Why does Puerto Rico have a voice on this year's Democratic Primaries???

Today I posted an article from the New York Times in my blog Good News from PR that gives a somewhat objective explanation about Puerto Rico's ambiguous relationship with the United States.

Keith Negley

Good news from Puerto Rico

A couple of weeks ago I woke up to terrible news. With pain in my heart I read the news on cnn, msnbc, and even stltoday about accusations towards the governor of Puerto Rico and members of this election committee. Setting aside colors and political parties, this situation will affect all Puerto Ricans, wherever we live. As I reflect on this news and other recent articles publish about my island I cannot help but feel anger. The last few articles that made international headlines were related to pepper spray incidents at beauty pageants or animal cruelty. So I decided to take action and start a new blog called Good News from Puerto Rico where I will post all the great things done in Puerto Rico and by Puerto Ricans. Feel free to email me at goodnewsfrompr@gmail.com for any comments, ideas and suggestions.

Picture of the Week

The picture of the week is from last Sunday's PostSecret. Ok, I am not posting this for the photographic quality - but mainly for the feelings it provokes in me. It really hurts me to see the phrase: "People who live in the United States and don't bother to speak English make me sick" next to a bunch of Puerto Rican flags. The best way I can think of to best express everything that bothers me about this image is to enumerate them:

1. Why did the person that wrote this PostSecret chose a picture of Puerto Rican flags to express his feelings? I am pretty sure that there are more than one person from every other country in the world that has not learned English in this country. Is it really their fault? And if this is such a big problem.. why not do something about it?
2. I hate the assumption... That every Puerto Rican in the mainland does not know English. FYI, English has been the second official language of the island since 1993. English is a compulsory second language taught at schools and it is used in business, research, industry, and education. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the island. I cannot remember a time in my life where I did not know English. And I learned it the same way it is taught in American schools, no spanish/english translations.
3. And how many Americans travel/move every year to foreign countries without bothering to learn the native language either.
4. What probably hurts me the most is that, for a fact I know that many people live to the stereotype expressed in this PostSecret.
5. I am angered by some Americans' inability to accept other languages. I feel it has forgotten through history that this country, the land of the free, was born and conceived by immigrants searching for a better life, a better future. Those are the real roots of this country. There are bigger more important things to worry about in this country right now.
6. And I have done it all over this blog, but the US calling itself America is a little silly. This sign at Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, tells customers, "This is America: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.'" There are 22 countries in America. In 19 of these countries Romance Languages, primarily Spanish and Portuguese, are primarily spoken.



The world does not revolve around a single nation or a single language. I believe in the value and importance of a multilingual society. I believe it is important to adapt to your new environment and country of residence. Uneducated generalizations and assumptions bother me more than anything.

I found this other picture on a link on reddit.com. Oh so many ironies. Not only the forgot the "p", but as noted by one of the people on the message board where I found this, note the mayor's name. Definitely an immigrant.

Puerto Rico to vote on Democratic Primary

Considering that we are US citizens and don't get to vote to the president, this is new opportunity is as exciting as it is ridiculous. My hope is that this will bring us one step closer to actually vote for the presidential election as we are recognized by this year's candidates. Below is the article I copied from The Huffington Post.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Seizing on a rare opportunity to influence U.S. politics, Puerto Rico's Democratic Party has chosen to hold a presidential primary instead of a caucus to encourage more islanders to participate in the June 1 contest, an official said Friday.

Roberto Prats, party chairman in the U.S. territory, said the switch approved Thursday by the central committee will put pressure on Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama to campaign in the Caribbean island.

With 55 delegate votes at stake, Puerto Rico will hold one of the last primaries _ followed only by Montana and South Dakota _ and could play an influential role in a tight race.

"If Puerto Rico is going to play such a significant role, we should give the world a showcase of democracy," Prats said. "We know how to vote, we vote in masses and I think it's Puerto Rico's show time."

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote in the general presidential election and have no voting representation in Congress.

