Puerto Rico Takes Flight

Torres, Julie

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/99819 Copy

Description

Title

Puerto Rico Takes Flight

Author(s)

Torres, Julie

Issue Date

2018-04

Keyword(s)

Anthropology

Abstract

"We gathered in the parking lot of an abandoned K-mart. Several community organizations had come together to take part in the caravana, traditionally a method of campaigning in Puerto Rico that involves a parade of vehicles. But today, we bore signs demanding federal officials to take action for the hurricane-torn island of Puerto Rico, leveraging the political power of our vote. This was Orlando. An Orlando transformed by recent events like Hurricane Maria and the ongoing fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico, which have brought record numbers of Puerto Ricans to Central Florida. The picture is at once a reminder of the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States and a snapshot of a growing resistance. My ethnographic research explores this burgeoning activist community, foregrounding the socio-economic and political conditions in Puerto Rico that have led to their mobilization. Like the cry heard across the island and the flag that has sprouted wings on the shirt of the man in the photo, Puerto Rico not only “se levanta"" (rises up), but it also takes flight, symbolizing a movement of both people and cause."

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/99819

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2018 Julie Torres

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