I know you, why don't you know me?

     Puerto Rico is a pretty hot topic right now. Between our messy politics, our even messier economic crisis and even Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton, there's a lot of important matters to talk about.  Here's my take on one.

    I remember back in sixth grade, I went to a traditional summer camp in North Carolina and when I would say I was from Puerto Rico I would get asked, “Where is that?” or, “I’ve never heard of it.”  On a school trip to Washington D.C. I remember getting asked, “How long was the drive from Puerto Rico to here?”  Even to this date, as a freshman in Sarah Lawrence College, I still shock people when I say I didn’t need a passport to come to the U.S. because I’m a United States citizen, or that it’s a longer flight from L.A. to New York then it is from Puerto Rico.  People are surprised that I didn’t have any culture shock coming here. 

    I also remember getting a perfect score on a U.S. Revolutionary War test in fifth grade, and spending hours throughout my entire junior year studying U.S. history.  I can name each state off the top of my head and even most of its capitals, but a lot of people here don’t know Puerto Rico’s capital city. 

    I have come to realize that no matter how much United Sates history I have learned, I cannot say the same for mainland residents and their education regarding Puerto Rico.  This ignorance has become a problem and struggle for Puerto Ricans throughout the years, from being taboo to say you are a Puerto Rican in New York back in the sixties, to not being recognized as a U.S. citizen.

    When I am asked whether I am an American or Puerto Rican, I am always quick and proud to say that my nationality is Puerto Rico, but technically, I am American.  I am a Puerto Rican who has historically imposed U.S. citizenship.  It all started when Puerto Rico was claimed by Cristobal Colón (Christopher Columbus) in 1493 as part of the Kingdom of Spain.  Over four centuries, Puerto Rico endured a cultural and physical transformation, imposed by the Spaniards and influenced strongly in their country.  Then, in 1898, after “La Guerra Cubana-Hispanoamericana” (Spanish American War). Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris.  Finally in 1917, we were granted U.S. citizenship.

    Puerto Rico’s status is a quite complex one.  Puerto Rico is officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, we are an “Estado Libre Asociado” meaning literally that we are a Free Associated State to the United States.  That is our current political status, the political party that promotes this is the “Partido Popular Democrático” and they wish to remain as we are.  Still, there are two other political parties.  All of this causes enough confusion for us as is,  so although some people’s ignorance towards Puerto Rico bothers me, I also sympathize in a way, because sometimes, we Puerto Ricans do not know who we are. 

    Puerto Rico’s status is constantly changing.  Our current governor wishes to stay as we are, a commonwealth, but the one previous to him was part of the political party promoting statehood.  So even though we never got to the point of becoming a state, from 2009 to 2013, that was our country’s goal.  This creates even more confusion for us and makes us wonder who are we and who are we going to be, even who should we be.  

    Nevertheless, this fault in the U.S. educational system creates what one could say is an accidental ignorance.  From that a snowball effect is created.  By not teaching U.S. students an important part of their own history, their connection to Puerto Rico, it creates this said accidental ignorance.  This ignorance automatically marginalizes us because then we’re not seen by many as part of their own, because they don’t know we actually are.  We’re seen as foreigners, from a whole different country that in truth, is not much different from the U.S. besides the geographical aspect.  Many times, because of this, I am not recognized as a United States citizen, I am seen as an other and not only does all this make a lot of people from the U.S. believe we are different, but it makes us feel that way too.  It is not fair that so much of my education consists of learning U.S. history because it is part of who we are, but the U.S. educational system doesn’t do the same with Puerto Rico.  It is not fair for Puerto Ricans to feel marginalized, or even for their valid ID (which actually has the U.S. flag on it) to be denied at airports.  I know you, why don’t you know me?  That is the question that I can’t help but wonder about.

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     If you want to know more about Puerto Rico and its current status, John Oliver did a segment on his show, Last Week Tonight, that I think is very important for everybody to watch because not only does it involve Puerto Rico, but the U.S. too.  It's very amusing and entertaining yet very informative, plus Lin-Manuel Miranda raps at the end.