The island has seven superdelegates among its 62 convention votes. Three of the superdelegates are committed to Clinton, two to Obama, and two are uncommitted.

Puerto Rican politics largely revolve around the long-standing debate over what should be the island's future relationship to the U.S. mainland. Clinton may benefit from the island's close links to New York, home to many people from Puerto Rico.

Island Democrats still need national party approval for the switch to a primary, but Prats said they incorporated suggestions on a draft proposal and do not expect any objections.

Prats said the contest has long been scheduled for June 1 and he attributed erroneous reports that list June 7 as the date to a typing mistake in a document sent to the national party.

Lonely

"When I travel to the States I feel as Latina as Chita Rivera. But in Latin America, I feel more American than John Wayne. To be Puerto Rican is to be a hybrid. Our two halves are inseparable; we cannot give up either without feeling maimed."
-Rosario Ferré

I've never been able to describe my feelings as well as Rosario Ferré does in the above quote. Of course, Rosario is one of the most important contemporary Puerto Rican writers, poets, and essayists. There's no measure between her and me. Been a 'hybrid' sets you apart, you belong everywhere but nowhere... I can relate to Superman and Pacheco. I crave a hamburger and fries as much as I crave tostones & lechon (fried plantains & pork). But I feel ignorant in conversations where popular American slang is used and I often need an explanation for certain words before I can laugh after a joke is made. It takes a lot of patience from my side, and from those around me to stay on the "loop" of things. Lately the circumstances around me make me more aware of this and I feel more like an outsider. And it is hard to admit you are lonely when you have a great job with a stable income, a comfortable routine, awesome friends, a crazy cat, and the most wonderful man in the world next to you every day. But I miss my family... a lot. I feel like the distance between us has made us different. I'm not really part of their lives and they are not part of mine. I've developed new perspectives and stronger morals that each day part further away from what I stood for and believed 5 years ago, as that innocent girl from a middle class catholic school in Puerto Rico that wanted to be a doctor. I'm jealous that my friends get to share birthdays and holidays and anniversaries with their families. And even though I've been part of that sometimes, I want to have my own family... I want to have lunch dates with my dad. I want to go shopping with my mom. I want to have a drink with my brother.

I know I've chosen this life. Here. In the mainland. I know that back in Puerto Rico my personal goals wouldn't be satisfied. I am happy to here. But it is hard to be this far away. To miss out the good stuff. And the sad stuff. I miss that warmth that only your parents home can offer. I'm longing for that.

YADIER MOLINA

ORGULLO BORICUA! If you don't know who Yadier Molina is, you are definatly not my friend... kidding... Anyway, he is one of the greatest baseball players in the world. He plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. Up here, you can see Ryan, Yadier and me. Yadier is wearing the Carolina Gigantes jersey, the team for whom he plays during the off-season in Puerto Rico... We went to a game last december wearing our Cardinal's gear. We got there early for batting practice and when he saw us he came over, talked to us, gave us his autograph, and took pictures. He was awesome!!!

Below I copied an article by Bernie Miklasz from the St. Louis post-dispatch about Yadier. I was at the Aug. 22 game the article talks about. Makes me so proud to watch a fellow Puerto Rican make history. =)

Let's get defensive: Molina's unparalleled

By Bernie Miklasz

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

08/23/2007

Whether they excelled with their arms or bats or led with a bulldog attitude, the Cardinals have been served by excellent catchers through their history.

The roll call would include Walker Cooper, Tim McCarver, Joe Torre, Ted Simmons, Darrell Porter, Tony Pena, Tom Pagnozzi and Mike Matheny.

Before his career is over, Yadier Molina might prove to be the greatest of them all.

No, Yadi won't hit like Simmons or Torre, though he did have a fifth-inning solo homer and a score-tying double in the seventh Wednesday in the Cardinals' 6-4 victory over Florida at Busch Stadium.

Molina is batting .378 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 74 at-bats since July 26. Jim Edmonds won Wednesday's game with a two-run homer, but Molina's double to deliver Scott Rolen for a 4-4 tie was a pressure point that cracked Marlins starter Scott Olsen.

