Rafael Hernandez: El Corazón De Boriké

Remembering the iconic songs written by Puerto Rican Maestro Rafael Hernandez Marín (October 24, 1892 - December 11, 1965) is comparable to getting a blood transfusion from one of your relatives.  It has all the ingredients you need to built you from within.  It makes you proud.  It makes you strong. It takes you back.  To the beginning.  To your childhood.  To where you first felt a part of a much bigger family.  Boriké.  The Land of the Valiant Lord.

And no, Boriké, is not misspelled.  It is the Taino name and spelling of Puerto Rico.  Borinquen is the Spanish version. The translation and transformation of what the spaniards thought they heard and how the rest of the world endearingly calls the island.

Rafael was a mulatto, a descendant of African and Spaniard ancestry, who had a unique way of poetically bringing to light the plight and economic condition of the jibaro; the peasant farmer, on the island nation of Puerto Rico, during his lifetime.  There are no words that I can come up with to describe the genius behind this man's essence and vision. The best I can do is translate one of his works for you and let his magic infiltrate your soul.

Deciding which of his many works to translate was not an easy task.  Rafael wrote and composed so many beautiful Ballads, Danzas, Alguinardos,Zarzuelas, Guarachas, Lullabies, Boleros, Waltzes, more than 3,000 in all, that are still very resonate and viable to modern music aficionados.   His masterpieces "Preciosa" (Precious),  and "Lamento Borincano" (The Lament of the Puerto Rican) are as much part of Puerto Rican culture as are its flag and national anthem.  I decided to translate his song "Lamento Borincano" because it captures the sentiment and struggles of his people at a time when Puerto Rico was in a major transition economically and socially.

This particular blog is meant to introduce you to Rafael Hernandez, an exceptional musician, a great patriot and a divinely gifted artist.  It is by no means an autobiography of the man.   It is my greatest hope that you look up his music, listen to it and in doing so "resurrect" a great legend for future generations.

"LAMENTO BORINCANO"

Sale, loco de contento, con su calgamento para la ciudad, hay!  Para la ciudad.

(He goes, ecstatically happy, with his (vegetable) load towards the city, ah!  Towards the city.)

Lleva, en su pensamiento, todo un mundo lleno de felicidad, hay!  De felicidad.

(Has, in his thoughts (mind), a world filled with happiness, ah!  With happiness.)

Piensa remediar la situación, del hogar que es toda su ilusión, si!

(Wants to remedy the situation, of the home that is all his hope, yes!)

Y alegré (And happily)

El jibarito va, candando así, deciendo así, cantando así, por el camino.

(The peasant goes, singing so, saying so, singing so, on the road.)

Si yo vendo la carga, mi Dios querido, un traje a mi viejita voy a comprar.

(If I sale my (vegetable) load, my dear God, a dress for my (wife or elderly mother) I will buy.)

Y alegré (And happily)

Tambien su yegua va, al presentir aquel cantar, es todo un himno de alegría.

(Also the mare goes, feeling that the singing heard is a happy hymn for sure.)

Y en eso le sorprende la luz del día, y llegan al mercado de la ciudad.

(And in that atmosphere the light of day surprises them and they arrive at the market in the city.)

Pasa, la mañana entera, sin que nadie quiera, su carga comprar, hay!  Su carga comprar.

(Passes, the whole morning, without anyone wishing to buy his (vegetable) load, ah!  His load unsold.)

Todo, todo esta desierto, y el pueblo esta lleno de necesidad, hay!  De necesidad.

(Everything, everything is deserted and the town is in great need, ah!  In great need.)

Se oye este lamento por doquier (donde quiera), de mi desdichada Borinquen, sí!

(This lament is heard throughout, of my calamitous Borinquen (Puerto Rico), yes!)

Y triste (And unhappily)

El jibarito va, llorando así, pensando así, diciendo así, llorando así, por el camino.

(The peasant goes, crying so, thinking so, saying so, crying so, on the road.)

"Que será de Borinquen, mi Dios querido, que será de mis hijos y de mi hogar?"

(What will become of Borinquen, my dear God, what will become of my children and my home?)

Oh Borinquen! La tierra del Edén, la que al cantar, el gran Gautier, llamo la perla de los mares.

(Oh Borinquen! The land of Eden, the one sang by, the great Gautier (famous Puerto Rican Poet), (who) proclaimed (it) the pearl of the seas.)

Ahora que tu te mueres con tus pesares dejame que te cante yo también.

(Now that you are dying with your sorrows, allow me also to sing to you.)

Borinquen de mi amor!

(Borinquen (of) my love!)

Yo soy hijo de Borinquen.  (I am a son of Borinquen.)

Y eso nadie lo va a cambiar.  (And that, no one will change.)

Y el dia que yo me muera, en ti quiero descansar.  (And the day that I die, in you I wish to rest.)

Yo te adoro Puerto Rico! (I adore you Puerto Rico!)

Y eso nadie me lo va a quitar.  (And that no one will take from me.)

*Researched Lyrics at MusicstarX.net
Lamento Borincano sang by: Marc Anthony.

Researched Bio at Wikipedia; Rafael Hernandez.

Translator: Yours Truly :)

Soccer: Game of the Gods

With the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals being currently contested and the American Women's team doing so well, I got to thinking about the sport of soccer. About its possible beginnings and the historical journey it must have gone through to spring forth the mass and emotional appeal it embodies today.

Soccer has been around for approximately 3,500 years in the form of the Mesoamerican Ball Game.  Archeologist have found massive ball courts in central Mexico that have been carbon dated to 1,500 BCE.  Previous to this finding, a Chinese military drill manual of the 2nd & 3rd centuries BC, which described drill exercises much like soccer, was believed to be the earliest form of soccer played.  Meaning the Game of the Gods has been around much longer than anyone had previously imagined.

