Family TreeEDF- 2085, INTRODUCTION TO DIVERSITY FOR EDUCATION. MARCH 30,2012

TOP PHOTO IS A FAMILY CRUISE IN JULY 2011. THE OTHER IS GIRLS ONLY FAMILY CRUISE IN FEBRUARY 2010. THEY BOTH SYMBOLIZE HOW MY FAMILY TRIES TO FIND TIME TO SPEND TOGETHER. IT IS GETTING HARDER TO GET TOGETHER ON A REGULAR BASIS , SO WE HAVE DECIDED TO TRY AND VACATION TOGETHER. IT IS OUR WAY TO SPEND QUALITY TIME TOGETHER.

My family in from San Juan, PR. In the 1940’s my grandparents moved to New York, NY (Spanish Harlem). They did go back and forth but most of my family lived and grew up in Bronx, NY. We now mostly live in Florida.

How it All Began

My grandparents had seven children. Their children had a total of sixteen children. My generation has a total of twenty-seven. The next generation has begun with two more additions. Most of us are in Florida with two arriving just two weeks ago. There are only six that still reside in Puerto Rico.

Attempting to Reunite

SOME OF US SURPRISE

As a surprise in January of 2004 I attempted to get as many family members as possible to celebrate my grandfathers 82nd birthday. Not everyone was able to make it but those of us who did enjoyed the precious time we spent together celebrating. It is a day he said he would never forget because he never had a birthday party. We did not think he would be around much longer but he really has surprised us and eight years later he is still around. He has outlived my grandmother whom we all miss greatly and three of his children. This year we will begin plans to have a family reunion and are hopeful that we will have everyone and that he will be celebrating with us.

Coming to America

A LITTLE HISTORY OUR FLAGS

Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States in 1898 due to the Spanish-American War and Puerto Ricans became US citizens in 1917. The people of Puerto Rico have chosen to not become a state of the United States.

My grandparents moved to New York in the 1940’s. They did this to have a better life for themselves and their children. Life was a lot better in NY then in PR at the time. Puerto Rico has a lot of mountains and was hard to travel. New York was booming in the 40’s economically had had a lot more opportunity. Work was easier to find and it was easier to get around. My grandparents loved NY but in the 60’s decided to move back to PR because NY was beginning to see lots of drugs. It was hard on my aunts and uncles because after living in NY all their lives moving to PR where they had to use outhouses and could not get around as easily as they were used to was quite a shock. Eventually everyone migrated back to New York and settled in the Bronx where I was born. After living most of my life in NY I followed my mother to Florida in the 90’s where most of my family is now living.

Top picture- NEW YORK 1940’s

Bottom picture- Puerto Rico 1940’s. Redone in color.

Cultural Norms and Values

We love to party and do not need an excuse to throw one.

Music like with most any other culture is very important to us. Salsa is the music of choice for PR . We not only love to listen but to also dance to Salsa music.

It is normal for us to care for our parents and/or grandparents in their old age.

The thing we value the most is our families. We fight hard but never stop loving.

We also value where we are from and very proud. Some people think we get offended when we are mistaken for another Hispanic culture but we are all just extremely proud of our island.

My Family Traditions and Customs

Traditions that my family has are for holiday and birthdays. Mostly it includes my immediate family members. For the Christmas holiday we all get together at my sister’s house for Christmas breakfast/brunch and gift exchange. This is followed by dinner at my mothers house. Where we have the traditional foods of rice and peas, roast pork, pasteles and salad. We never forget our spanish desserts of flan and arroz con dulce (candies rice). All other holiday consist of mostly the same foods except for the meat portions. For birthdays we all get a cake and dinner of our choice, usually made by my mom.

PASSING IT DOWN

Food is a big part of my family getting together and I hope that what my daughters see today the will continue when they have families.

Family is very important and time spent together needs to be more then weddings and funerals.

That is something we as a family are trying to do and it seems to be working. I am hopeful that we will continue to find ways to spend quality time with the entire family.