"That's as clutch as you can get, what he's done for a while here," manager Tony La Russa said. "Yadi is having as good at-bats as anybody."

This started last fall, with Molina's signature moment, the winning homer in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series that beat the Mets to lift the Cards into the World Series.

Molina has made genuine progress as a hitter. After batting only .216 in 2006, he's up to .282 this year. And because he's already posted a personal high for most walks in a season, Molina's on-base percentage has climbed to .356.

With Molina, offense is a bonus. In terms of defense, Molina is setting a standard that exceeds anything we've seen before in St. Louis.

And because we see it every day, we may take Molina's defense for granted. But Cardinals' opponents don't overlook him except in the voting for the Gold Glove awards.

"It's not even close," former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog said, when asked if Molina is the NL's best catcher. "It's not just the way he throws people out. But he's so good, teams don't want to try and run on him. He just takes away the running game. I don't know how they could vote for anyone else."

Florida's Hanley Ramirez entered this series with 39 steals, third in the NL. He immediately tried Molina, in the first inning of Tuesday's game. Result? See you later.

The Marlins didn't try to steal a base Wednesday night. Nothing new; teams have tried to run on Molina in only 26 of his 77 games this season.

In an inexplicable and bizarre outcome, Houston catcher Brad Ausmus was awarded the Gold Glove last season, despite throwing out only 12 of 72 base-stealers, or 16 percent. Molina clipped 26 of 63 stealers, or 41.3 percent.

I'm not sure how these wise men plan to vote this season, but Molina has done enough (again) to bring home the gold. He's nailed 18 of the 34 who have dared to try him. The caught-stealing rate of 52.9 percent is the best in the majors this season. Second in the NL is Cincinnati's David Ross, at 38 percent.

It's a huge gap between Yadier and the others. And the same is true of Molina and other Cardinals' catchers.

As good as Matheny was, he snuffed base stealers 31.7 percent off the time, compared to Molina's career rate of 48.6 percent.

And when the Cardinals don't have the big cat behind the plate to pounce on the mice, they take advantage. Opponents have succeeded in 28 of 31 steal attempts against the Cardinals this season when Molina isn't there.

Molina's career caught-stealing rate of 48.6 percent might not seem like a sensational number, but consider this: the best percentage in major-league history is 43.2 percent, by Ivan Rodriguez. Molina will be No. 1, all time, as soon as he logs enough innings to qualify.

So the next time you're at Busch with the kids, point to Molina and make sure they realize they're seeing one of the great defensive catchers in baseball history.

A Case Against Statehood for PR

I came across this article at the beginning of the month. "Deceitful Tactics Used to Make Puerto Rico A state", written by Phyllis Schlafly (yeah, from the beer family). I was disgusted to read it. An educated woman, a so called feminist.... Yet fails to make an article that can be backed up with facts, has no argument or evidence. I'm embarassed for her.

First, Puerto Ricans do speak English. Since 1993, English has been declared as an official language in the island. By law, English is taught in every school, public and private. Besides, the US Government may not want to accept it, but the reality is that the United States is already not only a bilingual nation, but a nation that speaks almost every language in the world. This is the land of the free, and the United States would not be what it is today without the first immigrants that arrived to Massachusetts (a state, like 3 others, that is designated as a 'commonwealth' the same political status of PR, yet they get to vote - in 2006 the Supreme Court turned down an attempt by a Puerto Rican lawyer to gain presidential electors for the island). If this nation does not change is policy of language, the dollar will not be the only thing falling behind Europe.

True, the Puerto Rican socialist groups have committed several acts of domestic terrorism, but so-called American patriots have committed similar acts, like the Oklahoma city bombing, for example. However, you failed to mention how Puerto Rican troops fight with the United States. Recently, more than 70 Puerto Ricans have died serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Infrastructure and environment is not far below American Standards. In fact, the island is home to the nation's only National Rain Forest Reserve and we abide by federal guidelines of construction and environmental policies.

