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The Poetry Heritage of Puerto Rico
By Pamela Gray

Puerto Rican born poet Judith Ortiz Cofer maintains, "A poem is a sacred thing in that it connects with a person in a very real way, not through magic, but in a very natural process of association and chemistry to the unconscious." (Global Education Project) Certainly, Puerto Rican poets do find a natural association and chemistry with and in their island homeland and heritage.

Taino natives, the Spanish, and later waves of immigrants brought distinct languages, customs, history, and culture to the island of Puerto Rico. In the same way that the Navajo tribes refers to themselves as Dine (The People), Puerto Ricans call themselves Boricua: a distinct and unique people with a heritage that values song and verse as one of the cultural pillars. For instance, early Spanish influences on the poetry of Puerto Rico include the decima and ballad. Similarly, immigrants from Africa brought a distinctive vocabulary and musical rhythm that transformed poetry and verse. Later, political and national themes were stressed in the poetry as the island debated independence.

Then, as island natives left for the American mainland and wrote poetry, their work was still considered Puerto Rican poetry; but now, the verse was shaped and influenced by the cultures of New York City, Texas, or Hawaii. For example, AmeRican and Puertoricanness were issues in poetry by children of the immigrants. This essay briefly summarizes the themes in island poetry and the movements that influenced Puerto Rican poetry in the United States. The bibliography comprises books, journals, films, recordings, and, most importantly, web sites as contemporary resources for further inquiry. Many of the web pages also include audio and visual images of poetry performances that can be used for educational purposes.

Spanish Influences

Puerto Rican poetry traces its formal roots to the Spanish colonists. When they came to the island, they brought with them the decima, a complicated form of poetry, which continues to be written and performed in Puerto Rico today. The Spanish also introduced a type of ballad, the corrido, to the island. While best known in the context of Mexico and the American Southwest, the ballad corrido form is also found in Puerto Rico. On this web site, you can find detailed description of the decima, decima poets, and a lesson plan for writing this form of poetry, as well as a lesson plan, history, and description of the corrido.

Seeking riches, the Spanish conquistadors established farms using enslaved Taino workers to produce food supplies for the gold seekers. Later, they imported cash crops of sugar cane, tobacco, and coffee to Europe. Diseases and enslavement decimated the Taino peoples, and slaves were brought from West and Central Africa to continue working the crops.

African Influences

African influence on Puerto Rican poetry dates to the earliest island colonization. Around 1520, the Spanish imposed large-scale, forced African immigration to plant and harvest the cash crops of the island. These transplanted Africans began integrating into the island society, and, today, many Puerto Ricans identify a family heritage that includes these early workers. Further, the language these African peoples spoke--a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish and Congolese--created a dialect used in traditional island poetry beginning in the 1520s.

Luis Pales Matos, born in 1898 and arguably Puerto Rico's most prominent 20^th century poet, demonstrated these influences in creating poetry that incorporates African vocabulary and rhythms while he worked as a government employee. In fact, he developed a literary movement--variously called Afro-Antillian, Negroid, or Black Poetry--using the African influences of the immigrants. His noted poems include: "Tuntun de Pasa y Griferia" and "Ultimos Poemas." His Afro-Antillian style continues to appear in contemporary Puerto Rican poetry. Noted writer and poet Tato Laviera lists Pales Matos as a seminal influence on his writings.

Nationalist Movement

Celebration of the people and the country of Puerto Rico has always been a theme of island poetry. Lola Rodriguez de Tio, born in 1843, was the first Puerto Rican poet to achieve a Pan-West Indies reputation. She is known for her patriotic poetry and musical lyrics written to the tune of "La Borinquena." Having spent years living in Cuba, the poet considered both countries her home and "Cuba y Puerto Rico Son" is her most famous poem.

In the mid-19^th century, teenagers carried their collected writings of poetry and prose in the valued aguinaldos, albums, or cancionceros. Poets would stop in public places and at political gatherings to recite poetry on themes of love and patriotism. Sponsored by the new government in 1876, the Ateneo Puertorriqueno was founded as the intellectual center of Puerto Rico, fostering the island's artistic and literary achievements.

Then, after years of Spanish rule, the United States took control of Puerto Rico in 1898. Writers, poets, and orators responded by joining the movement for Puerto Rico's independence. While not all writers in this movement urged political independence for the island, all of them did celebrate the uniqueness, the criollismo, of the Puerto Rican land, people, and culture. To get a glimpse of this nationalist spirit, you can read Jose de Diego, Luis Llorens Torres, and novelist Manuel Zeno Gandia.

Modern Movement

Two poets stand particularly tall in modern Puerto Rican poetry. First, Jose de Diego--poet, orator, politician and nationalist--is considered the father of the Modern Puerto Rican Poetry Movement. His poems, "A Laura" and "Postuma," earned him a reputation as one of the country's finest romantic and patriotic poets. Other books of his poetry include Posmarrosas, Jovillos, and Cantos del Pittirre. He died in New York City in 1921 while reciting his poetry. Contemporary poet/attorney/scholar Martin Espada follows De Diego's poetic vision.

The other is Julia de Burgos, born in Puerto Rico in 1914 and recognized as one of the most prominent Hispanic poets influencing innumerable poets writing today. De Burgos began writing poetry at an early age and published her first book of verses at age 19. A member of the Vanguard movement in San Juan during the 1930s, her books include Poemas exactos de mi misma, Poems en Veinte Zurcos and Cancion de la verdad sencilla. Her best known poem is "Rio Grande de Loiza." After immigrating to New York City, however, De Burgos died there in poverty in 1953.

