The Cultural Celebration Of Puerto Rico

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?

Americans and Hispanics have different family traditions that dictate how each holiday is celebrated. On Christmas, which begins December 25th, Americans have a tradition to decorate a pine tree and stocking resting over a fireplace. A large meal is prepared and cookies are left by the fireplace with a glass of milk for santa claus. Families get together and open presents. In hispanic culture christmas is celebrated on December 24th (nochebuena) and is highly religiously with the three kings replacing santa clause. A meal and the decorations are still common among the two groups, however the celebration of cooking a meal with the family ensues one day prior to American Culture. Another difference is that children are raised to leave a box of hay for the camels to feed on while the three kings stop at each home. New Year's in American Culture is celebrates with a sip of an alcoholic beverage such as champagne or sparkling non-alcoholic drinks. Hispanics celebrate the night with an alcoholic drink named coquito. Coquito is made on Christmas and New years. Everyone in the family takes a sip of coquito when the ball dropped on New year's

The term Hispanic refers to people who are capable of speaking and comprehending the Spanish language, and whose ancestry identifies with the Hispanic culture. The three main Hispanic groups in the United States are Cubans, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans. Puerto Ricans are people who identify themselves as Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin, meaning they were either born in Puerto Rico, or have family ancestry that traces back to Puerto Rico. According to Lopez & Patten (2015), in 2013, Puerto Ricans were the second-largest Hispanic origin population living in the United States, accounting for 9.5%. This population continues to grow. In fact, between 1980 and 2013, the Puerto Rican population in the United States had increased by 56% (Lopez & Patten, 2015). Puerto Rican culture is unique, and quite complex. To gain knowledge and a better understanding of the Puerto Rican culture, I attended the Puerto Rican Festival held in Milwaukee, and conducted an interview with Melinda Nieves, a Puerto Rican woman living in Appleton. Through these experiences, I found that Puerto Rican culture is centered around language, family, and religion, as well as music and delicious food.

Puerto Rican food has many different ingredients derived from the different ethnic groups. They use many fresh ingredients for bold flavors, but their food generally isn’t spicy compared to other cultures. Puerto Ricans typically eat a light breakfast, but their lunch and dinner is heavy. For them, dinner is the most important meal of the day. Puerto Ricans typically drink coffee and eat mallorca which is a type of sweet bread. They normally start off dinner with an appetizer like soup or stew first. Some of the main Puerto Rican dishes include: carne frita con cebolla which is, fried beefsteak with onions, roast leg of pork, ham, lamb, or any roasted meats cooked in Creole style with blends of herbs and spices. Puerto Ricans also love chicken and many of their popular dishes include chicken like, arroz con pollo, chicken and

Tamales have the power of merging family. Christmas eve in Mexico means interacting and bonding with the whole family. When the holiday season begins and everybody gathers at Grandmother’s house you can trace the smell of tamales getting cook in the kitchen mixed with the smell of cinnamon. The Christmas tree is bursting with presents and on the side the nativity scene which is always present in a Catholic Mexican family. The table is brimming in flavors, with a variety of dessert and snacks and delicious hot drinks. As appetizing as the table looks the whole family is barely touching the food because the tamales are almost ready and everybody wants to eat as many tamales as possible. When the tamales are ready it means that Christmas Eve celebration is staring. Everyone from the oldest in the house to the youngest gets a plate and eats as many tamales as possible while sharing stories and laughs. The tamales are the main guest of the celebration. The tamales are a traditional Mexican food that can be traced to the Aztecs. The word tamale comes from the Aztec word tamalii which means wrapped food. The Aztec women would cook the tamales for the soldiers because they were easy to carry and eat. Today making tamales is a bonding event for all the women in the family,

The communal nature of Latinos is represented by the use of food in the culture, sharing and offering food to guests is important and often relates to the holidays that Latino’s often celebrate.