In fact, all team sports that have a rubber ball in play owe that sports' existence to Central American Indians; specifically the Mayas and the Aztecs.  "The games, which combined elements of modern basketball, football and soccer, were great public spectacles in which art played a central role"... also ..."We learn that the marvelous qualities of rubber, extracted from native American plants, led to the development of the games; that Olmec and Maya rulers played the ball game as part of their ceremonial duties; that the ball courts were dynamic public spaces where great pageants were enacted; and elaborate rituals of human sacrifice often concluded a great game." The Sport of Life & Death: The MesoAmerican Ballgame; Thames & Hudson, publisher; E. Michael Whittington, author.

The sport of balancing and mastering a rubber ball first originated, for fun; but it soon became something much more ominous than the neighborhood kids trying to out maneuver each other with their athletic skills.  Political and religious implications soon enveloped the reason the games were played and, henceforth, land disputes, debts and even human enslavements were decided upon the outcome of a game.

As an acceptable human sacrifice to their many Gods, only the best player, the Captain of the winning team, was given that particular honor.  In the Mayan and Aztec cultures, it was indeed a great honor to be sacrificed to the Gods, in the case of the Mesoamerican games, it was believed that this great hero would return as a God.  Great prestige was granted to his family upon his death and needless to say, the victim's family became the beneficiaries of the whole community once they were proclaimed "relatives of a God."

In present day Central America, the Mesoamerican Ball Game has survived in a game called ulama.  It is from this game that we imagine what the ancient Mesoamerican games must have been like.  Ulama players do not use their hands when handling the ball.  Only their heads, hips, knees, thighs and feet can be used.  The ball is approximately 9 lbs.  Same as in the Mesoamerican game.  Some protective gear is used, as in extra padding added to the extremities allowed, but not much other than that.  Death as been known to occur playing this game if the player is hit with the ball in his mouth or in the stomach.

Although, stone vertical rings are now a common fixture associated with the ancient ball courts, these were actually added latter by the Mayas and are not part of the first ball courts constructed, nor monumental to the first games played.  In fact, it is so hard to score by shooting the ball threw the stone ring, that doing so, would automatically win the game.  It is believed that markers on the ball court and showing skills, such as, keeping the ball from touching the ground the longest, were ways of winning points and, therefore, a more common way of winning the game.

Of course, if you research soccer, no mention of the Mesoamerican Ball Game will come up.  What will come up is Association Football.  Translation?  The european definition of soccer.  The modern rules of football (soccer) are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football (soccer) played at the public schools of England.  The history of football (soccer) in England dates back to at least the eighth century. Wikipedia  With the standardizing of "football" came The Cambridge Rules (1848), J.C. Thring Rules (1862), Sheffield Football Association (1867) and FIFA-Federation Internationale de Football Association (1904); all very instrumental and influential in today's soccer.


At the turn of the 21st Century, the game was played by 250 million players in over 200 countries making it the world's most popular sport.  Wikipedia.


Soccer has been accredited with starting a war;  Central American nations of El Salvador and Honduras, in 1969; also known as the 100 Hours' War; with delaying a war; both sides of the Biafran War, also known as the Nigerian Civil War, declared a two day truce in September, 1967, so that they could watch Pele and his touring Santos team play in two exhibition matches; and with countless riots after a game resulting in casualties and injuries.  Could Mayan and Aztec deities still be extracting their blood demands from modern tragedies? 


Perhaps in getting a better perspective of where the game originated from, it is not so far fetched in concluding that this game somehow brings to the surface a primal, hard to control urge in its participants.  Perhaps it does have something to do with the Divine; with the Sacred; and need be approached with great respect and reverence.  Good Luck U.S. Women's Soccer Team!

UPDATE:  The 3,500 year old Rubber Ball that changed Sports Forever, by Christopher Klein, URL www.history.com/news/the-3,500-year-old-rubber-ball-that-changed-sports-forever.  (Written in 2016; 5 years after my article)  

Human Experimentation in Puerto Rico

It was in my research of my fellow Puerto Rican, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, that I came upon information regarding medical experimentation illegally performed on Puerto Ricans.  I had heard before of the Puerto Rican Pill Trials (a human trial study of contraception pills done on Puerto Rican women); but forced sterilizations, injecting live cancer cells in unwitting patients and exposing prisoners to radiation, exceeded my previous knowledge of the situation.

My previous post, dated June 2, 2011, covered and exposed the use of radiation poisoning to inmates, one of its victim being Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos.  So, other than this mention, nothing else will be added regarding that atrocity in this post.

In 1932, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos wrote a manuscript in which he accused Dr. Cornelius P. Rhoads of killing Puerto Rican patients as part of the medical experiments conducted in San Juan's Presbyterian Hospital for the Rockefeller Institute.  His proof was a third party letter in which Dr. Rhoads admits to injecting live cancer cells in patients.  The letter also included inflammatory racists comments denigrating Puerto Ricans for their alleged bad character. Investigations at the time did not publicly reveal evidence of malicious activity to support the claim and Dr. Rhoads was vindicated while Albizu Campos was discredited.  Wikipedia

Years later, in 2003, after an independent investigation led by the eminent bio ethicist Dr. Jay Katz, of Yale University, the American Association for Cancer Research removed Dr. Rhoad's name from their annual award intended for an "individual on the basis of meritorious achievement in cancer research."  Although, no formal apology was exercised, none was truly required.  I personally applaud the AACR.

This was by no means the only human study that was to be conducted in Puerto Rico.

In the 1950s, an oral contraceptive was being developed in Boston, MA.  The preliminary Boston Trials had given the team of John Rock and Gregory Pincus the confidence they needed to pursue a more lucrative endeavor in the marketing of such a product.  But without large scale human trials, Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval would never be given and marketability would be nil.

