Article: Raquel Salas Rivera: “The Independence (of Puerto Rico)”
For Raquel Salas Rivera, the Independence of Puerto Rico, symbolizes the strength and resilience of Puerto Ricans when oppressed by their colonizers. The author describes Puerto Ricans and their strength as; “fiercer than melted snow” when put under pressure and “more tender than roots with earth”, representing their connection with the Earth. They describe the value of their people as “richer than stolen ports” and “more more than the minimum and more more than the most” because “we are insularly sufficient”. Hence Puerto Ricans owe no one “smallness” because for centuries, Puerto Ricans were oppressed, denied land and basic human rights, hearing that they “are much of the less and too little of the more”.
The island of Puerto Rico,
full of Taino blood and pride
black and brown skin, of all shades
Boriquas of the beautiful island
They are more and more, than our colonizers, tell us
As Raquel Salas Rivera said, Puerto Ricans are “more than you imagine
and more than we have ever imagined ”.
and above all, Puerto Ricans are independent “even in the hole more colonized by porous fear “.
Sabrina ^
Audiovisual Material:
I chose this video because I believe that the passion that is in the poem and the vigor of independence is aligned with the video that I linked below. Especially when I read the lines below:
and in all things we are independent,
even in the most colonized hole of our porous fear;
even in the panadería most packed with papers that cover ads; even in the corrosive act of saying we are only an island;
These lines show how independent Puerto Ricans have strived to be in the past and nowadays as well through celebrations of independence. They are more than an island and they are the most independent, despite how colonized their island has been.
Andres ^
