night_vision

Sometimes I think it will be the grandkids coming home to roost that will be the catalyst.

In the 40's & 50's there was a great migration of islanders to the mainland looking to make their fortunes but always with the intent of returning to the island to live out their dreams.

Because of the strength of the bonds of family in the culture of the islanders these migrants always retained their connection with kin left behind and as often as they could returned with their mainland families to spend time with relations here.

The kids growing up in Jersey or the Bronx retained their identity as Boricua though many had no contact with the island except for summertime or Christmas visits which they remember as cherished times of their youth.

I meet them often and when they introduce themselves as a cousin or nephew or grandchild of a local surname I know of whom they are speaking.

For many it is the fullfillment of the dream of their youth to return to live in the places their parents had taught them about and taken them to visit as kids.

They bring with them the distorted non- culture of the mainland that lumps them as a minority- filtered through their heritage, and often see the island as fertile ground, ready for transformation into a subset of the american dream.

       I'm no sociologist and politics I've always considered a haven of liars and thieves, but it is not hard to see that the island is not a rich place in terms of wealth counted by nickels and dimes. Most islanders live on varying levels of poverty.
        The island is under the complete control of the US and has been afforded no voice in the affairs directly related to it by any branch of the government. It remains a drain on the US treasury, a virtual welfare state.
        Many consider the island a 'nation', as the people hold to a strong indentity and know in their hearts that the US will never accept the island as a state-of-the-union as long as the island accepts it's status as a colonial outpost with a hispanic culture and language. The New Puerto Ricans may not yet speak the language but they will certainly learn it and teach it to their children, for once here to stay they have joined the new nation by bringing back the blood of their heritage to its' origin.
        And now the old folks are dying and being replaced by their progeny primarily from the states who look at the island with some distinct differences in their vision of where the island stands as regards its' direction and destiny. For 'coming home' to a place that is struggling with poverty and dependency requires patience and time to adapt to the inevitable effects of culture shock that even the New Puerto Ricans must deal with. But one thing they can all agree on is that essentially the land belongs to them even if they were born in Jersey City. The trappings of the mainland that come with them they will find are expendable. Living on the island for a while tends to shrink the connection.
        Alot of the changes witnessed in the B*zone and all over the island are directly related to this conflict between what is the Borinquen Nation and what is the Free Associated State, the status currently assigned - two terms that dont rub each other well and have manifested another facet of the 'Ay Bendito' resignation that disenfranchises a people instead of unifying them.

It remains my hope that these 'grandkids', who are of all ages and who have been brought up with a consciousness of their heritage that is unusually clear, will strive together to help remove Puerto Rico from the short list of peoples who still submit to the authority of colonial overlords whose decree is the law of the land- simply by virtue of the fact that they aquired it as spoils of war. The island continues to be managed according to whim without even the apparatus in place to regard the voice of the people who must bear the consequence.
The New Puerto Ricans have a great stake in the future of this island. They come here with vision and vigor and they come here to live and work and raise the next generation of kids who will grow up to call the island their real home and not the home of their grandparents.
I like to think the nation of Puerto Rico is a real nation but until the people of the island rise to the occasion and declare themselves the masters of their fate and decide together to sever their colonial bonds- Puerto Rico will continue to be regarded as a pretty island destination dependent on handouts from the landlord in Washington.