Does my New York experience erase my Puerto Rican Identity
Origin of the term Nuyorican
The term Nuyorican is used to describe a Puerto Rican born in New York or a Puerto Rican who was born in Puerto Rico but now lives in New York. The history of this term is much more significant.
According to poets.org, the movement was created as a form “to represent not only the struggles Puerto Ricans faced in working-class New York City, but also the pride they had in their language, culture, and Afro-Caribbean and indigenous Caribbean identities.”
Like many other ethnicities in the Latino Community, Puerto Ricans are made up of a diverse group of individuals who are proud of their heritage and want to share it with others. Pedro Pietri, Miguel Piñero, Giannina Braschi, Jesús Papoleto Meléndez, and Tato Laviera started the Nuyorican movement because they wanted to share the beauty of Puerto Rican culture with the world.
Various individuals like Manny Lopez, a freelance writer for the San Diego Union Tribune, spoke about how he identifies as a Nuyoircan and even references the Nuyorican movement I mentioned earlier, “In keeping with the spirit of Pedro Pietri, considered the poet laureate of the Nuyorican movement, I in fact proudly exclaim, when asked about my nationality, that I am a Nuyorican.”
Being a Nuyorican
Growing up in a predominantly caucasian neighborhood, I felt that being Puerto Rican was something that made me different from my friends and the other kids at school. Even when I would talk about my heritage I always felt that I wasn’t “Puerto Rican” enough because I wasn’t born in Puerto Rico and I grew up speaking English.
To me, being a Nuyorican means I get to embrace both sides of who I am. I’ve noticed that from my Puerto Rican side, I have a love and passion for food, culture, and music. That aligns with my New York side which is my love for New York’s culture, history, art, music, and food.
As an adult, I know that being Latina is more than just about where you’re born, whether or not you can speak Spanish, or what your last name is. I’ve learned to let go of other people’s assumptions of who I am, and how I’m supposed to act as a Latina. I know that in my heart and soul, I am a Latina. I will not change who I am to fit someone’s idea of what a Latina is.
