Puerto Ricans (Mainland)

By Arlene Torres and John Beierle

Puerto Ricans, Hispanics, Latinos, PUERTORRIQUEÑOS, BORICUAS, NUYORICANS.

Puerto Ricans are descendants of people from the island of Puerto Rico located in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. They are a people whose homeland was acquired by the United States in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War. American citizenship was conferred upon the Puerto Rican people in 1917 by the Congressional Jones Act. The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines Puerto Ricans as part of a larger population of ethnic minorities designated as Hispanic. The term "Hispanic" is used to define anyone in the United States who has a Spanish surname or comes from a Spanish-speaking background. Many people of Latin American and Caribbean descent, including Puerto Ricans, do not readily identify with the term Hispanic and refer to themselves as Latinos or more specifically as part of the ethnic subgroup that reflects their historical experiences. Thus Puerto Ricans will often interchangeably use terms that reflect their relationship to the island, its history and its traditions as well as the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. Many Puerto Ricans identify themselves using the Spanish term PUERTORRIQUEÑOS. This is a literal translation of the term "Puerto Rican," and serves as a marker of linguistic and cultural affiliation. Similarly, the Spanish term BORICUA refers to the descendants of BORIQUÉN, the name given to the island of Puerto Rico by the Amerindians who once lived there. By defining themselves as BORICUAS, Puerto Ricans make the historical past an integral part of the present. Puerto Ricans who migrated from the island and settled in New York often define themselves and are defined by others as NUYORICANS. They constitute several generations of Puerto Ricans who are bilingual and bicultural. They are people who struggle to improve the quality of their lives as they celebrate their multiple identities and experiences.

The Puerto Rican people began to migrate in earnest following the 1898 when Spain ceded Puerto Rico and other territories to the U.S. at the end of the Spanish-American War. Thousands of Puerto Ricans workers migrated to Hawaii to work in the sugar industry between 1899 and 1901. These migrants were contract laborers who previously worked in the coffee industry on the island of Puerto Rico and became unemployed due to an economic crisis that resulted in the decline of coffee production there. Others traveled in smaller numbers to Cuba, the Dominican Republic and to the U.S. Southwest.

Migration to the continental United States increased during World War I. As of 1910 there were approximately 1,500 Puerto Ricans living in the U.S., however, by 1930 the Puerto Rican population living there had increased to 52,774. The majority of these migrants settled initially in the city of New York and formed various communities where they shared their daily life experiences with other Latin Americans and African Americans who resided there.

The migration of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland following World War II has been referred to as the "first great airborne migration." As of 1940, there were 70,000 Puerto Ricans living on the continental U.S. Throughout the 1950s the number of migrants increased. Nearly 45, 000 Puerto Ricans migrated from the island to the U.S. mainland annually. This represented the largest exodus of Puerto Ricans from their homeland throughout history. By 1970, Puerto Rican-born residents and their descendants living on the mainland totaled almost 1.5 million people. Throughout the 1970s there was a decline in the number of Puerto Ricans leaving the island. Only 16,500 people migrated annually from the Island. This decline was in part due to the growth in employment opportunities available there. In addition, approximately 333,000 Puerto Ricans returned to the Island. This downward trend was short-lived. By 1980, there were over two million Puerto Ricans living in the continental United States. The U.S. Bureau of the Census reported that in 1990, over 2.7 million Puerto Ricans resided in the U.S. mainland. By 2000, the Puerto Rican population in the continental U.S. increased to 3.4 million approaching the 3.6 million population figure for the island.

Many political and socioeconomic factors that contributed to the mass exodus of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland. Economic reasons, however, tend to be the principal ones. Throughout the initial stages of migration, Puerto Rican laborers left their homeland in search of employment opportunities. Among these early migrants there were also tailors, cigar makers, carpenters, and skilled artisans who contributed to a growing American economy. Early migrants also worked as contract laborers to produce goods such as ships and ammunition needed during World War I.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s Puerto Ricans were aggressively encouraged to migrate by the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments in greater numbers to the continental United States. The view held by development and modernization experts was that a manageable population size would enhance future prospects toward the modernization of Puerto Rico. In fact, World War II constituted one of the first modernizing experiences in Puerto Rican history and culture. Approximately 76,000 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. military during World War II. Many of these young veterans acquired skills that permitted them to enter the labor force and settle in the United States.

