Cross Cultural Project : Puerto Rican

Like many Puerto Ricans before me, I have questioned my cultural identity. We claim to be a commonwealth, a free associated state, but we are neither free nor a state. This is where our dilemma lies. What are we if not a state? What are we if not free? We are stuck in the middle, we have become a paradox, a contradiction. Now the question here lies: what- or better yet- who are we?

This presentation will explain the differences and similarities, if any, in the countries of Spain and Puerto Rico’s. The presentation will show the differences and similarities between the two countries arts, culture, and economic environment. The presentation will show how both countries have a assimilation of cultural and distinctiveness. Even though both countries have similarities and differences, they both have one thing in common, and that is they are Spanish-speaking countries with an array traditions, culture, and diversity amongst the people, that will be talked about in this presentation.

It is not uncommon that you’ll hear Puerto Ricans refer to themselves as the mutts of the Spanish community, this is because of the island’s history. Soon after Christopher Columbus “discovered” the island in 1493, it became known as the “rich port” for the Spanish or Puerto Rico, due to the fact that it produced mass amounts of cattle, sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee, especially considering the island’s size. Such prosperity and wealth opened the door for the slave trade to enter the colony, and as a result Puerto Rican bloodlines and cultures evolved not only from the Spanish, but also from Africans, and indigenous Taíno and Carib people (“Puerto Rico- History and Heritage”). In addition, over the centuries many failed attempts where made by the French, Dutch, and English to conquer the island which even further changed the bloodlines. Of course, as history has it, at the end of the Spanish American war in 1898, the Treaty of Paris declared the the Spanish would surrender Puerto Rico to the United States, therefore infiltrating American culture and beauty ideals.

Puerto Rican culture is very unique and diverse and is mainly influenced by its past. It is a melting pot of Taino Indian, Spanish, African, and American cultures, which is what makes Puerto Rico unique. Puerto Rican music, clothing, food, traditions, holidays, languages, and religions are all influenced from the diversity of the population. The official languages are Spanish and English because of the long period of time when Spain ruled and then later, when it became U.S. territory. The majority of the population of Puerto Rico is also Roman Catholic or Protestant again, because it was ruled by the Spanish Crown for over an extended period of time.

The autobiography When I was Puerto Rican, written by Esmeralda Santiago, tells a story of a poor girl trying to succeed. The settings in this novel have an important influence on Esmeralda. They influence her behavior and change her ideals as an adult. Negi goes through many changes based on the challenges she faces by moving to new locations where society is different. All of these changes allow her to become a stronger person. When she lives in El Mangle, Negi has to face extreme prejudice against her upbringing as a jibara. When she leaves Puerto Rico to move to Brooklyn, she is forced to face an entirely different society. All of these events that took place in Esmeralda’s childhood had a significant impact in shaping her into an adult.

My process of enculturation into the Puerto Rican culture can be explained with the iceberg analogy, having in mind that the island itself has a high context background. Above water, the official language is Spanish, although English is taught mandatory on the education system since first grade. One of the things a tourist or anyone that starts assimilating the culture can experience first hand is the passion Puerto Ricans have to speak loudly and use many hand gestures during conversations. This passion is not only present during social interactions, but also on the way citizen’s carry out their beliefs. Even though, the island is a place recognized for its great night life activities and bars, the religion is 85% Catholic, therefore many people go to church on Sundays and tend to be very precocious of their actions because of their faith and religious thinking. Inside the water, on the aspect of feelings and values, Puerto Ricans are very traditional, nevertheless,

The Music Culture in Puerto Rico during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries is poorly documented. It most likely included Spanish church music, military band music, and diverse genres cultivated by the jíbaros, who are peasants, mostly of Taino descent, and enslaved Africans and their descendants. While they only make up 11% of the population in the country, they contributed some of the island's most dynamic musical features becoming distinct indeed. In the 19th century, Puerto Rican music begins to emerge into historical daylight, with genres such as danza being naturally better documented than folk genres like jíbaro music and bomba y plena.

I'm originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is an abundance of Hispanic culture. Hispanics are often defined as people from Spain or any country that is Spanish speaking in Latin America. In this essay, I will share with you some affects that Hispanic culture had on me and how it opened my eyes to better understand diversity. Among the United States, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics according to The U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are estimated to be 48% of the total population of people living in New Mexico, which is the highest of any other state. Hispanicization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture.

Puerto Rican culture, like most cultures today, can be difficult to fit into a perfect descriptive box due to a rich heritage and history full of cultural and racial mixing that make up Its people. Taino Indians, Spanish settlers, African slaves, various immigrants, and eventually Americans, after they acquired the Island of Puerto Rico in 1898, have all influenced the culture of Puerto Rico. It was not until 1917, that Puerto Ricans received common United States citizenship. Puerto Ricans are as American as you or me, but the descendants of Puerto Rico will always consider themselves Puerto Rican and take great pride in their land and their culture. Today it is estimated that there are more than 8.6M Puerto Rican Americans and only approximately

Part B: The Puerto Rican Action Board is located throughout the city of New Brunswick and Middlesex county, PRAB Raritan Garden’s in particular in located in the back Raritan Gardens low-cost apartment buildings. “Zooming Out” we view how large PRAB’s organization is. Underneath the board of trustees are the nine main sites each ran by a senior director. While the company is very large, PRAB would certainly be a “flat” organization (it has only a few layers and a short chain of command). “Zooming In” to Raritan Gardens Early Childhood Center, we see that there is a very short and clear chain of command. Rita Koroni is the Senior Director of the Early Childhood program, her job is the overall responsibility of managing and supervising of PRAB’s

Puerto Ricans face challenges in every aspect of their lives in and out of the island of Puerto Rico. In America, a trip to the hospital and or post offices may make life difficult when this culture of people try to figure out what they need or have had done. The need for medical care to ensure they have received immunizations necessary for school or work poses a problem especially because of the language barrier. If this culture of people find themselves in a courtroom situation they will clean but not with a full understanding of the situation the plead and the full ramifications of the plate even with an

The fundamental issue is that the client whom was referred to by her family doctor for depression (the Puerto Rican woman), doesn’t have 100% control over the intake interview making the job of the social worker that much harder to make a proper analysis of the client.

That is a big problem and interesting problem. Here in Colorado, back in 2008, we had a big immigration from pine tree beetles moving from Canada. This beetle immigration resulted in the loss of many pine trees in the states. Many land owners were concern that it was affecting the wildlife and the some species were disappearing. These issues happened naturally and not anthropogenic.

The few surviving Tainos took off to the mountains for survival. The first two important elements of whom and what makes up Puerto Rican people, is here. The Taino Indians are 1/3 of the element. The second element, were the Spaniards.

Morales talks about Puerto Rican cultures by explaining what Caribbean people like to do: eat, sing, how they have different ways to dance and enjoy different types of music. “I am Caribeña, island grown. Spanish is in my flesh, ripples from my tongue, lodge in my lodge in my hips; the language of garlic and mangoes, […] (Morales 1174). She associates with those specific tastes and her home culture. Food is an important element of cultural identity.