ipl-logo

Puerto Rican Culture Essay

2589 Words11 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How culture affects identity

Since the end of World War 2, Puerto Rican culture has undergone a generational shift, which is evident in the music we listen to. This shift is a result of an ethnic divide within Puerto Ricans due to whitewashing within our culture and to a large extent a change in how we as a community view ourselves. Being a part of this community has given me access to a wide variety of different views and peoples within my community. When you explore within, you have people born and raised on the island who only speak Spanish but also people who have only lived in the mainland United States their entire lives. There are many different ways to be a part of this circle and me being a New-York raised Puerto Rican I have been able to see a place and people …show more content…

What it means to be a Puerto Rican has changed. You have people of all sorts of ethnicities which introduces families that are a mix of Puerto Rican and a host of other ethnicities. I know a lot of people that are half-Puerto Rican, but even though they might not fully be Puerto Rican they are still connected to our community and participate within our culture. With my community expanding beyond people just from the island and a growing population being raised solely in the mainland and or being raised into mixed families, a growing number of them are being forced to change their identity when filling out documents like the census where they are being forced to put down an answer that doesn't match who they are. Going back to the 1960s there were census takers that would decide people who were mixed-race and often changing their choice from black to white was common during this time. This practice resulted in many Puerto Ricans being forced into a group they were not and through the decades accepted their “whiteness” so that they would not either be discriminated against when living in the United States. I have gone through this type of discrimination that is mentioned within the article, I have been grouped into a race that I don’t identify with just because the place I applied too didn’t recognize that being Latino was a race (pretty surprising right). It is not just Puerto Ricans being forced to put white as their ethnic identity, many Puerto Ricans are forced to put down their ethnic identity as black when in reality they are not or if they are Afro-Latin are a mix of races not just black. “Many Puerto Ricans say they also feel that choosing black erases their unique cultural identity — including language, food and customs — and aligns their experience too closely with that of

Show More
Related
771 Words | 4 Pages

In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s poem, “On the Island I Have Seen” she provides a glimpse of what life in Puerto Rico is like from a unique perspective. She was born in Puerto Rico, but growing up she moved back and forth between Puerto Rico and America. In an interview she shared: “But I think culture is very complex. You could say that I’m Puerto Rican by birth. I certainly enjoy and appreciate my heritage, and have used a lot of my culture for my art and incorporated it into my life” (Kevane and Herdia, 753).

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

Many Cubans defied this policy and control strategy because they saw it as a violation of their independence, but they felt obligated for cooperation because they relied on American sugar markets. The Spanish-American War led to Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. territory. The strategy towards Puerto Rico was different from Cuba's in that it implemented initiatives aimed at "Americanizing" Puerto Rico, such as encouraging the study of American culture and teaching English in education systems. As a result of Puerto Rico's status as an unincorporated territory of the United States, residents were still considered citizens of the country but lacked the same political freedoms as those residing on the US mainland.

Read More
144 Words | 1 Pages

Overall, the groups of people the United States gave the label “Latino” all had different reasons and ways to become citizens. The Cubans were accommodated gladly because they were viewed as fleeing communism and, arguably, had the easiest time becoming citizens of the groups that immigrated. Mexicans fell victim to having their border fall south of them after the Mexican-American war and became citizens with the treaty of Guadalupe. Puerto Ricans became citizens without full rights under the constitution with the Jones Act of 1917 after the Spanish American war. The other Latino groups listed above came to the United States after they were forced out of their countries with violence, both political and not, and economic hardship and had a

Read More
896 Words | 4 Pages

In a vote 61 percent of Puerto Rican citizens voted for statehood. Citizens of Puerto Rico have shown nationalism for the US by waving the United States flag and supporting the

Read More
1503 Words | 7 Pages

Puerto Rico and the United States The debate on whether or not Puerto Rico should become a US state has been going on since 1898, after the U.S. defeated Spain in the Spanish-American war. Factors such as the country's relationship, how it might benefit the United States, and our laws, all affect the outcome. This is a complex topic, and there are many sides to it. There are numerous different opinions that people have, both in the United States and in Puerto Rico. “In November 2020, 53 percent of Puerto Ricans voted in favor of becoming a U.S. state” (“Could” 1).