Immigration to the United States

"When the insight came, nothing changed, for it wasn't the weather in Brooklyn that was important, but the fact that I was there to notice it." (p.3) Esmeralda Santiago travels to America with her family to seek medical attention for her brother's injury, and like waves of immigrants before them, her mother stays to work in the New York garment industry, moving from tenement to apartment, in search of a better life for her family.

Most Puerto Ricans came to the mainland during periods of economic strife on the island. Puerto Rican plantation workers, who arrived in Hawaii to plant and harvest the sugar crops in the 1900s, integrated the jibaro culture, poetry, and music with native islanders' traditions, creating a unique subculture that is still evident today. However, New York City has been the final destination of most island immigrants. The number of people of Puerto Rican heritage in New York City in 2000 equaled those living in the other 49 states combined. This community of Puerto Rican immigrants created an identifiable body of work that came to be known as New-York-Rican, Neo-Rican, or Nuyorican.

Nuyorican Poetry

A Puerto Rican native born in 1901, Jesus Colon is the intellectual founding father of the Nuyorican movement that developed among Puerto Rican novelists, essayists, and poets living in New York City. While various people take credit for first identifying the movement, writers began referring to themselves by this title in the 1960s. Among others, present day poets Miguel Algarin, Martita Morales, Willie Perdomo and Sandra Maria Esteves, and playwright Miguel Pinero consider themselves Nuyorican. Algarin, Laviera, and Pinero established the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City. Celebrating 25 years of poetry, it continues to be a vital creative force in the artistic community today. Weekend poetry slams also feature Puerto Rican themes and numerous poetry forms. See the Poetry Slam lesson plan for more information about a Nuyorican style poetry slam and details on holding a slam .

Pedro (Juan) Pietri

Another leading Nuyorican poet, Pietri chronicles the life, struggles, and spirit of the Puerto Rican community. Puerto Rican Obituary, Traffic Violations, and Lost in the Museum of National History are his collections of poems.

Amalgam or Code-Switching Poetry

Esmeralda Santiago remarks on her neighborhood friends, Puerto Rican born, whose Spanish is limited, influenced by English slang, or even worse, now long forgotten. Culturally torn between maintaining their native language, losing the ability to converse fluently with family in Puerto Rico, and recognizing the need to be able to speak English to function in the United States, some poets have continued to write only in Spanish while others have adopted a unique approach to language.

Victor Hernandez Cruz, one of the best known Amalgam or Code-Switching poets, follows the direction of the ancient rhetorician Cicero, who believed that writers should master more than one language to effectively select words that most vividly portray an idea. Although Cicero might not agree with the concept of combining languages, Hernandez Cruz blends Spanish, English, and dialects of both countries in his poetry. Explaining his rationale for using "Spanlish" in his verse, he claims, "Trying to find rhymes in English, it's like trying to find banana leaves for pasteles in Ann Arbor, Michigan." Born in Puerto Rico, Hernandez Cruz creates poetry for oral delivery, integrating music--notably jazz--with his verse. One of the most recognized living Hispanic poets, he began writing in high school and published his first book of poems when he was only 17. Salsa, the Taino mountain songs of Puerto Rico, e e cummings, and classical music are major influences for his poetry.

Puerto Rican Poetry Themes

Esmeralda Santiago's book, Almost a Woman, underscores the themes of traditional Puerto Rican poetry and the new themes that immigration creates.

Romance

Esmeralda's father, Papi, was a romantic. When feeling despondent about her life in New York City, her mother would cry and reread the poems he had written for her. "He'd write her long, flowery poems about happy homes and the love a man feels for the mother of his children." (p. 30) Decima poetry, found at weekly park poetry readings in Puerto Rico today, expresses romantic love for a lover and the island.

Here and There/aca y alla

A familiar theme is a love and yearning for an island homeland while being forced to remain somewhere else. In many cases, the immigrant is faced with an unfamiliar city environment, in addition to a new language, culture, and society. "Every day we spent in Brooklyn was like a curtain dropping between me and my other life, the one where I knew who I was, where I didn't know I was poor, didn't know my parents didn't love each other, didn't know what it was to lose a father." (p.31)

Esmeralda sees the physical separation from her father in Puerto Rico as a factor in his failure to reconcile with her mother. He stays in Puerto Rico while they are in New York City. As time goes by, her resolve to return to the island fades. If she left New York, she would miss her mother and brothers and sisters. Esmeralda's spirit is torn between here and there. Yet, as her life in New York continues, there is less pull to return to her homeland. She is "aca" to stay with childhood memories of "alla."

Self Identity

New York City's Hispanic population included large numbers of immigrants from the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Santiago, called Negri in her own culture for her dark skin, shared the concern of other transplanted people: that by giving up their Puerto Rican identification for the generic label of Hispanic, they would be losing part of their self identity. "Mami made it clear that although we lived in the United States, we were to remain 100 percent Puerto Rican. The problem was that it was hard to tell where Puerto Rican ended and Americanized began." (p. 25)

"? Tu eres hispana?"

"No, I'm Puerto Rican."

"Same thing. Puerto Rican. Hispanic. That's what we are here." (p.4)

"I'd always been Puerto Rican, and it hadn't occurred to me that, in Brooklyn, I'd be someone else." (p. 5)

Essay and selected bibliography by P. L. Gray, Director of The Gray Areas, Fort Wayne, Indiana.