Tradition has been said to mirror a way of life. Observation has concluded that participants in tradition “actively construct as well as reflect culture and community” (Sacks 275). For most people in the 21st century, tradition only reveals itself during special times or certain seasons. For others it is simply a way of life. The foodways of Mexicans and Native Americans are of particular interest in this study because of the food that grew from necessity and is maintained as sacred or reserved for only special occasions. The tamale is one such food. Significantly changed and altered throughout history it has remained a

Puerto Rican is the populations and residents of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a multi-ethnic state where home is different ethnic to people and nationwide backgrounds, but the result of some Puerto Ricans does not luxury their population as an ethnicity, but as a nationality with numerous civilizations and nationwide backgrounds including the Puerto Rican people. Puerto Rican is and notwithstanding its multi-ethnic structure of the culture apprehended in a joined by the greatest Puerto Ricans was signified to as conventional Puerto Rican culture. A Western culture is the large consequential from the civilizations of Western European immigrants from the beginning of the early Spanish immigrants as along with other Europeans received afterward such as the Corsicans Irish, Germans and French, lengthways with a heavy-duty West African culture which has been powerful. According to a (Rivera, M (n.d.). People. Retrieved September 27, 2015) “Puerto Ricans are known for their warm hospitality, often considered very friendly and expressive to strangers. Greetings are often cordial and genuine. When people are first introduced, a handshake is usual, however, close friends and family members always greet you hello or goodbye with a kiss on the cheek or a combination hug and kiss. This happens between female friends and between men and women, but not between male friends. Puerto Ricans are best known by

An important tradition is Posadas, occurring 9 days preceding Christmas. The celebration is in preparation for baby Jesus and a reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph. Each night the celebration takes place at a different house. The festivities include praying with the rosary, singing, re-enacting asking for lodging, and concludes with food and a celebration. The figures for the Posadas were passed down from Maria’s great grandparents Josefa and Miguel. The original festivities have been getting gradually passed down to Maria and her siblings, they take turns hosting a night of Posadas which are assigned on a first come first served basis. These traditions are slowly being passed down to the nieces and nephews as Maria and her siblings grow older. Popular foods served are bunuelos (similar to an elephant ear with homemade syrup), sopas (little corn tortillas with sauce topped with meat), and tamales on Christmas Eve made with chicken and

Interestingly enough I never learned about the history of Puerto Rico while in school. The curriculum during my grade school years never included Puerto Rican history. It is interesting that there is a whole month dedicated to Hispanic heritage and not once did we touch upon the history of Puerto Rico. When reading the book by Ray Suarez I found that there were many instances where oppression, racism, and discrimination were portrayed. Ray Suarez speaks about Isabel Gonzalez a young pregnant Puerto Rican woman who wanted to move to the United States with her fiancé who was an American citizen. However, while on her way to New York a new regulation was passed that changed her immigration

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

I will bring awareness to the history and struggles of the Puerto Rican people. I will relate the struggles of not being recognized in society, being discriminated against, and not being able to vote unless living in the states despite the fact we are born United States citizens. These conditions are identical to what Zinn states happened to slaves in his book, “A People History of the United States.” (Chapter 6) I will also speak on the advancements Puerto Ricans have made today as compared to 40 years ago, and how it has influenced me today as a Puerto Rican women.

Outside, a deep silence fell over the neighborhood. This silence crept into every household. Members of the community had a guise of anger and pain expressed on their faces. Everyone locked themselves inside, to lament such a tragedy that has brought sorrow to a twelve years old’s family. Parents fell on their knees with tears in their eyes. This last murder represented the final straw. So many of their own had been murdered by the malicious, metallic, monsters that were supposed to be the defenders of their community. They felt insecure, threatened by the

According to census research at Lehman College (1), during 1945 to the 1950’s more than half a million Puerto Rican natives migrated to several parts of the USA, originally from their own homeland, Puerto Rico. Several of the locations that Puerto Ricans migrated to include Chicago, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. One of the cities that experienced a large boom of Puerto Rican population was New York. This period was known as the “Great Migration” and had several factors that led to the mass migration. Some of these major events include the 1917 signing of the Jones-Shafroth Act by Woodrow Wilson, and the Great Depression. Afterwards, Puerto Ricans were permanent citizens of the US From these events. This still poses

The story of the Puerto Rican people is quite unique in the history of U.S. immigration, just as Puerto Rico dwell a distinctive and sometimes confusing position in the nation’s civic fabric. Puerto Rico has been ownership of the U.S. for more than a century, however it has never been a state. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, but even with that they still have no vote in Congress. Being citizens of the U.S. they can move throughout the fifty states without any problems just as any other American can do legally. This however, is considered inside migration, not immigration.