THE COLOR INITIATIVE - Puerto Rico's RAINBOW
Color identity in Puerto Rico is nuanced. Its large historic mix of African, indigenous and Spanish is why some over the decades have referred to Puerto Ricans as the “rainbow people”. But how do Puerto Ricans see themselves and how wide, diverse and enduring is the rainbow, really? A new report challenges the notion of racial harmony in Puerto Rico. The latest in my series of reports on color around the globe.
Racial attitudes in Puerto Rico (8:30)
August 20, 2008 | download | permalink | email | Yahoo! Buzz
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I can't wait to see this because this issue resonates with me deeply.
ReplyDeleteMy biological father is Puerto Rican, my mother is African-American. They divorced when I was 2 or 3. I have been raised on the African-American side and totally immersed in that culture for my 50+ years of life. I had not touch with him or the PR side of my family until 7 years ago.
My half-sister considers herself white although she doesn't look white. I consider myself Black. I've been asked if I was Puerto Rican, Dominican or Cape Verdean.
My Black aunts and cousins range in skin color from pale pink to deep brown.
Are you what you feel you are, what others tell you you are, what your name says, or what/how you choose to stand in the world?
In my experience, a lot of people who are Latino embrace their European heritage and try to suppress their African heritage. The famous Cuban poet, Nicolas Guillen, wrote a poem "And your grandmother, who she be?"
African-Americans and Latinos are made up of the same combination of African, Native, and European and it comes out in all sorts of glorious skin colors, hair textures, and facial and other physical features.
Well check it out here and let me know what you think. It actually would have been good to have included your story in this report. It's compelling---thanks a lot..phillip
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