Just so happens that in the summer of 1955, Pincus visited Puerto Rico and found the perfect location.

Puerto Rico was a U.S. Territory, densely populated, officials supported birth control as a form of population control, no anti-birth control laws and Pincus was impressed with the vast networks of birth control clinics already in place.

Another aspect that he found appealing was that if Pincus could show that the poor, uneducated women of Puerto Rico could follow the Pill regimen, then women anywhere in the world could too.  Pincus hoped to quiet critics' concerns that "oral" contraceptives would be too "complicated" for women in developing nations and American inner cities to use.

The barrio of Rio Piedras saw the first trials in April, 1956. At the time, most women relied on sterilization or abortion to limit their family size, the Pill was a welcomed alternative.

The pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle provided the pills for the trial.  Rock selected a high dose of Enovid, the company's brand name for their synthetic oral progesterone to ensure no pregnancies would occur while test subjects were on the drug.  Later, after discovering Enovid worked better with small amounts of synthetic estrogen, that active ingredient was added to the Pill as well.  (As a side note, the dosage first used by the Rock Pinus team has been reduced drastically to conform to medically accepted dosage for these drugs.  To administer that amount today would be deemed criminal.)

Rock and Pincus dismissed reports of serious side affects. Three women died during the trials, but no autopsy or investigations were preformed to exclude the Pill as the cause of these young women's deaths.  In later years, the Pincus team would be accused of deceit, colonialism and the exploitation of poor women of color.

The women had only been told that they were taking a drug that prevented pregnancy, not that it was a clinical trial, that the Pill was experimental or that there was a chance of potentially dangerous side effects.

In the 1950s, research involving human subjects was much less regulated than it is today.  Pincus and Rock believed that they were following the appropriate ethical standards of the time.

Another disturbing procedure Puerto Ricans were compelled to endure was that of forced sterilization.  Below is a paragraph from STERILIZATION OF PUERTO RICAN WOMEN: By Florita Z. Louis de Malave, May 1999; which, in my view, encompasses and brings to light, the plight of human experimentation on the island.

[The colonial legacy of controlling women's sexuality and reproduction continues to prevail with such policies as the testing of the I.U.D., birth control pills and the sterilization of women. In the case of sterilization, the subject of this bibliography, between the 1930s and the 1970s approximately one-third of Puerto Rico's female population of childbearing age had undergone the operation, the highest rate in the world. So common was the practice that the words "sterilization" and "la operacion" (the operation) were used interchangeably. The massive sterilization of Puerto Rican females warrants that their experience be brought to the forefront, and there's the hope that this bibliography will stimulates interest and further research in the subject.]

This subject is of personal significance to me, in that, I was robbed of knowing my maternal grandmother,  Tomasa Martinez Rodriguez, due to complications after a sterilization operation.  She died in 1942, when my mother, Antonia Rivera Martinez, was only 7 years old.

I urge you to look up the subject of forced sterilization in Puerto Rico; on the internet.

I firmly believe that political, racial, social economic and colonial views are much to blame for the abuses  of human experimentation implemented in Puerto Rico.  I doubt very much that such lack of concern for humanity would have been perpetuated on Americans of a lighter complexion; Americans that live in one of the established fifty states; or Americans that can vote unscrupulous politicians bought by pharmaceutical companies and unethical medical institutions, out of office.

*Another source for this post was:  PBS Online Home Programs, The Pill, 1999.

Pedro Albizu Campos: Father of Puerto Rican Nationalism

There is no one word that can do justice to the human phenom, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893 or September 12, 1891-April 21, 1965).   That he happened to have been born Puerto Rican, well, that is just one more reason I have to take pride in my cultural roots.

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos is popularly known as the Father of Puerto Rican Nationalism; he fought for Puerto Rican Independence,  peasant and workers' rights,  brought to light injustices perpetrated by medical institutions, organized many uprisings and is credited for implementing national Puerto Rican holidays and emblems in existence today, such as, the Puerto Rican Flag.

In Latin American cultures, both parents' last names are used, first the paternal and then the maternal.  This, in a sense, announces which two families you are bred from; a very powerful and sometimes, damning aspect of our culture.  You either had to live up to the family name or distance yourself from it as much as possible.

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos was to have been very proud of both family names.  He was nephew of danza composer Juan Morel Campos and cousin of Puerto Rican educator Dr. Carlos Albizu Miranda.  Both of these men are illustrious figures in Puerto Rican history.  In keeping with family expectations, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos excelled in academics at an early age.  In 1912,  Dr. Albizu Campos was awarded a scholarship to study Engineering, specializing in Chemistry at the University of Vermont.   In 1913, he continued his studies at Harvard University.

When War World I broke out, in the summer of 1914, Dr. Albizu Campos volunteered in the United States Infantry.  Once his basic training was completed he was assigned to the 375 Infantry Regiment, an all black unit, according to the U.S. military segregation policies of the time.   First Lieutenant Pedro Albizu Campos was honorably discharged from the Army in 1919.  The racism he experienced during his military service influenced the way Dr. Albizu Campos viewed the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.   It cemented firmly his belief that Independence was the only path for Puerto Rico.

After the War, he returned to Harvard University and graduated with a Law Degree, in June 1922, while studying Literature, Philosophy, Chemical Engineering and Military Science.  He was fluent in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Italian, Latin and Greek.  Dr. Albizu Campos met, and I am sure, was influenced by the likes of Subhas Chandra Bose (Indian Nationalist Leader with Mahatma Gandhi); the Hindu poet Rabindranath Tagore; and Éamon de Valera, Irish Nationalist and future President of Ireland. Dr. Albizu Campos later became a consultant in the drafting of the constitution of the Irish Free State.

