Seeking Identity

Puerto Rico, "The Island of Enchantment", was discovered by Christophe Columbus during his second voyage in 1493. It was a Spanish colony until July 25, 1898 when it was invaded by the United States and was ceded by Spain in the Treaty of Paris to the U.S. If you're not sure of the location or what exactly Puerto Rico is; it as an island located in northeastern Caribbean Sea and is the smallest of the greater Antilles. Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the united States meaning that it is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States. Since the invasion of Puerto Rico by the Spanish on the Arawak population that resided on the island, Puerto Rico ceased to shape and form their own identity. From then on Puerto Ricans, also known as Boricuas, were doomed to seek their identity in that of others.

Throughout history there have been people who have easily accepted the fact that some bigger and more powerful country has always controlled our island, but there is a smaller part of the population who have never accepted it. These people live their lives seeking independence to finally obtain the lives they dream of having. Ongoing petitions have been made by this group of Puerto Ricans yet they have never been successful. These people seek to finally have power over the destiny of our country and of our lives. These Puerto Ricans seek to finally set apart their home as a country instead of an island property of the United States. They wish to promote their own economic development by stimulating the island's agriculture and commerce. They also have the belief that when the brand of the U.S. be removed more foreign corporations will want to invest in Puerto Rico.

This struggle of power and the search for identity has been going on for centuries yet we have always been in the same status of commonwealth. Many local bands compose music about this dispute and hatred against the U.S. Fiel a la Vega is a very popular Puerto Rican band and most if not all of their music is about social criticism, protest and especially about Puerto Rico's independence.



Boricua en la Luna (Puerto Rican on the Moon)

Desde las ondas del mar (From the ripples of her sea)
que son besos a su orilla, (which are kisses to her shore,)
una mujer de Aguadilla (a woman from Aguadilla)
vino a New York a cantar (came to sing in New York)
pero no sólo a llorar (but not only to cry)
un largo llanto y morir. (one long cry and death.)
De ese llanto yo nací (From that cry I was born)
como en la lluvia una fiera. (like the rain a beast.)
Y vivo en la larga espera (And I live in the long wait)
de cobrar lo que perdí. (to recover what I lost.)

Por un cielo que se hacia (For a sky that would become)
más feo que mas más volaba (uglier the more I flew)
a Nueva York se acercaba (he came close to New York)
un peón de Las Marías. (a worker from Las Marias.)
Con la esperanza, decía, (With hope he would say,)
de un largo día volver. (from a long day return.)
Pero antes me hizo nacer (But before she gave me life)
y de tanto trabajar (and from working so much)
se quedó sin regresar: (she was left with no return:)
reventó en un taller. (exploited in a workshop.)

De una lágrima soy hijo (I am son of a tear)
y soy hijo del sudor (and I am the son of her sweat)
y fue mi abuelo el amor (it was my grandfather the love)
único en mi regocijo (only in my joy)
del recuerdo siempre fijo (from the stable memory)
en aquel cristal de llanto (in that cry)
como quimera en el canto (like a chimera in the cry)
de un Puerto Rico de ensueño (of a Puerto Rico from a dream)
y yo soy puertorriqueño, (and I am Puerto Rican)
sin ná, pero sin quebranto. (with nothing, but unbroken.)

Y el echón que me desmienta (The braggart who disproves me)
que se ande muy derecho (he should walk tall)
no sea en lo más estrecho (for he might pay his due)
de un zaguán pagua la afrenta. (in the narrow part of a street.)
Pues según alguien me cuenta: (As someone once told me:)
dicen que la luna as una (they say that the moon is one)
sea del mar o sea montuna. (it be from the sea or mountains.)
Y así le grito al villano: (Thus I yell at the villain:)
yo sería boricano (I'd be a Puerto Rican)
aunque naciera en la luna. (even if I were born on the moon.)

This song vividly portrays the pride and honor a Puerto Rican has of their country and how they would never consider changing their nationality. This is the reason why it is so hard to accept the culture and identity of another country. So we decide to refuse. No matter what we are our own and no matter what we will stick together against the outside influences that threaten our culture and our people.