Puerto Rican Passion

By Bianca Davis




It has almost been a week since I have been back at home in Central Texas, and while it feels nice to be around the familiar again, I cannot help but think to myself each day, “I wonder what I would be doing if I were still in Puerto Rico.”
Something inside me is still drawn to that beautiful ‘Isla del Encanto.’ I miss the hot, sticky, humid weather. I miss the flavorful foods that are impossible to find in my town. I miss the beaches and the palm trees. I miss the laid-back, carefree, loving attitude that flows through the air no mater what part of the island you’re on. But I think what I miss most about Puerto Rico is passion.
Puerto Ricans have an intense feeling of pride for their patria, or motherland, and this pride transcends into every aspect of their lives as passion. Even the museum director in Vieques who was from Boston was passionate about Puerto Rico, his home for more than 30 years now.
Passion was present when we conducted interviews with locals there. They were so willing to talk with us, so willing to share part their patria, their Puerto Rico with visitors. I saw passion when talking to complete strangers, how they worked to improve my not-so-perfect Spanish.
One individual in particular showed so much passion for his patria that throughout the duration of our time there, he would text suggestions of what to do in whatever place we were in for the day.
Whoever I spoke with would always ask me what I thought of Puerto Rico to which I always responded with excitement telling them how much I loved the island. Each and every time, someone would always say, “It makes me so happy you love my country.”
It seemed strange to me at first that they responded in this way, but over the two weeks I saw how much puertoriqueños love their home. Puerto Ricans love their home so much that they are eager to share with everyone the passion that lives in Puerto Rico.

it's about the people

by Emily Nicholls, a.k.a. Coco

Ahh Puerto Rico...the breathtaking scenery, the fabulous weather, the great moods we were all in (other than me when I didn't have a phone). I miss it so much! Thankfully Norman was a steamy 55 degrees when we stepped off the plane, so there was only a 40 degree difference in temperature for me to deal with instead of the 80 we had expected.

I never expected to do all the cool things we did while in Puerto Rico, and I certainly didn't anticipate making the friends I did. I'd never been to Juana Diaz for the Three Kings Day Festival, but getting to go after having my grandmother tell me that when she was a child she was one of the little kids that dressed up was really special. I'd never been to Loiza, the African center of the island, but the art of Samuel Lind and the bomba dancing seemed to let us experience some of the island's magic. In Ponce I got to meet family friends who turned into family, including one very difficult to impress five year old, and reunite with my grandma and even be the first in my immediate family who meet her boyfriend! Vieques was interesting to say the least, but the hotel fiasco and the millions of bug bites we got brought us closer together as a group. I mean, you know you're close when people don't have a problem entering your bedroom to cook breakfast for everyone else, especially when the only other people who have the guts to wake me up in the morning gave life to me. As special as the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo was, I wouldn't have appreciated it as much if Kali and I didn't take 18 years in the mangrove channel to reach the group in the bay. The food afterwards was delicious, but I'll always remember the jokes from Jose and Paola about selling my phone number to the guys at the bar who were apparently quite taken with my Spanish-speaking skills.

As cool as everything we did was, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I did it by myself. All the new people, no, friends I met made this experience special : Kiki, Lola & our buddy Eugene, the class crew, the French guys, the man who owned the island, the Dominican bartender, Wanda and her family, Jose and Evelyn and their kids and many many more. So salud, mis amigos y Puerto Rico, nos vemos pronto.

Adiós mi amor Puerto Rico

photo by Adam Pinkney

Adiós mi amor Puerto Rico

By Adam Pinkney

Two weeks on an island was the best Christmas and new years gift I could have ever received. In these two weeks I learned a lot about the rich history and culture of Puerto Rico. I fell in love with the people, food, music, and beaches. No other place I have ever visited compares to Puerto Rico. I felt so welcome and did not want to come back home. However, back to reality and I cannot forget the amazing effect this beautiful Island had on me.

I will also never forget the awesome group of classmates that shared in my experiences. This was the best group of friends I could have asked for on this trip. We all smiled, laughed, and pretty much cried when we had to leave. My two professors and TA were also of great support on this trip and they made a perfect team.

