A few things to start

Hello all, there are a few things I'd like to share before we embark on the journey and evolution of the Puerto Rican migrant. My hope is that this blog will be used as a forum to express and discuss our feelings, thoughts, and experiences as a people who before now, has kept a quiet voice and suffered in silence many injustices, prejudices, and acts of oppression. Yet, despite our struggles we are a people filled with love, compassion, strong family values and an enormously rich cultural history. 

We are a people who celebrate our ancestors and are filled with pride whenever the Puerto Rican spirit moves us... whether its a song that reminds us of "el jibarito" or the smell of "sofrito" that brings us back to our grandmother's kitchen...a tradition or holiday that makes us melonchaly remembering days gone... we still are moved, still brought to tears, and still proud to be Puerto Rican. Sadly, as time goes on, our memories fail us, we become caught up in the day to day happenings, or we just decide not to share our experiences because we think no one will listen... whatever the case, I challenge us today as a people to come together in the name of "los pioneros" and tell our very REAL stories and our very REAL struggles... and ultimately wave our very REAL internal flags, not just on Parade Day but everyday.

On a side note, while researching for this project, I went to my local library to gather some resources and guess what I found??? NOTHING!!! Not a single book, or article, or anything written in print at that library about the migration of our people... African Americans, had a whole section, Chinese, Italians, Russians, you name it.... but not us... "nada" (nad a damn thing). I know that if I had gone to the Central Library, El Barrio Museum, or the Puerto Rican Studies section of Hunter College Library, I'd find many things... but I ask myself how is this possible? Are we invisible? For me, that lack of information and the lack of acknowledgement of our people speaks volumes, and represents a sense of unimportance.  I don't know about you but I'm tired of being quiet. That docile Taino spirit needs to rise up in us and make some noise already!!!!