For some Puerto Ricans, the process of assimilation and transculturation is difficult and many suffer social dislocation as they struggle with discrimination, racism and sexism in various social contexts. Others are able to navigate the treacherous waters of assimilation in the continental United States and make transitions that permit them to negotiate their identities as bicultural and bilingual members of American society. And yet others opt to become totally assimilated and do not identify as Puerto Ricans, but as Hispanics or Americans. Family linkages, interpersonal relationships, and the celebration of cultural values and traditions influence processes of assimilation and transculturation.

Historically, Puerto Ricans who migrated in search of employment opportunities settled in major cities in the Northeast and Midwest. The largest proportion of Puerto Ricans settled in New York, particularly in neighborhoods where their kin or members of their hometown were located. Family and friends provided important linkages that helped newly arrived migrants find work, gain access to social services and become integral members of their new communities. As of 1980, 73.3 percent of the Puerto Rican population resided in the Northeast. The states with the largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in 1980 included New York, New Jersey and Illinois. However, Florida, Massachusetts, Texas and Connecticut experienced the greatest growth in the Puerto Rican population in the 1990s. A number of factors have influenced the settlement and dispersion of Puerto Ricans in the 1980s and 1990s. Many Puerto Ricans have moved to smaller cities due to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the urban enclaves with widespread crime is widespread and scarce employment opportunities. Puerto Ricans who currently migrate from the Island continue to settle in the city of New York and the surrounding boroughs but many are now settling in small cities as well. An extensive network of family members and friends informed prospective emigrants that opportunities in traditional areas of settlement are limited. In the 1990s cities like Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts in the Northeast have been experiencing a rapid growth in the Puerto Rican population. Another important shift is the movement and settlement of Puerto Ricans to cities in the southern part of U.S., particularly to Florida, Texas and California. An older population of Puerto Ricans that previously resided in the Northeast and Midwest is migrating out of these major urban centers and resettling in the southern states. A highly educated population of Puerto Ricans both from the U.S. mainland as well as from the island is settling in those states too where employment opportunities are more readily available.

As employment opportunities in the United States became available in the industrial Northeast and Midwest, Puerto Rican men and women joined the U.S. agricultural, manufacturing, and service industries as unskilled and semi-skilled laborers. For example, women who migrated occupied low paying semi-skilled jobs in New York's garment district. However, as manufacturing industries left the Northeast and Midwest in search of cheaper sources of labor abroad, many women joined the ranks of the unemployed. Younger women with limited skills became an integral part of the U.S. service industry as clerical workers and receptionists.

The period between 1960 and 1980 is referred to as "the revolving door migration," due to the constant flow of Puerto Ricans traveling to and from the island and the U.S. mainland in order to improve their socioeconomic well-being. Social and economic changes in major cities in the Northeast and Midwest have had an effect on patterns of migration, settlement and resettlement among of Puerto Ricans. These changes have also affected the well-being of the members of these communities. Puerto Ricans who are unable to find sustainable employment on the island or on the U.S. mainland often need to recur to social services to meet some of their basic socioeconomic needs. As impoverished, unemployed and underemployed individuals they must contend with limited housing, health care and other social services that further limit opportunities for educational, social and economic advancement. The young and the old are at highest risk. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the poverty rate of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. mainland in 1990 was 30.3 percent. While this represents a decline of 6.1 percent over the previous decade, these figures are alarming. Compared to the overall poverty rate in the nation of 13.2 percent, Puerto Ricans have one of the highest poverty rates among all ethnic and racial groups. Poverty rates among women are even greater. The rate of poverty among Puerto Rican female heads of households in 1990 was 31.9 percent as compared to 30.0 percent in 1980. This is representative of an overall increase in the rate of poverty among female-headed households nation-wide. The adverse effects upon the children living in these economically impoverished households and neighborhoods with inadequate social services must be considered. Many of the elderly who migrated in the 1940s and 50s and worked in the manufacturing industries must now rely solely on social security income to meet their socioeconomic needs. They often find themselves trapped in an urban milieu and in a society that has failed to ensure their well-being.

