Raquel Rivera's San Isidro

Raquel Z. Rivera is a singer-songwriter (Las 7 Salves de La Magdalena/7 Songs of Praise for The Magdalene), author (New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), editor of the anthology Reggaeton (Duke University Press, 2009), scholar at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Hunter College), freelance journalist, essay and fiction writer, and member of Afro-Boricua music group Alma Moyo.

Raquel's latest work of art is her life in San Isidro of the South Valley, Nuevo Mexico. Here's an excerpt from her blog Cascabel de Cobre:

My brother introduced me to San Isidro Labrador (Saint Isidore the Farmer) some years ago. Jorge Homar carries around a small estampita of the saint in his wallet. A cook and farming enthusiast, my brother is passionate about everything related to growing and preparing food. From the moment I realized the saint was working his magic from inside my little brother's wallet, San Isidro has had a piece of my heart.

More

Christopher Lee Rios (aka Big Pun): 11/10/1971 – 2/7/2000

Christopher Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was a Puerto Rican rapper who emerged from the underground rap scene in The Bronx in the late 1990s.

He first appeared on albums from The Beatnuts, on the track “Off the Books” in 1997, and on Fat Joe’s second album Jealous One’s Envy in 1995, on the track “Watch Out”, prior to signing to Loud Records as a solo artist. Big Pun’s career was cut short in 2000 at age 28 when he died of a heart attack.

More

Big Pun - Wikipedia
Big Pun - The Internet Movie Database
Christopher Rios, 28, Rapper Recorded Under Name Big Pun - Obituary NYTimes 2/9/2000
Big Pun: The Legacy documentary - YouTube
Big Pun Biography - Big Pun Forever

Quiara Alegría Hudes: Playwright, Author

Quiara Alegría Hudes is an award-winning author of plays, musicals, screenplays and other literary works.

Though her works are varied in style, she combines an intellectual curiosity with a humanistic vision to tell new American stories.

Her work for musical theater includes Broadway’s Tony Award-winning Best Musical In the Heights (Tony Nomination for her book, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award) and the children’s musical Barrio Grrrl! (book and lyrics, Helen Hayes nomination for Theater for Young Audiences).

More

Quiara Alegría Hudes website
Worth listening - Courier-Post

Hispanic v. Latino by Google's Ngram Viewer

According to Google's nifty Ngram Viewer, use of the term 'Hispanic' in American English books peaked in the early 1990s and has been slipping ever since. In contrast, 'Latino' has been surging since the 90s. 

(Ngram Viewer by Google lets you graph and compare words and phrases over time, showing how their usage has waxed and waned over the years. The data is derived from 15 million books scanned by the folks at Google and includes all of the major languages.)
 

Don Jose Pereira Torres of Vieques (and St Croix)

In my new book, Ruins of a Society and the Honorable, I speak of the foreign invasions and injustices that plagued the islands of Puerto Rico. I speak of the injustice of my uncle Jose Pereira Torres of Monte Santo Vieques, PR, who was forced out of Vieques during the US invasion of the 1940s; he was approximately 11 years old. He migrated to St Croix, Virgin Island and ran for the Senate November 07, 1978.

In May 1979, he was accused of conspiring to participate with a radical group in sabotaging US military vehicles, charges that were later proven false and eventually dismissed. The only violation committed by Jose Pereira was when he and 21 others were arrested for civil disobedience in a restricted US Navy bombing area, which was also the same year when The Crusade for the Rescue of Vieques was founded. But the injustice against Jose Pereira and others didn’t end there. Against his will and proclamation of innocence, my uncle was labeled a communist by US officials, but Jose Pereira saw himself as a freedom fighter and not an independentistas.

In his words, “independentistas concern themselves with too many issues beyond the problems of Vieques.” Unlike many others, I acknowledged the existence of the court and I make it clear this is not the problem. The bombardment, the injustices of our people and the forcible migration of Viequenses are my concerns. I’m here to prevent future generations from the humiliation we were all subjected to.”

