| The Puerto Rican Diaspora:
History in the Making ( The english version)
(Click here to see the spanish version)
By Manuel Hernandez
According to the 2000 United States Census statistics, there
are 3.5 million people of Puerto Rican origin living in the
United States mainland. Puerto Ricans who migrated to the
United States before, during and immediately after World War
II, and those who were born and grew up in the United States
have come out of the melting pot and have become a vital force
developing a voice of their own. The contributions of the
Puerto Rican Diaspora to the development of the United States
are vast and unquestionable.
In spite of the socio-economic conditions faced by the pioneers
of the Puerto Rican migration and through time, they have
become a genuine and authentic part of American society. The
United States based Puerto Ricans have made a name for themselves
in politics, television, film-making, music and literature.
During the last twenty years, they have been recognized extensively
by American industries and institutions.
In the United States House of Representatives, there are three
Puerto Ricans whose parents left Puerto Rico after Operation
Bootstrap paved the way for thousands of Puerto Ricans to
leave the Island. Jose Serrano has been in Congress for ten
years. Serrano is the leading Democrat on the Subcommittee
of Commerce, Justice, State and Appropriations Committee.
He represents the Latinos from the 16th District of the South
Bronx. Nydia Velazquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to
serve in the United States Congress and has been in the House
of Representatives since 1993. Velazquez won the 1994 elections
with a majority of 90% of the electorate. Luis Gutierrez is
the first Puerto Rican in the House of Representatives from
the state of Illinois and has served in Congress since 1992.
The former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer has passed
the torch of leading the Bronx borough of New York City to
the young and up-coming Puerto Rican, Adolfo Carrion, hijo.
Carrion’s political career has merely begun but promises to
develop to further heights in the years to come.
In television and film-making, the contributions have been
heroic and unique. In film-making and acting, Juano Hernández
was a pioneer in a time when Latinos in Hollywood were practically
non-existent. He acted, produced and directed in more than
two-dozen films, and his legacy stands alone even today. The
legendary star of the big and small screen, Rita Moreno, has
been the only performer ever to win the grand slam of Hollywood,
a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony. The first Latino to
win an Oscar in 1950, Jose Ferrer, was once selected as the
American citizen with the best English diction in the United
States. Miriam Colon’s mark in theater began more than four
decades ago and is still an inspiration today for those Latinos
interested in Broadway. For the last twenty years, Jimmy Smits’
television and film career have gone from LA Law to NYPD Blue
to My Family and other major motion picture roles. Jennifer
Lopez has redefined the face of the American female protagonist
in films. After close to ten years in the movie industry,
Lopez continues to star on her own and along side Hollywood
names such as Snipes, Penn and Harrelson, just to mention
a few.
Lopez’ prolific career has hit the music air-waves. With more
than two-million copies sold in the United States with her
first record On the Six, Lopez’ footsteps begin to make an
impact in the music industry. Tito Puente’s contributions
to Latino music in the United States are immeasurable. His
hundred plus recordings are legendary, and his more than four
decade career span place him in the pinnacle of the Latino
music industry in the United States. Marc Anthony’s mark in
Latino music is already in a class of his own. With recordings
in English and Spanish and an HBO live concert in Madison
Square Garden, Anthony promises to be one of the leading figures
in music of the twenty-first century. Willie Colón began his
music career more than three decades ago in the Manhattan
Barrio. Colón’s status as one of the foremost representatives
of salsa is untouchable and is considered a living legend
amongst his peers.
The Puerto Rican Diaspora has been redefining literature ever
since Piri Thomas published Down These Mean Streets in 1967.
Thomas’ bestselling autobiography gave birth to a new literature
which depicted the failures and successes of the Puerto Rican
migration immediately after World War II. Victor Hernandez-Cruz
sparked the interest in Nuyorican poetry with Snaps in 1967.
Nicholosa Mohr reacted with Nilda (1973), a story of a young
girl who comes of age during World War II. The experiences
of the revolving door, returned migrant, stranger in a foreign
land and the so-called Nuyorican have all been depicted by
Puerto Rican writers in the United States. Themes include
the realities of immigration, woman’s role, “la gran familia”
and the influences of the American culture. Short stories,
poems and essays that explore and recreate the historical
and social experiences lived by Puerto Ricans who migrated
before, during and after World War II have reshaped the form
of American letters. Identity conflicts are examined by writers
like Judith Ortiz-Cofer, Aurora Levins-Morales, Tato Laviera,
Sandra Maria Estevez and Abraham Rodriguez. Poetry takes a
different dimension with Pedro Pietri, Victor Hernandez-Cruz,
Louis Reyes-Rivera and Tato Laviera. From Miguel Piñero’s
1973-1974 best American play, Short Eyes to the most recent
bestseller by Esmeralda Santiago, When I Was Puerto Rican
(1993), United States based Puerto Rican literature is recognized
by American literary critics as an emerging, dynamic and growing-literature
which has developed and transformed itself into a diverse
and rich body.
The Latino population is growing fast, and the Puerto Rican
Diaspora accounts for 10% of the second largest minority group
in the United States. In a world of many voices, Puerto Ricans
whisper, speak and shout but after one-hundred years of searching
for an identity, they are being heard and are ready to take
their place in American history.
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