Despite many of the social and economic constraints Puerto Ricans must contend with as an ethnic group, they constitute a very diverse group of people. While there are highly educated professionals who are members of Americas middle class, most Puerto Ricans are among the working class in America who struggle to ensure that the basic needs of their family are met. Others, as previously mentioned are the working poor and the very poor. These individuals and families must rely on diminishing social welfare programs to help them meet their subsistence needs. There are several social indicators that reflect the socioeconomic diversity in the Puerto Rican population and the overall well-being of this ethnic group. These indicators include housing, health and educational attainment.

Access to a quality and advanced education is a critical indicator of an ethnic groups well-being and future prospects. In 1990, the Hispanic population had the lowest average level of education in the United States. Among Puerto Ricans, 25 years of age or older, 46.5 percent had less than high school education. Only 9.2 percent of the population in the aforementioned age group had obtained a college education. These figures raise serious concerns regarding the well-being of Puerto Ricans who are already adversely affected by a labor market that requires skilled and educated workers. There are policy makers, educators and community activists who are trying to revitalize many of the segregated schools Puerto Rican children attend. These schools often have inadequate resources where children are not provided the basic skills needed to obtain an advanced education in order to compete in the American workplace.

Due to limited financial resources and opportunities, many Puerto Rican families are not able to secure the funds needed to purchase a home. Puerto Ricans have the lowest rate of home ownership in the United States when as compared with ethnic majorities and even with other ethnic minorities.

Puerto Ricans place a great deal of value on the family. Extended kin networks are particularly important. Value is placed on the interaction between extended families members. Due to the high rates of marital separation and divorce, Puerto Rican families, particularly female-headed ones, are well aware of the fact that they must often rely on the support and assistance of extended family members to ensure their well-being. The elderly also form part of these extended family networks because they rely on their adult children for assistance and support. As grandparents they are also relied on to assist in child rearing. As a result of these factors, several generations of Puerto Ricans may reside in one household. Kin groups are composed of consanguineal and affinal relations. However, Puerto Ricans also incorporate other individuals who are not related to them by blood or marriage into their kin network. Children who are adopted are also accorded privileges and responsibilities as close kin. Compadres (co-parents), fictive kin can also be accorded rights and responsibilities as extended family members. Descent is bilateral and based on consanguineal kinship.

Distinctions are made between generations of kin. However, there are exceptions. For example, children who are reared by the their grandmother (ABUELA) may refer to her as their mother using the Spanish term (MAMÁ) and English term (mother) interchangeably. They will also refer to their biological mother in the same manner.

Legal marriage is considered an ideal among Puerto Ricans, however, consensual unions also occur. Puerto Ricans validate these consensual unions by according them rights and responsibilities as legally married persons. Among Puerto Ricans each individual is allowed to seek his or her own mate. However, family members will often intercede to ensure that the match is an appropriate one based on factors such as family lineage, class, and status.

The domestic unit is primarily composed of the nuclear family unit. Other domestic arrangements include female headed family units and extended family units. Male-female relations are part of a patriarchal complex where men are respected as providers for their families. Women are valued as wives and mothers who secure the well-being of their family. These ideals are reflected in daily practices where both men and women seek out employment opportunities and resources for their kin. However, as previously discussed, many of the social and economic constraints Puerto Ricans encounter on a day-to-day basis create tensions that negatively affect interpersonal relationships.

Mothers, grandmothers are other female kin are responsible for child rearing. Fathers and grandfathers are increasingly assuming these responsibilities as generations of women engage in work for wages outside of the home. Babies and pre-school age children are given a great deal of affection and leeway as they develop appropriate modes of behavior. Young children are expected to be respectful of their siblings, older kin and adult members of society. Appropriate modes of behavior are expressed and regulated within the framework of gender based networks. For example, girls are expected to learn appropriate female roles and responsibilities that encompass childcare and other domestic duties. As such, girls are generally restricted to participation in social activities with other females and close kin. By contrast, boys are not expected to meet the same kind of domestic obligations. They have more opportunities to socialize with other male kin and a broader network of friends beyond the confines of the home or the immediate neighborhood. These gender based networks impact language socialization. The ability to converse in Spanish is highly valued. As compared to their male counterparts, girls are more likely to be exposed to Spanish dominant networks. Boys have a greater exposure to English dominant networks due to their broader social network. However, birthplace, length of residence in Puerto Rico, frequency of trips to the island, the ethnic make-up of the neighborhood, and the day-to-day experiences of children impacts their language fluency in Spanish and English.