Making it clear to his family; he accused the government of torture and experiment of others while incarcerated. Angel Rodriguez Cristobal, who was also arrested with Jose, was sent to a federal prison in Florida, two weeks later he was found dead in his cell. According to prison officials he committed suicide by hanging, but reports stated he had a large gash across his forehead and a pool of blood beneath his feet where he hung in his cell. (2 minute video of Angel Rodriguez Cristobal's funeral procession)

Jose Pereira returned to St Croix and later died of cancer. Although these inhumane practices no longer exist in Puerto Rico, the reminisce left behind by the constant years of US military exercises in bombing Vieques, still show signs of extremely high levels of radiation, lead contamination and cancer among many children throughout most of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Sugar Pathways brought to surface in my mind the many stories told to me por mi madre, Margarita Pereira Morales, mi tio, Diego Pereira y mi tia, Maria Pereira Martinez, who is still a resident of Vieques. Johanna Bermudez-Ruiz has done a wonderful job in her documentary. I’m not only proud to say we are of the same bloodline, but extremely proud to have known her during my lifetime.

Al Bermudez Pereira

Photo: Al Bermudez Pereira

Navy must be held accountable for Vieques

Puerto Rico is once again being shortchanged by the federal government. The U.S. Navy must provide compensation for risking the health of the people of Vieques.

For 60 years, the Navy used Vieques to test military weapons and dabble with heavy metals. This contaminated the flora and fauna of the island municipality and damaged the health of thousands of its residents. The level of cancer incidence in Vieques is 30 percent higher than the cancer rate on the main island, according to Puerto Rico’s health department. Yet the Navy has failed to take full responsibility for the havoc it caused in Vieques, even though multiple independent studies show the effects of its decades of shelling.

The people of Vieques, who like all Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, filed suit against the Navy and federal government. But the government’s reaction was to claim sovereign immunity to evade the class action lawsuit.

This flies in the face of the outcome to similar situations. The federal government did not claim immunity when two wealthy Virginia communities file and won a million dollar lawsuit in 2007 against the Navy for the noise pollution caused by jets flying over the area.

The claim of sovereign immunity also appears to pre-empt the outcome of another federal move. Several months ago, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registration (ATDSR) reversed a prior conclusion that contamination at the Navy’s training ground in Vieques posed no health risks to residents. The ATDSR has re-initiated an investigation into the health hazards there.

Parts of Vieques are designated as a federal toxic cleanup site. But this does not address the question of medical care for the disproportionate rate of illnesses Viequenses are suffering. Instead, the message that the Navy and federal government are sending is that they will continue to ignore or avoid accountability for the damage to the health of Viequenses. This is unacceptable.

The ATDSR must accelerate its study of Vieques. But public pressure must once again mount, as it successfully did to close the Naval base in Vieques, to ensure that Viequenses are not left at the wayside.

The Puerto Rican Diaspora: A Search for Cultural Identity and Acceptance

"It was a hot summer day in the city and many streets where blocked off due to the large crowds. Puerto Ricans from all over New York and New Jersey were making their way to Fifth Avenue with their flags in hand, wearing t-shirts with colorful patriotic sayings, faces painted red white and blue, and exuding what I thought at the moment was a little too much enthusiasm as they screamed 'Yo Soy Boricua!' But as I approached Fifth Avenue something interesting occurred; the people and the avenue disappeared. All I saw were thousands of Puerto Rican flags being waved back and forth like a sea of red, white and blue covering the black asphalt from side to side and heading hundreds of blocks towards downtown Manhattan. It was a sight that gave me goose bumps. An intense feeling of excitement and pride took over me as I buoyantly jumped up and down, feverishly waved my flag and screamed from the top of my lungs 'Yo Soy Boricuaaaa!' For those few hours the social inequalities and the stereotypes were forgotten, and I enjoyed with thousands of other children of the diaspora the excitement at being able to share my Puerto Rican pride and culture with the city and the world." Joel Bermúdez Mercado

Link

Philly's Juan Antonio "Tony" Leon Jr.: R.I.P.