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, was elected president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, advocating Puerto Rican Independence, on May 11, 1930. Due to his involvements in the many riots that were occurring throughout the island, Dr. Albizu Campos was tried in 1937 for "seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. Government in Puerto Rico."  He was acquitted with a jury of 7 Puerto Ricans and 5 Americans. The presiding judge in the case, Judge Cooper, ordered a new jury, which consisted of 10 Americans and 2 Puerto Ricans; resulting in the desired guilty verdict.  The Boston Court of Appeals, which has appellate jurisdiction over federal matters in Puerto Rico, upheld the verdict.

In his 1939 speech, Five Years of Tyranny, U.S. Congressman Vito Marcantonio, called the trial a "frame-up" and "one of the blackest pages in the history of American jurisprudence."  Providing evidence that the Albizu Campos' jury was a prejudiced one, which had been hand-picked by the prosecuting attorney, Mr. Cecil Snyder, to include "jurors who had expressed publicly bias and hatred for the defendants" and a prosecuting attorney [Snyder] who had been assured via a dispatch from Washington that "the Department of Justice would back him until he did get a conviction",  Marcantonio added, "The continuance of this [Albizu Campos] incarceration is repugnant to our democratic form of government; it is repugnant to our Bill of Rights and out of harmony with our good neighbor policy.  There is no place in America for political prisoners.  As long as Puerto Rico remains part of the United States, Puerto Rico must have the same freedom, the same civil liberties, and the same justice which our forefathers laid down for us.  Only a complete and immediate unconditional pardon will, in a very small measure, right this historical wrong."  Congressman Marcantonio then concluded, "When we ask ourselves, "Can it happen here?" the Puerto Rican people can answer, "It has happened in Puerto Rico. "Wikipedia

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos' first incarceration lasted more than 10 years,  in 1947, he returned to Puerto Rico, just in time to organize and begin the struggle against the proposed plans to change Puerto Rico's political status into a commonwealth of the United States.

It was during these decades of turmoil that in 1950 Dr. Albizu Campos was again incarcerated and sentenced to 80 years.  He was accused of inciting the Harry S. Truman assassination attempt, and later, while in custody, masterminding the 1954 Nationalist Shooting in the House of Representatives.  Although, pardoned twice by Luis Muñoz Marín, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos spent the rest of his life in prison.  His pleads that he was being blasted with radiation rays, were mostly ignored as the rantings of a lunatic.  On April 21, 1965, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos died of his various mysterious illnesses.  In 1994, under the Clinton Administration, the United States Department of Energy disclosed that human radiation "experiments" had in fact been conducted without consent on prisoners in the 1960s and 1970s.  It has been alleged that Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos was among the subjects of such experimentation.

*A second more precise blog on human experimentation in Puerto Rico is forthcoming.

A Sad State of Affairs

In my examination of the Puerto Rican state of affairs regarding it's relationship to the United States, I purposely left out my assessment of the situation. The reason I did this was to first immerse my readers into the history and culture of Puerto Rico.  Further explaining the complicated relationship that exists between our tiny island and our great nation.

I must first start by explaining that I am an island born Puerto Rican, of Puerto Rican parents, raised and living in the Continental United States.  Most people would not understand my need in stating this.  Let me explain.

First of all, not all people who claim to be Puerto Ricans are truly Puerto Rican. Being Puerto Rican to some of these lovingly adopted people means having been born off the island but having Puerto Rican parents or at least one Puerto Rican parent.  To others, they migrated to Puerto Rico at an early age, and were raised in Puerto Rico all their lives.  Yet others, are of a totally different nationality, in another country, but were raised by a Puerto Rican.  They all have been influenced by our culture, beliefs, customs, food, music and the love and pride we feel in being Puerto Rican.  And we, Puerto Ricans, lovingly embrace them into the family.

Now, what how does my current status as a "Continental" Puerto Rican have anything to do with anything?  Indulge me.

Having been raised in New York City since the age of 5, mostly in Spanish Harlem, I never lost my Puerto Rican roots.  Why?  Because there are more Puerto Ricans in New York than there could ever fit in Puerto Rico!  And because of that, I was exposed to all the influences of my culture.  I was also lucky enough to travel most Christmas' back to the island with my parents.  Being the only daughter of my father guaranteed that I would not be left behind.

Traveling back to the island and experiencing first hand the sounds, landscapes and family left behind, gave me a perspective that my compatriots might not have.  I never lost touch.  I never forgot.  I never moved on.   I always hoped to make a difference for my homeland.  I feel the time has come.

It's a funny thing being a Puerto Rican who does not reside in Puerto Rico.  Here, in the U.S., other than in South Florida, or the many vastly spread Hispanic communities, the rest of the country is mostly ignorant of the fact that Puerto Rico is an American held Colony.  That Puerto Ricans are American Citizens.  Or that, if I was to resident in Puerto Rico, in spite of being an American Citizen, I would not be able to vote for President.

To Puerto Ricans living on the island, I am not seen as a native.  I am seen with suspicion and distrust.  "What does this American want?", is what I see in their eyes and mannerisms.  This is what I encountered when requesting information on my family history from my own family members.

And the question of Statehood or Independence?  You best be careful where and when you bring up the subject.  First thing that is thrown in your face is, "You don't live here."   But guess what.  I am very much vested in what status my beloved island happens to be.  I want the option of perhaps one day living on the island and not losing my voting rights.  Or becoming a second class citizen, because the U.S. Constitution does not fully protect me as an island resident.  Or to have my future Social Security Retirement check diminished by 85% simply because I changed my zip code to one in Puerto Rico.  Or of losing my American Citizenship, because my fellow islanders decide to become Independent.

For all of the above reasons and many more, I advocate that Puerto Ricans everywhere, and believe me, we are everywhere, have the right to decide what happens in Puerto Rico.  I happen to believe that it is in Puerto Rico's best interest to become an American State.  Our 51st State.

