Puerto Rican subcultures (neighborhood, elementary school, live in)
U.S. TerritoriesPuerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.
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On a foggy Saturday morning around 7am, I drove my daughters to a nearby soccer field for their pre-game warmups. After droping them off at the field, I walked back to my car. In the foggy parking lot I noticed a guy standing near my car. The closer I got the more visible his emblems became. He sported a ballcap with the Puerto Rican flag emblazoned over the brim. His black jacket had the Puerto Rican flag drapped over his heart. He wore a neck chain with . . . THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG!
I got close to this obviously Puerto Rican guy and, with a smile, I said to him, "Oye, ¿tu seras Boricua de verdad?" His response: "Uhm . . . excuse me?"
The guy explained that his grandfather was Puerto Rican and that he spoke no Spanish.
On a foggy Saturday morning around 7am, I drove my daughters to a nearby soccer field for their pre-game warmups. After droping them off at the field, I walked back to my car. In the foggy parking lot I noticed a guy standing near my car. The closer I got the more visible his emblems became. He sported a ballcap with the Puerto Rican flag emblazoned over the brim. His black jacket had the Puerto Rican flag drapped over his heart. He wore a neck chain with . . . THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG!
I got close to this obviously Puerto Rican guy and, with a smile, I said to him, "Oye, ¿tu seras Boricua de verdad?" His response: "Uhm . . . excuse me?"
The guy explained that his grandfather was Puerto Rican and that he spoke no Spanish.
In my mind, and in a very Puerto Rican way, all I could hear myself say was "¡Me c_go en tu madre!"
Everytime you tell this story on here I burst out laughing. It cracks me up every time ... because we have all met at least one of these "Yo soy Boricua, but I can't even speak Spanish types".
Sadly, the second Sunday in June is fast approaching and these clowns will be out in force and the good name of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people will be dragged though the mud
Everytime you tell this story on here I burst out laughing. It cracks me up every time ... because we have all met at least one of these "Yo soy Boricua, but I can't even speak Spanish types".
Sadly, the second Sunday in June is fast approaching and these clowns will be out in force and the good name of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people will be dragged though the mud
Everytime you tell this story on here I burst out laughing. It cracks me up every time ... because we have all met at least one of these "Yo soy Boricua, but I can't even speak Spanish types".
Sadly, the second Sunday in June is fast approaching and these clowns will be out in force and the good name of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican people will be dragged though the mud
They're not different to the "I'm Italian" or "I'm Irish" types.
In the 1990s, I was a military dependent and finished high school in central Florida. I was excited at first as many of the students were Puerto Rican, and I am New Mexican Hispano (not a recent Mexican American). After being the only Hispanic/Latino student in a couple of places, and coming from a background with a superficially similar history I thought it would be welcoming.
Boy was I wrong!
The Puerto Ricans really rubbed me the wrong way, and I never made sense to them, not because I was another kind of Latino so much. That sort of hate was reserved to Dominicans, who were trash to these kids (and seemed to be singled out as being black, poor, and "stupid"). I was constantly asked if "I was really Spanish or white" (a question that made no sense to me, they are both white!). Or told "I am not "Spanish. I act white." My response was always "so you're from Madrid or Barcelona?"
These kids only listened to rap/black American music, or maybe merengue, but saw any Latino who liked rock or "white music" (even if not really white) as a "sell out." Even if they spoke Spanish, they emulated African-American culture, and clothes, and liked to call each other the n-word (which I refuse to use), and so on.
The other side to this, which was confusing as hell, is that these kids never saw themselves as "black" and if darker-skinned, would never consider themselves as such - if light skinned - would go out of their way to bash "gringos" to prove they were Puerto Rican, and so forth. They didn't have much to do with black or white Americans, but the emulated everything black or hip-hop - but not what I'd consider "quality" hip hop. (Mainy crappy "party bass" junk).
Anyway, for a while, I had a very negative view of Puerto Rican - excuse me "Spanish" kids, and for a long time, avoided any like the plague. I thought they were racist and ignorant. However; in college, I met Puerto Ricans with very different attitudes, who spoke much better Spanish, and a wider diversity of beliefs on music and culture. I suppose the kids I encountered in school were a very distinct subset? Maybe from a specific community, region, or generation? My impression was that they were migrants from Puerto Rico, though some came by way of New York/New Jersey.
Would this now be the reggaeton crowd?
Sooo, now you know the difference between neoricans, (those of Puerto Rican descent living in the U.S. who have "assimilated" into what passes for American popular culture to the point where they are utterly confused), and Puerto Rican college students in the U.S. (young folks FROM Puerto Rico who refuse to bastardize their cultural identity while at the same time expanding their worldview). This is why I never allowed my kids to butcher either language with Spanglish or to forget their Puerto Rican history, folklore or cuisine when they grew up in the 'states, nor did I attempt to insulate them from the better North American values, either.
On a foggy Saturday morning around 7am, I drove my daughters to a nearby soccer field for their pre-game warmups. After droping them off at the field, I walked back to my car. In the foggy parking lot I noticed a guy standing near my car. The closer I got the more visible his emblems became. He sported a ballcap with the Puerto Rican flag emblazoned over the brim. His black jacket had the Puerto Rican flag drapped over his heart. He wore a neck chain with . . . THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG!
I got close to this obviously Puerto Rican guy and, with a smile, I said to him, "Oye, ¿tu seras Boricua de verdad?" His response: "Uhm . . . excuse me?"
The guy explained that his grandfather was Puerto Rican and that he spoke no Spanish.
LOL. Folks, give this story a thumbs up if you wouldn't want to be THAT guy...eso se llama parecerse a la puerca de Juan Bobo en mi pueblo.
To be honest, I'm sick and tired of islanders making some kind of massive distinction between themselves and Puerto Ricans on the mainland. Seriously? They are you, so deal with it. There is a huge back and forth migration cycle going on, and there's no way to separate the two any longer, it just doesn't work like that anymore. I've met plenty of amazing Puerto Ricans in the States, and plenty of trashy people on the island.
If you want to be "ashamed" of the Spanish that Ricans speak in the States, let's not go there, because in that same respect, you should be "ashamed" of the Spanish on the island. Think of what people from other countries say about the way you talk. It's not very nice is it? So don't duplicate it, There's no such thing as right or wrong language, it only reflects where you come from and what you've been exposed to. So let's not start with that.
To be honest, I'm sick and tired of islanders making some kind of massive distinction between themselves and Puerto Ricans on the mainland. Seriously? They are you, so deal with it..
Well, your right. This happens often and not just with Puerto Ricans. Alot of other latinos tend to look down on those that migrate to the states. They say, solo la chusma se va para los estado unidos.
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