IT TOOK demonstrations, political pressure and perseverance for Latinos to break into the mainstream media in Philadelphia.

There were no Latinos either in front of or behind the TV cameras, despite the fact that Philadelphia had a large and thriving Latino population. Latino news rarely got reported, either on the air or in the local newspapers.

Juan Antonio "Tony" Leon Jr. and a few other activists set about to change that. In the late '60s they protested outside television stations, charging employment discrimination, and negotiated with station officials for jobs.

"That small knock on their door opened the door for a few of us to be hired at WPVI," Tony wrote in a reminiscence last July.

He went on to become a highly regarded cameraman, documentarian, producer and editor - first for WPVI-TV, Channel 6, and later for KYW-TV, Channel 3 - as well as a dedicated activist in the Latino community.

He died Thursday after a long fight against cancer. He was 56 and lived in Fishtown.

Link

Puerto Rico House for Sale - $80K US

Purchase your piece of paradise in Palmas Baja on Puerto Rico's south side. It was my parent's retirement home and can be yours for only $80,000 (US).

The tropical home has 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a living room, dining room and kitchen, and a bonus room.

Also featured is a water tank, carport, shed, gated driveway, porch and lush tropical plants.

On a quiet dead end street w/mountain views, the home is near the Guamani River, routes 179 and 15, and just 1 mile North of Guayama's famous Plaza Cristóbal Colón, Bellas Arte and Casa Cautiño Museum.

Situated close to everything, it's just minutes to Route 52 (Ponce to San Juan), coastal Route 3 and aqua green Caribbean beaches (Arroyo, Patillas, Salinas). For example, EL Legado Golf Resort 3 mi, Jobos Bay Reserve 5mi, Port of Arroyo 5mi, Lake Carite 8mi, Lake Patillas 10mi, Guavate Forest 15mi, Cayey 12mi, Carite Forest Reserve-Blue Water Pool 20mi, Ponce 38mi, City of Humacao 35mi, Tibes 'Taino' Ceremonial Center 40 mi, San Juan 50mi, El Yunque Rainforest 53mi, Fajardo 58mi (and the ferry to Vieques and Culebra), La Parguera EcoTourism Center 60 mi.

Offered at $80,000 (U.S.)

Contact:
Gerry Vazquez
631.338.7392
vazquezgerry@yahoo.com

About Guayama:
Bewitched In Guayama (by J.A. del Rosario, Puerto Rico Herald - 3.19.04)
Guayama, Puerto Rico Metropolitan Area (a listing of local camping, hiking, backpacking, lakes and beaches by Hikercentral.com)
Casa Cautiño Museum
Interamerican University - Guayama Campus"
Centro de Bellas Artes
Plaza Cristóbal Colón
EL LEGADO GOLF RESORT "HOME OF CHICHI RODRIGUEZ"

Philly's Joaquin Rivera - R.I.P.

"Saludos Familia:

It is with great sadness and personal loss that I announce the death of un gran companero de lucha por los derechos de los puertorriquenos en EEUU/a great loss of a brother in the struggle of PRs civil rights Joaquin Rivera. He passed away from a heart attack in Philadelphia.

Joaquin was a resident of Philadelphia since 1965 and from a very early age he played guitar. He was a member of the Philadelphia Young Lords, the Puerto Rican Alliance and founding member of the National Congress for PR Rights (NCPRR). He was also the founder and leader of Los Pleneros del Batey, a group that performed around the country and at all NCPRR Convention including in Philadelphia last month. In addition, Joaquin was a counselor at Olney HS where he also was the faculty advisor to the Aspira Club for decades.

The PR community has lost a tremendous cultural worker but his legacy will live on. Pray for him and his famly".

With a heavy heart,
Victor Vazquez

Philadelphia Folklore Project: Joaquin Rivera (1946 - December 6, 2009)
Philly.com: Joaquin Rivera, 63; music was his life