My so called Life: Puerto-Indianos-African-nooosss -SpainisssshooSS

That Benicio del Toro's got me googling Puerto Rico -for goodness sakessssssssss and it's lead me (because I can't stop, once I start) -working out where folk originated from -and just how African folk are (not that it really matters -or does it?)........Enjoy........xx
Fat Joe

Tego Calderon

Zoe Saldana (Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico)

Rosario Dawson – Actress, quoted as saying, "I'm Puerto Rican, Black, Cuban, Irish and Native American."

Gina Ravera – Actress, is half Puerto Rican and half Black.

Kelis - Singer, her father is black, her mother is Chinese/Puerto Rican

Jennifer Lynn Lopez ....I wonder where she got her behind from???

Former slaves in Puerto Rico, 1898

“Puerto Ricans self-define as a homogenized Taíno, African, and Spanish mixture. Taínos were Amerindians who occupied the island before European domination.”

“The Puerto Rican personality is also influenced by the African’s imprint on the language. Words like, chango, bernbe, mango, rumba etc. are part of the Puerto Rican’s everyday speech. The up and down speech intonations in Puerto Rican Spanish are typically African as well as the grammatical practice of cutting endings (para nada becomes pa’na), transforming or dropping consonants and various phonetic implications in the vernacular”

“The Puerto Rican’s diet is also heavily influenced by the black man and dishes like mofongo (green bananas with meat), gandinga (stewed or marinated pork livers with vinegar and garlic), funche (mushed cornmeal), guanimos (cornmeal croquettes), sambumbia (an elaborate salad) are all part of la comida criolla or the native cuisine.”

“If one looks carefully into all aspects of modern Puerto Rican culture (the arts, politics, education etc.) he will find those influencing factors derived from the African tradition in Puerto Rico. A no less important factor of the Puerto Rican personality is the concern and consciousness the Puerto Rican has about physical traits. It is not uncommon to hear one speak of the profile of a person as being perfilado or silhouetted with fine features as a sign of whiteness as opposed, to the broad, flat features of a black person. Straight hair is linked to whiteness while pelo malo (bad hair) or grifo (kinky) indicate kinky hair from blacks. Other terms like trigueno or morena denote skin coloring. Joseph Fitzpatrick, in his book The Puerto Rican Americans, spends a whole chapter on racial terms which denote very fine distinctions of coloring and attitudes among Puerto Ricans today. Yet, "In spite of all the racist manifestations expressed in the language, the feeling of brotherhood between blacks and whites in Puerto Rico has always existed, even in times of slavery.”

Tumin and Feidman, in the sociological study, Social Class and Social Change in Puerto Rico, found that no racial discrimination or prejudice existed in most social areas such as education, entertainment and public facilities. They did find some in areas of employment and this they attributed in some ways to American, business practices of hiring and the overall corporate bureaucracy. They also found that most individuals interviewed, when asked to classify themselves racially, were either not sure or not in agreement with the interviewers classification and usually responded by saying they were Puerto Rican. This perhaps sums it all up. Only in the United States (and some anglo oriented African countries) does one have a color or racial label put on him. In Puerto Rico, despite one’s racial ancestry, one is a Puerto Rican first, and as a Puerto Rican he willingly and proudly cites the many facets of his unique personality. (credits -The late Dr. Robert Martinez. Chairman of the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Baruch College)... (My goodness!!!)