Most islanders have been convinced that the status of "Commonwealth", which is Puerto Rico's current status, is the lesser of two evils.  That with this status, they are exempt from paying taxes and having English imposed as the only language spoken; while still benefiting from the federal programs,  manufactured goods and monetary funds that emanate from the Mainland.

In actuality, island resident Puerto Ricans pay more taxes than they are willing to admit.  Yes, its true, they do not pay "property taxes", but they do overpay taxes on everything they consume.  Everything is imported to the island.  Nothing there is produced locally.  Therefore, every single item is taxed twice.  One of these taxes is the tariff paid to ship the item from the Mainland to Puerto Rico.  The other, is the sales tax placed on the item once it is sold to the consumer.

In Puerto Rico, English is taught, alongside Spanish, from elementary school until high school.  But if anyone aspires to have a higher education, then you best pay attention to your English lessons.  All educational institutions of higher learning, i.e., Universities, Medical Schools, are taught in English only.

Most Puerto Ricans don't realize that 4 billion dollars more would be allocated to the island as a State of the Union than it is today as a commonwealth.

The only thing this "Commonwealth" status has accomplished is to deny us the right to govern ourselves.  Puerto Rico, as a commonwealth, does not have any representation in Congress, the Senate or the House of Representatives.  This Puerto Rican commonwealth is governed by laws, that they themselves are not allowed to participate in creating.  As a commonwealth, it is not allowed to vote for President. 

Since, 1917, Puerto Ricans are subject to a mandatory draft.  Think of the irony of being sent to war by a President that you did not elect.

This post is meant as an attachment to my three previous writings on Puerto Rico.  It is my sentiment and reflection on the sad state of affairs that has come out the politicking and lack of value placed on one of the last Colonies which exists in modern times.  I invite an open discussion on this subject.  Let's close this border once and for all.  We are tired of being treated like the "red headed step child."   Make me proud to be an American no matter where I am.

 *For a great blog on Puerto Rico's Best Athletes visit Scott Morganroth's Sports Blog:   www.motorcitymadmouthinsights.blogspot.com or www.scottsports33@aol.com.

God Has a Wicked Sense of Humor!!!

Don't get me wrong, I love God, I respect God, I fear God!!  But come to think of it, I have come to the conclusion that He has a wicked sense of humor!!!

Women are gifted with many good attributes.  Physically pleasing.  Soft spoken (except Caribbean women).  Extremely intelligent.  Outrageously resourceful.  But what does God decide to do, just to keep the playing field interesting?  He decides to give the male the penis!!!  Think about it ladies.  What would men be without the penis?  Nothing!!!  That's what.  But then, poor dears, if we also had that, what a one sided world this would be?

Oh, wait, that's not the half of it.  Not only are we forced to keep them around, for obvious reasons, but to add salt to the wound, women blossom into their sexual peak in their mid forties. Men?  Men go down hill after their twenties. Unfair, isn't it?  Just when we figure out what to do with ourselves, men start looking at the younger, unattained specimens.

If you ever wonder why men are so driven to make their fortunes and make their marks in life, I just gave you the answer.  They need that money and charisma to attract that young female.  Sad but true.  Because if they really thought with their brain, they would come to the conclusion that finding a mate closer to their age, intelligence and similar tastes would, in the long run, be more beneficial to a long lasting mutually satisfying relationship.

In all this, I blame God.  (Don't worry, me and God are cool, I won't be struck by lightning, right, God, hello, you there?!) :)   He, in His infinite wisdom, wanted to see how females would overcome such a dilemma.  Such a conundrum.

One temporary solution, is the Cougar mentality.  Women who are willing to pass their wisdom and patience to younger, more virile men.  Men who are willing to experience the sensual, intellectual, spiritual side of lovemaking.  And in finding these men, these older, wiser women find a more physically compatible partner.  This Cougar relationship flourishes until the younger man reaches a plateau of comprehension, of self awareness, which he then wishes to bestow on a subject of his own.   The thorn in every older woman's side, the younger, unattained specimen.

If you have gotten this far on my blog, you are probably waiting for my solution to this problem, right?  Well, if this has been going on since the beginning of time, what on earth makes you think I can come up with a solution?   I can't.  I can only advocate self love.

Ladies, love and respect yourselves first.  It's amazing the admiration one can acquire when people see those qualities in you.  This is pertinent, regardless of what stage of life you happen to be in or your economic status.  Don't ever let these two facts of life define who you are.  We have to live and strive with the cards that we are dealt.  And the ultimate poker player is the Big Guy above.  And boy, can He be a wicked character sometimes!

The Pursuit of Happiness

The United States Declaration of Independence has one of the most famous and influential phrases in the English language which is:  "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

I must remind my readers what our founding fathers where attempting to accomplish in the creation of the democratic government that was to exist in our future country, the United States of America.

For nearly 300 years the colonies had been under the domination of England and the many Kings that ascended the English throne from the 1600's, Virginia, Jamestown Colony, until the late 18th century.  The contemporary King during Revolutionary times was George III (The Mad King).

Many great men risked their lives by signing the Declaration of Independence, if the American Revolution had failed, their own signature would have condemned them to death.  Mind you, I can not list all these great men, my deciphering skills have failed me.  Yet, among the signatures I was able to read were; John Hancock, Jim Hooper, Joseph Herves, John Penn, John Adams, Sam Adams, Robert Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence, drafted primarily by Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.  The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, 

that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator 

with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty 

and the pursuit of Happiness."