Read More
1385 Words | 6 Pages

Puerto Rico, an unincorporated island of the United States, have their own set of cultural beliefs. The foundation of the Puerto Rican structure is family. The word “familismo” is a Puerto Rican word that means close family connections, and it emphasizes the concern for the well-being of the family (Maria de Lourdes B. Serpa, Ed. D, 2005). Although I was born in the United States, my family is from Puerto Rico (Kay, 2018).

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Informative Speech Outline By: Katherine M Perez-Arroyo 1. Speech Topic: The History of Puerto Rico and its ties to the United States 2. Attention-Getter: Hi, my name is Kat and I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and I would like to ask you a question I was asked a few years ago when I was living in Topeka, Kansas “What kind of documentation do I need to travel to and from Puerto Rico?

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

Growing up in Cuba, boys and girls were freely allowed to play with one another. Many girls would climb big trees to get fresh savory mangos. They would fall and scrape their knees while playing hide and seek and even play sports which were considered “manly”. Many girls preferred to work outside the house, they would perform jobs such as; repairing a broken fence or painting the house. Boys were never told not to play with the girls, in fact, they would also help out around the house and clean dishes after a meal.

Read More
1962 Words | 8 Pages

It all began in 1898 with the end of the Spanish-American War. “Between October, 1898, when the American flag was raised at La Fortaleza and November, 1948, when the Puerto Ricans chose their first elective governor, a full half century was to elapse” (Morales Carrion, 1983). A lot of change took place during this time as the United States partially took control of Puerto

Read More
222 Words | 1 Pages

As a Puerto Rican citizen, I do not fit in to that part of our history very much. In the late 1800’s, Puerto Rico was not a U.S. territory; instead, it formed part of the Spanish empire. It wasn’t until the end of the Spanish-American war that Puerto Rico became a U.S. property. Even then (after being conquered by the U.S. in the year 1900), the common American belief was that Puerto Ricans weren’t inherently equal any more than they thought that blacks were racially equal to whites. Rather, because the American public wouldn’t consent to treating Puerto Ricans as equals or granting them citizenship, the U.S. had trouble keeping the island as an imperial possession.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

Being Hispanic has taught me a whole world of things. It has taught me that the world is not what you expect it to be. Going to a public school and being th minority is completely different than going to a see my cousins where every thing is different. The way we talk, the food we eat. Its all different.

Read More
328 Words | 2 Pages

One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo  upon experiencing racism and prejudice.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

When I Was Puerto Rican When I Was Puerto Rican is a memoir written by Esmeralda Santiago. She writes of her childhood life in Puerto Rico and how she lived in primordial conditions. Santiago paints a vivid picture of her early life which creates unforgettable memories of her childhood. The author talks about her life from her rural home in Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, and to her graduation in Harvard University.

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

Native Americans Native Americans are very different from other tribes. They eat, live, dress and do many things differently. The things I’m going to be talking about in my interesting paper is What they eat? What they wear? Where they live?

Read More
1390 Words | 6 Pages

Many Puerto Ricans have always dreamed of seeing their beautiful commonwealth become its own country. American laws today are imposed on the territory, but by leaving Puerto Rico to make its own choices, the citizens could design their government whichever way they would like. This choice has the support of many current Americans, from former inhabitants of Puerto Rico wishing for independence to politicians not wanting to support the island in times of need. On the contrary, Puerto Rico has been the colony of a nation for hundreds of years. They have not had independence since before Spain took over the island in the 1500s, and because of that, it could be disastrous to simply cut all ties with the nation.

Read More

More about Puerto Rican Culture Essay

Related Topics

Open Document