Greater restrictions regarding the mobility of girls beyond the confines of the home are generally linked to the onset of menarche. The age of fifteen marks an important cultural transition from childhood to young adult. Parties, QUINCEAÉRAS, are often held to make this transition among family and friends. Young girls, however, are adept in the exercise of strategies to expand their social network. Given the premium placed on education, as young women become involved with school-based activities they have opportunities to expand their social networks.

Children and young adults are expected to pursue a formal education. From the perspective of adults, children and young adults must acquire the necessary skills to defend themselves, SABER DEFENDERSE. They are expected to take responsibility for their socioeconomic well-being and that of their kin as educated and productive members of society.

There is variation in behavior between Puerto Ricans of different social classes. Among Puerto Ricans in general, extended kin and other relationships are based on mutual respect. The elderly for example are accorded respect and honored. Interpersonal relations between Puerto Ricans, however, are strengthened as individuals travel to and from the island. Important cultural ideas, traditions and practices are also reinforced. Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. mainland will often ask their kin traveling to and from the island to visit their relations on the island. Throughout these visits information about births, marriages, illnesses and deaths are exchanged. Social, political and economic events that affect the well-being of Puerto Ricans are also discussed. Within this context, prospective migrants on the island learn about possible employment opportunities and about new area of settlement. Many are prompted by their kin to migrate.

Puerto Ricans residing in the U.S. mainland often return to Puerto Rico for the holidays, or to participate in family rituals and community festivals. They often arrive bearing gifts for their kin. These gifts are often goods needed or desired by family members and are markers of an elevated social status because they reinforce the idea that the Puerto Rican migrant has achieved some measure of success in the continental United States. Gifts are also given out of respect and appreciation for the families that serve as hostesses throughout the return migrants visit. While many Puerto Ricans engage in gift giving, this practice is tempered by return migrants who have not experienced socioeconomic success in the mainland.

A host of national, state and local organizations and nonprofit agencies have been created by Puerto Ricans to serve the needs of their compatriots in communities throughout the United States. Some of these are advocacy groups that address public policy issues that affect the well-being of Puerto Ricans on the island and in the U.S. mainland. Other organizations not only address the ways in which public policies and practices affect Puerto Ricans, but also try to implement problems to solutions by seeking the support of the community at the local level. They are public policy and advocacy groups that seek to inform and empower Puerto Ricans. Some of the national organizations include the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, the National Puerto Rican Coalition; the National Puerto Rican Forum, and the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy. Institutions committed to the education and the development of the leadership potential in Puerto Rican and other Latino youths have played a critical role. For example, The Young Lords Party established in 1969 was instrumental in the development of breakfast programs, and physical exams for young school children in urban areas. The ASPIRA Association established in 1961, encourages Puerto Rican youth to complete their education and develop their intellectual potential. THE CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS PUERTORRIQUEÑOS, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies established in 1973 at Hunter College of the City University of New York, encourages the analysis of the Puerto Rican experience on the island and in the continental United States. Scholars and community advocates associated with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies and other programs located throughout the country are particularly interested in the development of new theories and practices that are indicative of the rapidly changing reality for Puerto Ricans. Other national organizations have established critical links with community groups and individuals at the local level. For example, The Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund works to Protect the civil rights of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos by working to ensure their equal protection under the law in education, employment, housing, health and welfare. The development throughout history of state and local organizations are too numerous to mention. However, they all have a common thread: these organizations emerged as a result of the collective struggle of individuals to combat injustice in their communities.

Informal mechanisms of social control occur as children and young adults have to negotiate the extent to which they socialize with others beyond a network of close kin. Girls and boys are expected to adhere to gendered , sexual and class norms. Behavior that is not consistent with these norms can be perceived as disrespectful in an ethnic community that places a premium on respectability. To behave in an undignified or disrespectful manner not only brings shame to the individual but to the family unit.

