Puerto Ricans must fight for Independence in order to save our culture & our lives!

Puerto Rico was one of the first places in the Western Hemisphere to be colonized and 530 years later the wounds of double colonization are hemorrhaging. A culture rooted in resistance, resilience, and community yet the U.S. Government & Wall Street have exploited Puerto Rico to its breaking point.

I was born and raised in an affluent city in the lower Hudson Valley region of New York. I was three years old when I was able to first remember my trips to Puerto Rico. Back in 1993, American Airlines was much more comfortable and served full dinners included in the ticket price. I felt luxurious and happy to be flying. It was the first time that I understood the experience. We left the cold and rainy winter of New York to land on a tropical island to visit my grandfather. The weather was warm, the water was turquoise blue, the island was bustling with exotic wildlife, the people were all speaking the same language as my parents, they all ate the same spicy flavorful dishes that I am accustomed to. I remember thinking to myself, there’s an island full of kids just like me! At three years old, I didn’t understand the concept of culture or history. I did know how to identify and match similarities. During my early developmental years, I spent a lot of time playing matching games. Growing up in a white community meant that very early on, people would often comment about the differences in my home.

I grew up surrounded by Afro-Indigenous instruments; from the congas, tambores, giros, maracas, you name it, my house had modern Afro-Taíno instruments. My parents grew up during the era in which salsa dominated the Bronx nightclubs. Both sides of my family had homes in Puerto Rico and in the Bronx. My parents shared a deep love of salsa music. I would wake up Saturday mornings and my parents has either salsa music playing or an evangelical christian pastor’s sermon playing on TV. The days I woke up to salsa, I would run to a large full length mirror in our living room and start busting out my best dance moves. Many of the instruments that make salsa music so attractive are the Afro-Taíno instruments. Despite salsa’s complex dance moves, the instruments create a mesmerizing sound of pure bliss.

I grew up listening and dancing to bachata and merengue as well. These dances were more than just entertainment. They were my way to connect my roots. At home, I could openly celebrate my Latin American heritage without experiencing violence. Outside of my home was a different story. If I wanted to be physically safe, I had to pass as white. Due to this trauma, I struggled with my identity for a long time. I felt like I had to constantly pretend to be something I wasn’t. I lived most of life trying to live up to those standards to be accepted. Deep down inside, I was hurting. I felt like no one truly accepted me. White people would tell me my maduros and plátanos were too ethnic and Puerto Ricans would tell me I was way too gringa. Each community had reservations about my loyalty. As a kid, this was too overwhelming to understand. I just internalized this as something was wrong with me.

It would take decades for me to understand that nothing was wrong with me but that instead, what was wrong was the patriarchy. I’m a literal product of double colonization. Hence, I am Boricua Gringa. I am mixed race Caribbean Native American. I’m what the Spaniard’s referred to as Mestiza which is a light skinned Native American. I could eat McDonalds with my friends from school and go home to eat pasteles with my family. Growing up, I was sheltered from the adversities of the island. As I got older to learn Puerto Rico’s history, it challenged everything I learned about in history class. This became true for most of the history I learned. Since, all of my grandparents lived on the island as I was growing up I had the opportunity to visit the island throughout my life. Aside from New York, Puerto Rico has been my second residence throughout my life. Most people drive an hour or two to visit their grandparents, I had to fly to a tiny island in the Caribbean to visit mine. Growing up in North America met that as I got older, I refused to speak Spanish. I was terrified of violence. At age 5, I was punched in kindergarten for speaking Spanish to another Puerto Rican girl in my class. Spanish is actually my first language. Once I experienced violence in elementary school, I only spoke English until I was a teenager. I felt like I literally lost my voice.

I really struggled to hold on to Boricua Culture and to represent and be proud. Long before I understood the significance of the Puerto Rican day parade, it was a day that I could proudly be me. Going to the Puerto Rican parade throughout my life is where I came to learn how to use fashion to make political statements. Once, I became a teenager, I repped hoop earrings, gold chains, Puerto Rican flag and Taíno symbols. I even had a pair of Reebok’s with the Puerto Rican on them. I had my mom drive me to the Bronx to go to Jimmy Jazz and gear up on all of my resistance clothing.

When I experienced rape, retaliation, and torture in the U.S. Marine Corps. I hid from the Department of Defense in Puerto Rico. At that time, I didn’t fully understand that being Latin American and being a child soldier made me a vulnerable target for exploitation. All, I knew was that no body would find me there. At age 18, I came in contact with my Taíno roots while in the rainforest with my paternal grandmother. That was really when I began to put the pieces of my life together. I’m Native American, not white. I was still struggling with my identity. I was in this weird place. In North America, people tell me I’m exotic looking. In Puerto Rico people tell me I sound exotic.

The history of Puerto Rico is over 200 years older than the United States. A lot has happened:

November 19, 1493 — Puerto Rico is invaded by Europeans, by Italian explorer and colonizer Christopher Columbus on his second public voyage westwards.

August 1508 — Juan Ponce de León invaded the San Juan Bay.

1537 — La Fortaleza is constructed.

1539 — Construction begins on Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro).

1582 — San Juan becomes a presidio, or military encampment.

November 22–23, 1595 — British privateer Sir Francis Drake attacked San Juan.

June 16 — August 27, 1598 — British Sir George Clifford attacks and occupies San Juan.

1601–1609 — the Spanish rebuilds parts of San Juan, reinforced El Morro and the Boquerón Battery.

1608–1610 — Wooden San Juan de la Cruz is constructed on El Cañuelo Island.

