that did not fully accept them led to the Nuyorican subculture. In 1980 the Nuyorican Poets Café, which hosts many art events, was founded and is now considered a landmark of New York.
In addition, the Nuyorican subculture arose because islanders do not consider people of Puerto Rican descent living in New York to be Puerto Ricans, due to cultural differences. Moreover, many are second and third generations. However, people of Puerto Rican descent are not considered American either. Nuyorican culture allows them to celebrate their duel identity – identifying with the island, but also recognizing the influence geography and cultural assimilation has had.
Another important tradition of Puerto Rican pride is the Puerto Rican Day Parade. The first Puerto Rican Day Parade was in 1958. It is currently held every second Sunday of June. The event attracts over two million spectators each year and many Puerto Rican celebraties. (examples: Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, baseball players)
The fact that Puerto Rico is U.S. territory makes the process of assimilation very unique. According to Carl Aronovici, what the United States generally does to assimilate an immigrant is:
“teach the foreigner the English language, educate him about American standards, inform him about American political institutions, impress him with the opportunities afforded to him by the United States of America, preach to him about the moral codes of American people, make him feel his responsibility toward America; these are the ways and means by which we expect to achieve the task before us” (p. 720) [1].
All of these methods were implemented by the United States to change the culture of Puerto Rico with an important difference: the implementation of «education» took place both on the island of Puerto Rico and in the place of migration, primarily New York City. The process of Americanization of the island began in 1898 due to political, economic and educational systems imposed by the United States in Puerto Rico.[2] Therefore, soon after in 1917 when the U.S. government gave citizenship to Puerto Ricans, they came to New York already with a large influence of the United States. The ease of travel between the two lands opened the door to a unique cross-cultural process. On the one hand, the process of Americanization on the island has been accelerated due to continuous contact with the United States. On the other hand, the process of assimilation of Puerto Ricans living in New York has been slowed due to continuous contact with Puerto Rico.
Many immigrants come to the United States willing to change their linguistic and cultural practices so that may one day they may be perceived as «Americans.» However, the case of Puerto Ricans is unique. First, there are not immigrants – people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Therefore, Puerto Ricans do not have to act like «Americans» to gain citizenship. However, what is most important is that Puerto Ricans have more ability than any other migrant group to live in two worlds. You can cross the border of the two cultures without a passport or visa making it easier and cheaper to maintain close contact with their homeland than it is for most immigrants United States. It is clear that although the Puerto Rican culture has changed both on the island and in New York because of Americanization, it will not disappear or get lost in a homogeneous group.
Many people of Puerto Rican descent still struggle with the issue of identity. A common question is «who are we first?» A lot of people want the answer to be Puerto Rican or American. However, the answer is both. Since 1898, Puerto Rican identity has developed under American hegemony and imperialism. There exists a strong relationship with American culture. However, there is still a dichotomy between «us » and «them» (gringos). Although Puerto Ricans are Americans, they are not gringos. What saves them from losing their culture is their pride of being Puerto Rican and the fight against total assimilation.
Transculturation through the “vaivén”, the word used to describe the bilateral movement between the island and mainland, between Puerto Rico and the United States has changed both places. It has created a new «nation » that is a cross between the two. There is a coexistence of two cultures in which a Puerto Rican can believe in Santa Claus and a Nuyorican can celebrate the Three King’s Day. This nation undermines the definition of citizenship and nationality based only on birthplace. The constant movement of people blurs the boundaries and definitions of what it means to be Puerto Rican. Also, a person of Puerto Rican descent is never permanently disconnected from the island.
This connection to the island still lives in Puerto Rican youth today. Sitting on my good friend’s porch in Spanish Harlem, I feel like I could be in Puerto Rico. I look at the street which is full of bodegas, signs in Spanish, and street venders selling of piraguas (common cold treats in the shape of a pyramid made of shaved ice and topped with fruit flavored syrup that were initially brough tp New York City by Puerto Ricans). Julio, with whom I worked for many summers as a lifeguard, and his family represent a typical Nuyorican family. When I went to college, Julio continued to be a lifeguard. He never finished high-school and has spent time in jail. Unfortunately, this is the life of many young people in Spanish Harlem. His brother, who works at a carshop, and his brother’s girlfriend are with us chatting on the porch. Sitting beside him is our friend Ángel, who is also of Puerto Rican descent. He is currently a lifeguard but is studying to pass his EMT exam. He also has a newborn son at home.