Learning about the history of a place while being in the place was the best learning experience I have ever had. We actually went to the historical sites and absorbed the sites and sounds of places such as El Yunque rainforest, Vieques, Quanica dry forest, and bioluminescent bay to name a few. The local people are so loving and caring. They do not discriminate on the basis of race or skin color because the Puerto Rican race is so varied. Puerto Ricans are made up of Taino Indian, Spanish, and African.

For a person that has never visited the island, I would first suggest to them a tour guide named Jose Pereira. He is an awesome guide and you will fall in love with him. I also fell in love with every other native that I came in contact with. No one was rude; they were all nice and loving. One tip would be to make sure and pack a ton of bug spray.

Finally, the intangibles that I walk away with are emotions. I have never loved and felt so loved as much as I did in Puerto Rico. The beautiful sounds and smells of the island will dwell with me forever. The most important intangible, which I will soon turn into tangible, are the ideas I have been coming up with for my graduate project. I will be making a documentary of Puerto Rico in some sort of fashion.

No Reservations for Bourdain

photo by Adam Pinkney

No Reservation for Bourdain

By Adam Pinkney

On Season two of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservation, he visits the enchanted island of Puerto Rico. Bourdain explores the wonderful culture and cuisine of the island. His approach would best be described as “anti-conquest”. This term was coined by Mary Pratt and is a genre of travel writing. Bourdain does not want to conquer or impose his ideals on the existing culture of Puerto Rico, he insists on kicking it with the natives and becoming a part of their family.

Mr. Bourdain did not want to be a lousy tourist, he wanted to live amongst the people and receive the stamp of approval. Throughout the show he kept repeating how he was in search of the “ real Puerto Rico” and did not want to entertain himself with a typical tourist itinerary. Bourdain was somewhat a passive observer, however he definitely wanted to get down and dirty. For example he stepped into the ring with an undefeated boxing champion Miguel Cotto. Luckily for Bourdain, the champ spared his life.

Other adventures of his travel included a search for the mythical chupacabra, horseback riding, lobster diving, music and lots of food. Bourdain enjoyed the locals and they were also pleased to have him around. At the end of the show he told a couple of locals about his adventures on the island and they gave him a stamp of approval.

I enjoyed this type of travel writing Bourdain pursued. It was more of documenting visually with sound and video of his experience in Puerto Rico. I relate very well to his style of travel writing and would not change anything about his approach. I agree with the anti-conquest theme of innocence. For some reason tying in the theme of innocence reminds me of a bible verse. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Enchanted

by Emily Nicholls

Puerto Rico's nickname "La Isla del Encanto" translates to "The Island of Enchantment". From the moment I started sticking to myself while walking off the plane, I could feel something different. No, it wasn't that my shopping sensors were detecting a duty-free store nor was it the feeling of sweat coming out of places it shouldn't in the middle of winter, it was something special. Though we were all disenchanted by our non-beachfront accommodations, I hoped that everyone would be able to experience the same deep feeling that I did, which would be different for each person because this land meant something different to each of us. Some saw it as an opportunity to reenact Brooke Burke's "Wild On!" experiences while others saw it as an opportunity to thaw out on the beach after the Oklahoma City Metro area's record breaking ice storm . Regardless of goals, I knew we'd all be making memories.

To me this beautiful land connects me to family. My mom is from Ponce, my grandmother lives there, my uncle and his family live in Bayamón, and like every other hispanic, I have cousins everywhere. Even if you don't have relatives here, strangers try to connect to make you feel welcome; people make you their relatives. It's a funny feeling to change from the fast paced world that is college life in the states to come here and readjust to life here. At home everything is a competition, from football to enrollment times, everyone is out to win. Secrets on how to pass a certain test are reserved for close friends or people who can help you out in another way. It's all very cutthroat. It's almost funny that one has to travel to an island that many people aren't even aware is part of the United States to get the feeling of community and the attitude that reflects the sentiment of the American classic song "This land is your land".