In addition, throughout the years, PR has had both republican and democratic representation in congress. The current Resident Commissioner in Washington, DC, Luis Fortuño is Republican.

---

Monica Vega Hernandez... her response to this entry:

I agree and disagree in several points.

1. About Puerto Ricans speaking English or not.

You are right in saying that English has been declared as an official language in the island and that by law, English is taught in every school, public and private. This fact does not imply that all Puerto Ricans know English. The reality in Puerto Rico is that a high percent of the population don’t know English fluently because most of the population is educated by the public system which has very poor English teaching techniques, specially lacking in conversational skills. Another fact is that Puerto Ricans by nature prefer to speak Spanish, although most of the population agrees that learning English is to their best interest.

Something else to point out is that people usually learn things for necessity. I the case of the metropolitan area, people need to learn English because the metropolitan area is the center of business making and tourism. In other parts of the island English is not necessary therefore the input people put on learning is much less.

In summary I agree with both of you partially, although I will put it in this way:

“Puerto Ricans are exposed to English by law from early stage in both, public and private schools. Nonetheless only a percent of the Puerto Rican population does learn English and another percent don’t”.

2. A comment about the paradox of having American citizenship and not being able to vote for the president of the USA.

It seems logical that because we are, by law, American citizens we should vote for the American president. Why then we can vote for the president only if we live in the USA? This means that Puerto Ricans have a degraded citizenship. Our citizenship does not grant us with the same rights a citizenship grants the mainland-born Americans. The reason for this “degraded citizenship” responds to the interests of the USA in a specific historic time.

When Puerto Rico became a colony of the USA thru the Hispanic-American war most of the Puerto Ricans wanted the independence from Spain. This means that at that point in history and 40 years down the road the majority of the Puerto Ricans wanted to become a Republic and though that the American invasion was something transitional.

Soon after the Hispanic American War Puerto Rico became the main place for guarding American military installations in the Caribbean. Puerto Rican independence at that point in history would have been detrimental for the USA military, therefore an intelligent way to assure dominance over Puerto Rico was to grant Puerto Rico with the American citizenship. They first inquired Puerto Ricans if they wanted the American citizenship, Puerto Ricans said NO to the citizenship, a fact that not many know about the history of Puerto Rico.

Later the Jones-Shafroth Act was imposed (1917) and we were granted the so call “citizenship” with out another consultation. In summary the American government does not care for the Puerto Ricans vote because we are not really view as real citizens we are just an “interest” at that point in history. Fair or not.


3.USA becoming a bilingual nation issue.

It seems to me taken out of proportions Schlafly’s worries for becoming a bilingual nation. I really see very far from ever to happen that including PR as a state will displace English from the position it poses now. Or that even having another official language will detriment the nation. Many other countries have multiple languages or dialects and they still successful and economically stable, for example Spain. Besides, English is the language of science, hence, any one from any country that wants to do science has to speak English. Similarly this happens in other disciplines. This means that English is one of the languages with more international growth in addition to be spoken by a more multicultural society. To my surprise Schafly, an educated woman, states that learning many languages would not be good,which has been proven to be stimulating to the brain and a common capacity among highly intelligent people.


4.Why are we not a state or an independent country already?

I do believe Schlafly is correct in stating that many of the conservative representation in the government does not approves of Puerto Rico becoming a state for the reasons mentioned. This is a true trend among conservatives whether is fair or not.

5.The overall tone of the article is flaw

I agree with Isabel in that I don’t like the article, but the main reason I don’t like the article is the tone Schlafly uses. She seems to be lacking knowledge of the nature of the Puerto Rican culture, history and politics, for example, when she generalizes about the Puerto Rican independence faction whom not only include the leftist portion but also people like me that believe in democracy.

The tone that she placed in the article seems to imply that Puerto Ricans are lazy, for example when she mentions that Puerto Ricans are not open to learn other languages and our general infrastructure is below standards. This type of generalization makes the article too subjective and ethnically racist.