September 25 — November 2, 1625 — Dutch privateer Boudewijn Hendricksz attacks San Juan and resides in La Fortaleza. Unsuccessful in capturing El Morro, Hendrickzs collected all of the wealth from the civilian homes and burned San Juan and San Juan de la Cruz to the ground before leaving the island.

1634 — Construction began on a new fort, Castillo San Cristóbal.

1634 — Construction began on the city walls.

1650 — The entire city is encircled with a wall.

Circa 1650s — El Espigón, or la Garita del Diablo (the Devil’s Sentry Box), is constructed.

1660 — San Juan de la Cruz is rebuilt in masonry.

1660s — Fort La Perla is constructed (The modern-day barrio La Perla is built where this fort used to be!).

April — May 1765 — Field Marshall and Inspector-General Alexander O’Reilly is brought to Puerto Rico to reform the soldiers stationed there.

1765–1790 — Colonel Thomas O’Daly and successors build a defense-in-depth system, focusing on batteries in El Morro, creation of San Cristóbal, sections of the city walls, San Gerónimo, El Cañuelo, and the Boquerón sector.

April 17 — May 1, 1797 — British General Ralph Abercrombie and Admiral Sir Henry Harvey attempt to invade San Juan from the east.

1897 — The government tears down the southeastern section of the city wall; the Santiago Gate, Ravelin, and Bastion; and parts of San Cristóbal to expand the city outside of the defensive walls.

May 12, 1898 — American Naval Fleet commanded by Admiral William T. Sampson attacked San Juan, striking the fortifications and the city walls.

July 1898 — American General Nelson A. Miles entered Puerto Rico from the south at Guánica, and intended to rendezvous at San Juan funded by J.P.Morgan.

December 10, 1898 — Treaty of Paris signed, ending Spanish-American War and Spain cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States in exchange for $20 million. J.P. Morgan then installs his employee to become the first American Governor of Puerto Rico who exploits the sugar and rum trades.

1898 — Fort Brooke established by the U.S. Army at El Morro.

1983 _ United Nations identifies El Morro as a global historical site. Making it protected by UNESCO.

This timeline fails to mention all of the human rights atrocities the U.S. Government has committed since invading the island. Puerto Ricans we’re not given citizenship right away, making Puerto Ricans stateless. Puerto Rican women were sterilized to prevent them from reproducing mixed race children. Puerto Rican children as young as 8 years old were arbitrarily incarcerated for 10 years for having Puerto Rican flags in their rooms. None of them received trials. All of this happened in the mid to end of the 19th century, meaning my parents were alive for some of these events. It makes sense why all of my grandparents fled the archipelago when my parents were children. The levels of oppression didn’t stop there. Spain has equally oppressed Puerto Ricans. It’s why we refuse to identify as Hispanic or even European. We strictly identify by our Native American heritage.

Growing up my family always told me, “¡Puerto Rico is bien pa vacación pero Puerto Rico no es bien pa vivir!” As many times as I went to the island and lived there temporarily, I didn’t really understand what that meant until I lived their post-Hurricane Maria and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Living under those levels of political corruption and human exploitation was a brutal awaking to the quotes I heard my family saying growing up; “Puerto Rico is good for vacation but Puerto Rico is not good to live.” I descend from many WW1 & WW2 Borinqueneers. The harrowing realities of war live inside my DNA. Puerto Rican DNA is perfecting and we are beginning to develop into a new species known as Super-humans. We have a perfected VO2MAX gene also known as the resilience (warrior) gene. It makes sense considering we are the most decorated warriors in global history. Our DNA has survived so much disaster and chaos. Our mixed race DNA means we have the best of every race living inside our blood.

The current state of Puerto Rico is too far gone for statehood. Prior to living in Puerto Rico, I was a supporter of statehood. While I believe statehood could work, I don’t believe it to be the best option. There are risks to independence that include a less value currency that could push Puerto Ricans more in poverty. However, there are long term benefits and some ways to hedge these economic losses. The Islands of Puerto Rico are controlled by J.P.Morgan Chase Bank specifically. Through their PAC they fund and support far-right wing politicians who are out of touch with the people of Puerto Rico and even out of touch with reality. Living under double colonization means both the U.S. & Spain maintain a military, a religious, and political interests in Puerto Rico. It’s why Puerto Ricans broke Juan Ponce DeLeon’s statute and rightfully so. It why Puerto Ricans don’t have solar energy and have an electrical grid that is blowing up. It is why Puerto Ricans on the island of Culebra have cancer from the U.S. Navy. It’s why oils spills killed off the most valuable coral reefs. It’s why most of the Native American architecture and symbols are erased.

Puerto Rico translate to the rich port. Everything including human dignity has been taken away from the Puerto Rican people. Living in Puerto Rico post-Maria was the most economically & politically oppressive environment I’ve lived in. The lengths the Government went to in order to protect tourism dollars was immoral and inhumane. While living in Puerto Rico, I witnessed hundreds of people who became homeless during the pandemic. They were literally living in tents right in front of the Puerto Rico Capital building in San Juan. They were part of the 4% of vaccine holdouts. I’m pro-vaccine but not at the expense of human dignity. I’m also a firm believer in body autonomy because without it we can not have human dignity.

For all of the reasons above, I believe the Puerto Rican people must fight for independence. I believe an independent social democracy country with women leaders at the top, can change the trajectory around and for the survival of Puerto Rico and it’s people. The inaction of the ruling classes of Puerto Rico and the political corruption are leading Puerto Rico and its people to extinction. The younger generations must unite in an unprecedented resistance to double colonization.

The environment and human dignity must be at the forefront of Puerto Rican liberation! The time is now!