Beside him sits Julio’s cousin. She proudly displays a tattoo on her back that says «Boricua» (the term used to refer to Puerto Ricans). When she speaks she often uses words or phrases in Spanish. For example, she says «también» instead of «also» or ends a sentence in English with «tú sabes?» Although none of them have been to Puerto Rico or speak fluent Spanish, everyone understands her. Most of them have been exposed to some Spanish by family members and in the street. In this way; with Spanish, tattoos, or clothing, they can express their uniqueness and pride of Puerto Rico. Julio and I enter his house to get a drink. Immediately we see his brother and his wife. We climb the stairs, and pass his cousin’s two young daughters playing in the hallway.
Soon after, his uncle greets us. For me it’s «Hey Katie» and for Julio it’s «Qué pasa, papi?» We go into the kitchen and his mother is frying tostones while his father is watching a baseball game. All of the people mentioned, excluding Ángel and myself, live in this house. Every time I’m there Julio is complaining about some family matter, or his cousin is gossiping on the porch. An extended family living together in one house is more typical of Puerto Rico, not New York. It is clear that Julio’s family, like many others, has adapted its style of life in Puerto Rico to New York, maintaining many elements.
It’s interesting because none of them would say they are American. In addition, Nuyoricans have not taken the hyphenated identy of «Puerto Rican-American,» like most other minority groups. It may be because they are American citizens, but it can also be because they reject complete assimilation into American culture.
Although Julio’s story is very common among the Nuyorican culture, it is important not to forget the many people of Puerto Rican descent who have overcome obstacles and have become highly respected members of their communities.
It is clear that in the past decades the United States of America’s attitudes about race and women have changed and are continuing to change dramatically. Currently, the country boasts an African American president, Barack Obama, and a female Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Puerto Ricans have not been left out of the country’s shift toward a society in which anyone can dream big. Sonia Sotomayor is a perfect example.
As a female of Puerto Rican descent who grew up in the Bronx, Sotomayor has broken all of the odds. She grew up in a neighborhood where many other Puerto Ricans had settled in a typical Puerto Rican family. Both of her parents were born in Puerto Rico and not highly educated; her father had a third grade education. Unfortunately, he passed away when she was nine turning her family into a female-headed household. Despite statistics that prove most people in her situation do not break out of their neighborhoods, Sotomayor did this and much more.
Sotomayor thanks her mother for where she is today. She says that her mother put great stress on the value of education growing up. In turn, Sotomayor continuously pushed herself to do well in school moving on to two of the best universities in the United States. She completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton Univeristy where at the time there were few women and even fewer Hispanics. She has said that she felt like a visitor in an alien country since the only regions she knew before arriving at Princeton were the Bronx and Puerto Rico. During her time at Princeton she looked for more opportunities for Puerto Rican students and pushed the University to hire Hispanic professors. She moved on to graduate from Yale Law School. Since law school she has worked as Assistant District Attorney in New York, and held several judgeships.
Currently, Sotomayor serves as a Supreme Court Justice. She was nominated by President Obama and sworn in August of 2009. Not only is Sotomayor the first Supreme Court justice of Puerto Rican descent, she is the first Hispanic justice. Furthermore, she is only the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Ethnic identity has always been an important focus of Sonia Sotomayor. She self-identifies as Nuyorican, serving as a role model and aspiration for many young Nuyoricans today. In 1996 she said, “Although I am an American, love my country and could achieve its opportunity of succeeding anything I worked for, I also have a Latina soul and heart, with the magic that carries.” By continuing to embrace and be proud of her Puerto Rican upbringing while holding an incredibly important position, she encompasses what it means to be a Nuyorican. As a Nuyorican, one is American and fully capable of living the American dream. At the same time, a Nuyorican does not forget the culture and ways of the island.
[1] Aronovici, Carl. “Americanization: Its Meaning and Function.” The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 25, No. 6. The University of Chicago Press: 1920.
[2] Negron de Montilla, Aida. “La americanización de Puerto Rico y el sistema de instrucción publica”. Rio Piedras: Editorial Universitaria, 1975.
Raíces cruzadas 