I have often wondered why Jefferson would include the very specific, yet very broadly interpreted phrase "pursuit of Happiness" in his draft of the Declaration of Independence.  Happiness is such a personal subject matter.  Can it ever be generalize, interjected and applied to the masses?  Perhaps not.  Maybe that was the point, after all.  Perhaps, we are all suppose to figure out for ourselves what our own individualized happiness is suppose to be.  Perhaps, the enlighten men of that era considered this country's future citizenry and envisioned us spending our lives pursuing and achieving that happiness without government interference.  And in that pursuit, become a self-reliant, self-defining creature; the self-made individual.  A person not dependent on an authoritative figure head nor body of government to establish who they are, but a person that is fully capable of thinking and acting on his own beliefs and merits.

We may never know, Jefferson did not leave any clear evidence of why he used such a phrase.  We have some evidence that other writers at the time were expressing thoughts in that general direction, such as, some great thinkers like; John Locke, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, William Wollaston, Jean Jacques Burlamaqui and George Mason.  But with all their brilliant writings, nothing specific was written to declare the "pursuit of Happiness" as an "unalienable", "sovereign", or "natural" right of man.

I tend to believe that Jefferson's reasoning might come from his public struggles in a society where he had to live as a slave holding plantation owner; while living a private life as a common-law husband to his slave woman Sally Hemings, with whom he had six children.  Jefferson's pursuit of happiness forced him to live two very different, separate lives.  And there is ample evidence of his attempts to emancipate the slave population within the constrains of his society.   This might have been the life source which drove him to insert such a life altering, influential phrase into perhaps the most popularly recognized document in early revolutionary period Americana.  

Puerto Rico - An American State 113 Years In The Making; Part III

When I started this undertaking, of clarifying Puerto Rico's and its peoples' political status, I had no idea that it would be such an extensive project.  I did not jump into this project on a whim.  I have been pondering this subject for years.  I am proud and humbled by the new found information I have uncovered;  and a little disappointed at myself for not digging deeper into my Puerto Rican heritage sooner.  As a Genealogist, specializing in Puerto Rican Genealogy for the past 13 years, that should have been my first endeavour.

Well, so far, I've written a summarized version of pre- and post-Columbian history of Puerto Rico.  I gave you a glimpse into Puerto Rico's attempts to free itself from Spain's domination and gain independence.  And a taste of what Puerto Rico has contributed militarily in the early stages and thereafter, of a newly created Nation called the United States of America; keep in mind, we haven't yet discussed in depth Puerto Rico's role in the Cuban Independence Movement.   And now we will get down to the nitty gritty of some major impact Puerto Rican-US policies, terrorist plots and Puerto Rico's commingled history with Cuba.

The Foraker Act of 1900, an act passed by the U.S. Senate, gave Puerto Rico a civilian popular government including a popularly elected House of Representatives.  It also allowed a judicial system following the American legal system that includes both State and Federal courts; establishing within that system a Puerto Rico Supreme Court, a United States District Court and a non-voting member of Congress, by the title of "Resident Commissioner".  In addition, this Act extended all U.S. laws "not locally inapplicable" to Puerto Rico, specifying specific exemption from U.S. Internal Revenue laws.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt recommended that Puerto Ricans become U.S. citizens.  In 1917, "Puerto Ricans were collectively made U.S. citizens" via the Jones-Shafroth Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson.  The same Act also provided for a popularly elected Senate to complete a bicameral Legislative Assembly, a bill of rights and authorized the election of the Resident Commissioner to a four-year term. 

Translation?  A mini-U.S. government was unilaterally formed on the island of Puerto Rico.

More than a century later, this does not seem like such a negative occurrence, after all, from the American point of view, Puerto Rico at this time in history was only beginning to see itself as a Nation, as a separate entity from the World's Super Powers; and although wanting very much to become self reliant, economically, did not have the resources to accomplish that goal.  But to a contemporary Puerto Rico, who had only less than a decade earlier gained its independence from Spain, this American government, imposed upon it, without it's consent or participation, was devastating to the morale of it's people.  Most of the population accepted their fate in accordance with the humility that is still very much a common characteristic among modern Puerto Ricans; most but not all. 

Natural disasters and the Great Depression impoverished the island during the first few decades under U.S. rule.  Tensions ran high for both sides for the next 50 years.  On March 21, 1937, a march was organized in the southern city of Ponce by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, lead by Pedro Albizu Campos.  The march turned tragic when the Insular Police (comparable to the National Guard) opened fire on the unarmed civilians.  Nineteen were killed and over 200 badly wounded.  Most shot in the back while trying to run away from the police.  This incident came to be known as the Ponce Massacre.   Thirteen and a half years later, on October 30, 1950, Pedro Albizu Campos and other nationalists lead a 3 day revolt against the United States.  The most notable were in the towns of Jayuya and Utuado.  These became known as the Jayuya Uprising and the Utuado Massacre.  These were by no means the only Uprisings or Massacres occurring on the island; but were the most prominent and most publicized.

Meanwhile, during these turmoil filled years, Puerto Rican politicians like Luis Munoz Marin, member of the Popular Democratic Party, championed a compromise with President Truman to appoint, in 1946, the first Puerto Rican born Governor Jesus T. Pinero.  A year later, in 1947, the Puerto Rican people, won the right to democratically elect their own Governor.  Luis Munoz Marin, ran a successful campaign, and became Puerto Rico's first democratically elected Governor, on January 2, 1949; he was immensely popular for previous public works, including securing the inclusion of Puerto Rico in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program, thus, maintaining his Governorship for the next 16 years.

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, whom interpreted the U.S. actions as the, once again, colonization of Puerto Rico; decided to gain publicity to their cause by committing several terrorist acts, ordered by Pedro Albizu Campos while incarcerated in prison, upon the Continental United States.  One of which was the attempted assassination of President Harry S. Truman, in his home, by Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo, on November, 01, 1950.  Another well documented case was that of Dolores "Lolita" Lebron Sotomayor, who proceeded to attack the United States House of Representatives on March, 01, 1954; by opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle while the House was in full session.

