The Exquisiteness of a People

The Exquisiteness of a People

Zaina Al Ghabra

January 12, 2010

Waking up at the crack of dawn in order to leave a place of joy, beauty and history wasn’t easy. As excited, as we all were to get home to our pets, our beds and our daily routines, a feeling of sadness remained lurking deep within us. Before embarking on this journey, I expected to encounter only feelings of happiness and fun and come across beautiful beaches and beautiful people. However, leaving Puerto Rico, I feel as though I have really gotten to know her, her insecurities, her pain and her long history, which are masked with happiness, beauty, nature, music and pride.

First and foremost, most people visiting the Island are unaware of the intrinsic nature of its evolving history. The Puerto Rican people are not strangers when it comes to stories of war, and fighting for justice in the name of their land and their roots. When the United States of America won Puerto Rico from the Spanish in 1898 that was only the beginning of an agenda to wipe out Spanish as a language and as a culture. However, the Puerto Ricans, so proud of their heritage and roots which involve a mixture of Taíno, African, Spanish, European and even Middle Eastern, fought long and hard to keep their culture alive. After all, this fusion of cultures is what truly makes a Puerto Rican a Puerto Rican.

Like any other tourist, of course we visited the beautiful beaches and the amazing wonder of the rainforest. Adding on to the Islands mystical beauty was the bioluminescent bay, where we kayaked through mangroves in darkness, our paths only lit by the magnificent stars above us. What makes this bay so unique is the amount of dinoflagellates (a plankton) that is present in the bay, thus creating a sparkle of stars when you inject your hand into the water. According to the website of the bay, “Imagine a lagoon full of Tinkerbells fairy dust! Pure magic, the experience is actually indescribable.”

However, beneath all the fascinating things the Island offers, I found myself first identifying with the people at the Three Kings Festival, where everyone played a role in the parade and the aftermath of the celebration. People were unified, expressing the love of their culture while commemorating the Three Kings. Being from Palestinian descent, I felt a level of nationalism and pride that I thought only existed amongst the Palestinian people. The amount of emotion expressed at this parade was overwhelming and therefore, I felt as though I had bonded not only with the people, but also with Puerto Rico.

Approaching our final days, we visited the Island of Vieques, where we learned about the injustices enforced on the people living here. The US navy has been using this Island as a location to practice tactical military operations. Besides the fact that the people here were forced to relocate from the outskirts of the Island to the center of the Island, they are constantly living with sounds of bombs exploding, rattling doors and dangerous chemicals floating in the air. More so, due to all the chemical radiation, the amount of sickness and disease spreading on this Island is far greater than any other city or Island in Puerto Rico. Watching a short video composed by students who visited Vieques, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion. Seeing the Puerto Rican people protesting wholeheartedly against the injustices they faced, paralleled with the struggle of the Palestinians.

Being able to identify with the Puerto Rican people was perhaps the finest experience I gained on this astonishing Island. My story does not end here, this may have been the first time I visit Puerto Rico, but it definitely won’t be the last.