So, I went to the MO Humane Society on Wednesday, Apr 8 to pick up an application. They were about to close, but when I walked in and saw this beautiful black tabby kitten I couldn't resist. I played with him for a while and decided to come the next morning to adopt. So, I'm officially the mother of a 2 month and 6 day old kitten named Coquí Molina. After much deliberation (thanks everyone for their suggestions) the name came about during dinner tonight when Julia suggested 'coquí'. Molina was Ryan's idea.

Coquí (pronounced Koki) is the common name for several species of small frogs endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, onomatopoeically named for the loud sound (sometimes reaching as high as 100 dB) the males make at night. There are 17 described species of coquís in Puerto Rico. The last one was discovered in 2005 and was named Coquí Llanero.

Molina is for Yadier Molina, the catcher for the St. Louis Cardinal's who is from Bayamón, PR - the same city I'm from. Ryan and I met him during the Winter League games in PR last December.

I chose the name because I wanted the kitten's name to remind me of home and some of the amazing experiences I've had in St. Louis this past year.

Anyway, I'm excited and I wanted to share!

Prueba de Puertorriqueñidad

Eres de Puerto Rico...

* Si te gusta decir wepaaaaaaaaa..
* Si todo lo bueno es "chevere"
* Si a cada rato dices "ay, bendito!"
* Si te refieres al frio intenso como "pelú"
* Si tú carro tiene "bompels," "mofle,""estaltel", "espoilel", "guaipel" y "cloche"
* Si cuando te da hambre, te sientes "esmayao"
* Si le pides la bendición a tu papá y/o mamá al saludarlos
* Si llevaste tu merienda a la escuela en una lonchera"
* Si sabes lo que es una "jalda"
* Si sabes que "fogón" es otro nombre para el horno, pero "enfogonao" es estar bien molesto
* Si te refieres a lo dificil como "un tostón" o piensas que "no es ninguna "cáscara de coco"
* Si has bailado "en una "loseta" en un "pari" de marquesina
* Si te han dado baños de alcoholado pa'bajarte la fiebre
* Si corriste "velocipedo" cuando chiquito
* Si a los zapatos grandes y feos los consideras "bodrogos"
* Si sabes lo que es "apestillarse" y tener un "coco" con alguien
* Si cuando te bañas, estas "esnu"
* Si usas "chancletas"
* Si alguna vez te dieron un "chancletazo"
* Si te "eñangotas" para bajarte
* Si sabes que "la yerba mala nunca muere"
* Si sabes que en Puerta de Tierra, Miramar y Santurce, los sitios se localizan por números de "paradas"
* Si sabes la diferencia entre el "pan de agua" y el "pan sobao"
* Si llamas a todo el mundo "nene" o "nena"
* Si alguna vez te han llamado "mi'jo"
* Si creciste con temor al "cuco"
* Si te dicen que bajes la voz cuando crees que estas hablando normalmente
* Si comes los pasteles de plátano con "ketchup
* Si para ti TODOS los cereales son "conflei", todos los pañales son "Pampels", TODAS las liquadoras son "osterizers" , todas las toallas sanitarias son "kotex'"
* Si te refieres al calzado deportivo como "las tenis"
* Si tienes por lo menos 30 primos
* Si te has comido un "limbel" o un "esquimalito"
* Si en algún momento antes de llenar el tanque, has corrido el carro "con la peste a gasolina"
* Si vas por la carretera y te encuentras con un "tapón de madre" y cuando pasas por el área resulta ser que es un simple carro "quedao" y un chorro de "averiguaos"
* Si has oido decir a tú hermana o tú prima que "le canto el gallo"
* Si dices que tienes "jeva" o "jevo", en vez de novia o novio
* Si cuando tu avión aterriza en San Juan te dan ganas de aplaudir o lo haces bien bajito
* Si te han visto la mancha de plátano
* Si sabes lo que es un "manganzón"