Here lies the reason why I have said time and time again, since our involvement in Afghanistan, send an Elite Force of Puerto Ricans and our Bin Laden problems will be over!!!

Now, to our Cuban Connection!

Many Puerto Ricans sympathized with Cuba's plight in that it was so fundamentally tied to their own.  I could only speculate that our brave Puerto Rican men believed that helping Cuba free itself from Spain would cause a domino effect and facilitate Puerto Rico's independence.  A very well known saying among our Hispanic community is "Cuba y Puerto Rico, de un pajaro, las dos alas"; translated, "Cuba and Puerto Rico, from a bird, it's wings".  Meaning, at some point in time, Cuba and Puerto Rico were so closely related by idealogy, customs, heritage and struggle that we were blood brothers.

Among the illustrious group of Puerto Rican men that were involved in Cuba's Independence from Spain were:

• Juan Riuz Rivera, Commander in Chief, Cuban Liberation Army, he fought in the "Grito de Lares" revolt, under the command of Mathias Brugman.  He also fought in Cuba's Ten Year War (1868-1878).  

• Jose Semidei Rodriguez, Brigadier General, Cuban Liberation Army.  He was involved in Cuba's Ten Year War (1868-1878), after Cuba gained its independence he continued to serve in that country as a diplomat. 

• Francisco Gonzalo Marin, Lieutenant, Cuban Liberation Army, he was so inspired by the Cuban cause that he adapted the Cuban Flag by introverting its colors and is credited with designing the Puerto Rican flag; he was a poet and journalist who fought alongside Jose Marti.

It is rumored that people of the northeastern province of Oriente, Cuba, have a peculiar dialect, idiosyncrasies and other mannerisms that are not common in any other part of the island.  I like to think that our ancestral Puerto Rican warrior brothers, after accomplishing their mission, decided to take a well deserved vacation and rested in Oriente for a while.

Puerto Rico - An American State 113 Years in The Making; Part II

I will start this second segment with some very interesting and previously unknown, at least to me, historical facts concerning Puerto Rico's involvement in world affairs, political events and other tidbits .  And just for fun,  I will format it as a "Did you know" gossip column.

Did you know that?

• In 1607, Puerto Rico served as a port for provisions for the English ships, the Godspeed, Susan Constant and the Discovery who were on their way to establish the Jamestown Settlement, the first English settlement in the New World.

• In 1779, citizens of the still-Spanish colony of Puerto Rico fought in the American Revolutionary War under the command of Bernardo de Galvez, named Field Marshal of the Spanish colonial army in North America.  Puerto Ricans participated in the capture of Pensacola, the capital of the British colony of West Florida, and the cities of Baton Rouge, St. Louis and Mobile.  The Puerto Rican troops, under the leadership of Brigadier General Ramon de Castro, helped defeat the British and Indian army of 2,500 soldiers and British warships in Pensacola.

• Augusto Rodriguez, Lieutenant, United States Union Army, was Puerto Rican, a member of the 15th Connecticut Regiment (a.k.a Lyon Regiment) and served in the defenses of Washington, D.C.  He lead his men in the battles of Fredericksburg and Wyseford in the American Civil War.

• Since being granted U.S. Citizenship, in 1917, Puerto Ricans have been included in the compulsory draft whenever it has been in effect and more than 400,000 Puerto Ricans have served in the United States Armed Forces. Puerto Ricans have participated in all U.S. wars since 1898, most notably World War I, World II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as the current Middle Eastern conflicts.  During the first two wars, Puerto Ricans served as segregated units, subject to racial discrimination and lead by "continentals", non-hispanic, English speaking commanding officers.  The majority of the troops spoke only Spanish.

• Several Puerto Ricans became notable commanders, five have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, and several Puerto Ricans have attained the rank of General or Admiral, which requires a Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation, as is the case of judges and ambassadors.  In World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, Puerto Ricans were the most decorated Hispanic soldiers and in some cases were the first to die in combat.

• The U.S. Congress can withdraw the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Rican residents of Puerto Rico at any time, for a legitimate Federal purpose.  The Constitution does not enfranchise Puerto Rican residents living on the island.  Meaning, I have more rights and am fully protected by the Constitution being a resident of the State of Florida, than I would be, if I was to relocate and decided to live in my beloved island of Puerto Rico.

• El Yunque National Forest, is the United States' only rainforest and it is located in the northeast area of the island. Among the many protected species are the Puerto Rican Amazon, a critically endangered bird; and a symbol of our Puerto Rican pride the Coqui, a small frog easily identified by the sound of its call, and from which it gets its name.

• Puerto Rico has several tropical, illuminating, Phosphorescent Bays.  This phenomenon occurs sporadically in warm seas around the world, but Puerto Rico is one of the only places on the planet where you can depend on it every evening.  The three most spectacular bays are La Parguera, Mosquito Bay and in Farjado.

• According to the 2000 Census, most Puerto Ricans self-identified themselves as being White and few declared to be Black or of some other race; this in spite, of a recent study which suggests that around 52.6% of the population possess Amerindian mtDNA.  Meaning, the majority of Puerto Ricans had a Taina ancestor in their distant past.

• The first Roman Catholic dioceses in the Americas, including the first in Puerto Rico, were authorized by Pope Julius II in 1511.  The first Protestant church, Holy Trinity Church in Ponce, was established by the Anglican diocese of Antigua in 1872.  Also in 1872, German settlers in Ponce founded the Iglesia Santisima Trinidad, an Anglican Church, the first non-Roman Catholic Church in the Spanish colonies.  

• In 1952, a handful of American Jews established the island's first synagogue in the former residence of William Korber, a wealthy Puerto Rican of German descent, which was designed and built by Czech architect Antonin Nechodoma. The synagogue, called Sha'are Zedeck, hired its first rabbi in 1954. Puerto Rico is also home to the largest and richest Jewish community in the Caribbean with 3,000 Jewish inhabitants.  Puerto Rico is the only Caribbean island in which the Conservative, Reform and Orthodox Jewish movements are represented.

