Snap Krackle 'n Pop!: La Isla del Encanto - It's been said time and again that Puerto Ricans are..

Its been said time and again that Puerto Ricans are very proud people. Does that mean that we are simply aloof, or just damn proud to be Puerto Rican! I think it means the latter. After all, it's the only thing left us. I have yet to meet a boricua who was not 'humbly' proud of being born on the island. We are indeed proud to be Puerto Rican first and foremost, and by that I mean that we love our island with an unconditional passion as true lovers love each others, many times overlooking our shortcomings.

Sunset @Joyuda Beach in Cabo Rojo

View from plane leaving the beautiful island!

For whatever reason, many of us left the island years ago. Nonetheless, we will always consider ourselves boricuas to the core. As other ethnic groups have also done, we've ventured off the beaten path where we've set up house and home and the serious business of raising our families. Many have mainstreamed within the adopted country, while still others have just plain disappeared. But again, one thing sets the true Puerto Rican apart - we never forget who we are and where we came from. And unlike citizens of other countries, we've never given up on our right to be independent. The Philippines traded part of their ethnicity by favoring English over Spanish. Alaska and Hawaii accepted statehood with eyes closed. Which begs the question: Were we not good to be offered statehood? Colonial status was forced on us, first by Spain then by the United States. That might very well be where henceforth emerges that stubborn Puerto Rican pride, if we can call it 'stubborn'. We never forsook or compromised our roots, our ethnicity, that enviable trait which makes us who we are. The fact that in spite of repeated attempts by our adoptive country to change our language or attempts to superimpose their ways on us we refuse to abandon who we are, is a true testament to our ethnic pride and allegiance to such a tiny country. "Good things come in small packages," the saying goes.


Aerial view of Isla Verde

Lately, I've been reading a lot of negative reports about the beloved island. They blame the island and its people for the serious problems we face today - crime, drugs, lack of good schools, lack of enforcement of the law. We could go on. Puerto Rico has been referred to as a child who refuses to grow up, the adult who won't leave home, taking their parents for all they're worth without regard to consequence. To a certain extent that may well be. However, let us clarify that we never asked to be a colony forever. However free that commonwealth may be, it's still a colony. In the year 2012, Puerto Rico might well be the only country in the world that falls under such status, which depending on who you ask might not be such a bad thing. Cuba fought for freedom, only to end up under a dictatorship for over half a century. Santo Domingo, who once pleaded with the US to take them to no avail, is probably thanking God they were rejected. It forced them to stand on their own feet and become the independent country they are today.


Night Falls on Joyuda Beach

I like to believe that we possess the innocence of the Taino, the physical strength of the Amazon and African, the civility of the Spaniard,the common sense of the American, and above all, the serenity and compassion this mixture has created. The true boricua is one of the most compassionate people you will ever meet. Not to mention, the funniest! Laughter in the face of adversity is what keeps us strong through it all.

Beach in Cabo Rojo at Dusk - La Mona Island in the background

So to the naysayers, I say go easy on us! We're no different that any other. And if we're in this situation, it's because of our unique status. Take a chill pill and instead of coming down on it, let's unite to restore the island to its true and proper name: The Island of Enchantment!