Puerto Rico overflows with the feelings of family and welcomeness. Those were the feelings I was filled with when I walked off the plane, and by the end of the trip I know everyone else could feel those things, too.

Maybe I'll avoid that water...

By Emily Nicholls, a newly not-so-germophobe

When I was five and came to El Yunque for the first time, I was on a mission to find monkeys. On that quest I slipped and cut my knee on the slippery rocks, something I thankfully didn't do during this trip, an accomplishment I probably owe to my new hiking sneakers (thanks mom). Now 15 years later I understand that the only animals that lie in El Yunque are mongoose (yikes), snakes, frogs, lizards and bats; creatures that would be neat to see, but definitely not touch. There are supposedly chupacabras in El Yunque too, and that's something I'd definitely not like to meet anytime soon. Anyways, I'd always been adventurous but in more of an "I'll watch you do it" sense of the word, and this certainly hadn't changed. Case and point: swimming.

We all wore swimsuits for a reason, but I didn't really plan on using it in the rain forest...In fact, I didn't plan on doing any swimming whatsoever on this vacation seeing as the only running water I like to drink flows right out of my Brita filter. I'm more of an observer-tanner when in the outdoors and less of a do-er. I decided maybe I'd walk in but certainly not go to the waterfall..maybe just ankle deep like the other two times. 3 steps in and i slipped into a freezing pool of running water and surprisingly enough, instead of panicking, I enjoyed it. Splashing and attempting to swim like my childhood idol The Little Mermaid was so enjoyable and made me rethink my neurotic need to avoid potentially contaminated water, dirt, tall grass, bugs...you get the idea. Although I'm certain I drank much more of La Mina than anyone else on our trip did, I was alright with it because 1) it didn't taste dirty, 2) I didn't see anything funny in it, and 3) as funny as it sounds, it kind of made me feel more in touch with my Puerto Rican roots.

Judging by my slip 'n slide experience back into La Mina, my roots were happy to have a tighter grasp on me too.

Que pase lo que pase, yo sera Puerto Riquena!

By Paola Lopez

I feel as if I have fallen in love again, but this time with my mother country! I feel as if I have started a long distant relationship where it begins passionate, remains committed, and yet it’s not enough to just be labeled as in a relationship—I need that physical presence. I cannot remember when there was a time that I did not know that I was Puerto Rico, but I do know that it is not until recently when I realized that everything that has kept me connected and rooted in Puerto Rico is unfortunately succumbing to age and will eventually leave me without a cultural and spiritual connection to where I am from. It is up to me to discover the history, flavor, and spice of Puerto Rico. I cannot help but become emotional when it comes to writing about mi patria. I cannot explain the emotions that well up in my throat like an immovable lifesaver. It’s the fifteen years of summers spent listening to the coqui, waking up to walk across a gravel path to abuelita’s for breakfast, and always having afternoon serenade of dominoes sliding across a tabletop. I could not ask for a better memory of where I am from and how I became who I am today. The simple and culturally rich environment of Puerto Rico has become a very important facet in my life!

Contrary to what my other classmates would believe, the classroom material was also new to me. Up until now, I did not know the political affiliations and intentions on the island, the towns and various knowledge bowl trivial, and the various historical struggles of my people. The most beautiful aspect of Puerto Rico that I experienced on the trip was the humble and beautiful hospitality of my people and how the attitude is connected to the quintessential struggle for cultural identity. The Puerto Ricans have an extensive history of being the conquered and yet they have still remained true to their identity, Boricua’s. During our various lectures on wheels, the class learned of these historical dates and timelines when countries came into Puerto Rico and began their reign of cultural cleansing; however, no matter how many attempts they always failed. The people may be a conquered people, but we will never forget who we are and why we are so.

Mi Patria, es simple, es bella, es el cielo y el mar. Es mi criansa, es mi spiritu, es mi ser y poder. I do not normally write or type in Spanish, but extreme passion and emotion have stirred within me what I can know say is what my intangible is: My mother country, it is simple, beautiful, the sky and the sea. It is my upbringing, my spirit, my being and my strength.