• In 2007, Islam had over 5,000 Muslims in Puerto Rico, representing about 0.10% of the population.  There were eight Islamic mosques spread throughout the island, with most Muslims living in Rio Piedras.

• The Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, whose followers practice Tibetan Buddhism, has a branch in Puerto Rico.  (Thank you Wikipedia for providing us with all these wonderful facts about Puerto Rico, this blog would definitely not be the same without you!!)

Now, in light of all these facts that I have thrown at you, I must again, divide my blog, thus, this becomes Part II.  And yes, you guessed it, I'm not done, therefore stay turned to hopefully the last segment, but mind you, I'm not promising anything, Part III.

Puerto Rico - An American State 113 Years in The Making; Part I

Throughout my lifetime, I have had to explain to my American countrymen exactly what is the correlation between Puerto Rico and the United States.  It boggles my mind how little the average American knows regarding the politics that have given puertoricans their current U.S. Citizen status. Some aren't even aware that puertorricans are in fact U.S. Citizens.  Let this blog serve as Legal Notice to all my fellow Americans, we are indeed, real bona fide Americans; with some stipulations, of course.

As with all my blogs, a brief history into the subject matter is necessary and my pleasure to oblige.

The island of Puerto Rico is merely 110 miles long by 40 miles wide.  Among its territory is included the smaller surrounding islands of Vieques, Culebra and Mona.  It is the smallest of the Greater Antilles Islands, in the Caribbean Sea; an unincorporated territory of the United States, located east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus, November 19, 1493, on his second voyage to the Americas; it is so small in land mass that he just simply sailed right by it the first time.  Puerto Rico was originally named by Columbus, Saint John the Baptist (San Juan el Bautista).  As time went on, due to popular common usage, the name of its principal port and the island were reversed.  Sailors and merchants referred to the entire island as Puerto Rico (Rich Port) and the northeastern port where they made their fortunes as San Juan.

The indigenous people that inhabited the island at the time of discovery, were Arawak Indians known as Tainos.  Mostly hunters and fishermen, whom by archeological findings, are theorizied to have traveled from the region of the Orinoco river, on the northern South American area of what is today known as Venezuela.  They called the island "Borike", meaning "Land of the Valiant Lord", in Spanish, Borike became "Borinquen", a phrase still commonly used by and for modern day puertoricans.  "Boricua" or "Borinqueno" is used to describe a person born on the island or of puertorican heritage.  The island is also popularly known in Spanish as "La Isla del Encanto" which means "The Island of Enchantment" in English.  It is the main reason why I proudly proclaim that we, the United States, have a little piece of paradise in our own backyard, Puerto Rico.

As is now so commonly known with the history of the colonization of the New World, these indigenous people were nearly driven to extinction by the diseases (small pox), forced labor (slavery) and many years of ill treatment inflicted by their Spanish conquerors.  Within 50 years the Taino population were reduced to such small numbers that the importation of Sub-Saharan African slaves was introduced to provide the new manual work force for the Spanish colonists and merchants.  African slavery was primarily restricted to coastal ports and cities, while the interior of the island continued to be essentially unexplored and undeveloped. Wikipedia


Spain quickly realized this newly discovered island's strategic location in its quest for colonial expansion.  Various forts and walls, such as La Fortaleza, El Castillo San Felipe del Morro and El Castillo de San Cristobal, were built to protect the port of San Juan from numerous European invasion attempts.  The port of San Juan became an important port of call for ships of all European nations for the purposes of replenishing water, food and other necessities, and making repairs for the continuation of their journeys to North, Central and South America.  Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule, influence and military protection for over 500 years.

Just before the Spanish-American War broke out between the two super powers, Puerto Rico was going through some political growing pains with the Motherland.  In 1809, Spain attempted to secure its stronghold on its New World colonies, by allowing representatives of its Spanish colonies to participate in parliamentary proceedings in the Mainland Iberia.  The first Spanish parliamentary representative from the island of Puerto Rico was Ramon Power y Giralt.  Several independent movements organized themselves during this time.  Poverty and political estrangement with Spain led to a small but significant uprising in 1868 known as "Grito de Lares."  Leaders of this independence movement included Ramon Emeterio Betances, considered the "father" of the Puerto Rican independence movement, and other political figures such as Segundo Ruiz Belvis. Wikipedia

To elaborate on the above Wikipedia notation, on September, 28, 1868, Manuel Rojas, Commander in Chief, of the Puerto Rican Liberation Army, led 800 men and women in a revolt against Spanish rule and took the town of Lares, in what is known as the "Grito de Lares" (The Cry of Lares).

In 1897, Luis Munoz Rivera, an autonomous political thinker and father of the future first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Munoz Marin; along with others, persuaded the liberal Spanish government to agree to Charters of Autonomy for Cuba and Puerto Rico.  In the month of February, in 1898, Puerto Rico's first, but short-lived, autonomous government was organized as an "overseas province" of Spain.  In other words, Puerto Rico became an autonomous, if not, a totally independent country on July 17, 1898.

On July 25, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guanica.  As an outcome of the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, along with the Philippines and Guam to the U.S. under the Treaty of Paris.  Spain relinquished sovereignty over Cuba, but did not cede it to the U.S.  Wikipedia  And thus, ended our romance with the idea of Independence; for the moment.  This chapter is still in deliberations with Congress and the puertorican population on the island.

In noticing the extensive background of the puertorican experience, I have decided that this is a good place to divide this blog into at least two parts.  I will end Part I here.  And continue with the modern day issues and my own commentaries on the subject in Part II; to be concluded, hopefully within the next few days.