As part of the Spanish Conquest, the people of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean were introduced and forced to convert to Roman Catholicism. This legacy exists into the present. The majority of people of Puerto Rican descent are Catholic and generally adhere to the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. Within recent decades, other religions have come to play a prominent role. Evangelical Protestantism for example, has increased particularly among the working poor and socioeconomically disadvantaged. For generations, Puerto Ricans have also engaged in religious practices that incorporate SANTERÍA and ESPIRITISMO.

Practitioners of SANTERÍA integrate aspects of Catholicism and West African religions. SANTERÍA, a syncretic and highly dynamic religion is rooted in the beliefs and practices of Africans brought to the Americas to work as slaves during the Spanish Conquest. ESPIRITISMO is rooted in Catholicism and the religious teachings of Alan Kardec Practitioners of ESPIRITISMO believe that spirits are able to intervene in the world of the living and can impart good and evil with the assistance of mediums. These religious practitioners engage in rituals where they call upon the spirit world to help them cure illnesses and secure the well-being of an individual with the use of herbs and physical remedies. They can also cause harm by engaging in similar kinds of rituals.

Puerto Ricans participate in varied ceremonial events to mark salient events in the life cycle such as birth, marriage, and death. Among those who practice Catholicism, the sacraments of baptism, communion, confirmation, and marriage are not only rituals, they are occasions when family and friends gather to share a meal and celebrate an individual's participation in these rites of passage. Puerto Ricans also place high premium on educational attainment. Family gatherings also mark these accomplishments.

Puerto Rican communities throughout the United States celebrate their ethnic heritage on a yearly basis by holding Puerto Rican Day Parades and or community festivals.

Puerto Rican artists, artisans, dramatists, and writers have creatively struggled against the injustices they have experienced as an ethnic group throughout the history of Puerto Rico-U.S. relations. They have also sought avenues to celebrate the richness of their cultural heritage and their experiences in the U.S. mainland as generations of Puerto Ricans have become part of the American cultural landscape. For example, Puerto Ricans in New York, established the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and the MUSEO DEL BARRIO where many gifted and talented Puerto Ricans honed their skills and went on to become nationally and internationally known figures in the arts. These community-based artistic centers also served to inform and educate the Puerto Rican community and the society at-large regarding the richness and diversity in Puerto Rican culture. Poets, short-story writers and novelists who are the sons and daughters of post-World War II emigrants constitute a critical generation of writers. They have eloquently expressed the feelings and sentiments, the rage of many Puerto Ricans who migrated from the island and experienced abject poverty in a society that discriminated against them and defined them as minorities, as second class citizens. These writers are political activists whose work challenges Americans and others to critically think about and engage in activities to combat racism, sexism and socioeconomic inequalities. Subsequent generations of Puerto Rican writers continue this legacy and write about the contemporary experiences of Puerto Ricans in an urban setting. Others write of the migration, settlement, and return migration of their kin by weaving together life histories and stories that elucidate the wide range of experiences among Puerto Ricans in the continental U.S. and on the island. By doing so they reveal the rich texture of Puerto Rican culture. A cadre of internally known musicians have infused the musical landscape with Afro-Latin rhythms. Latin jazz, SALSA, Latin rap are key components of musical performances throughout the world. The American visual landscape has also been transformed by generations of young Puerto Ricans who express themselves by appropriating empty spaces in an urban milieu. They spread graffiti and produce art as they creatively engage and transform the outer walls of dilapidated buildings and other structures to make their presence felt. Others are appropriating the geographical landscape and transforming it by creating little houses, CASITAS, constructed in the form of traditional Puerto Rican wooden structures. In New York these houses are emblematic of the experiences of many Puerto Ricans throughout the history of their migration to, settlement, and resettlement in the U.S. mainland in the face of changing social and economic conditions. They are works of art and markers of the cultural resilience and tenuous position of Puerto Rican people in the continental United States.

Access to health care and information is particularly problematic among working poor and poor Puerto Ricans. The lack of health care practitioners in neighborhoods where Puerto Ricans are located negatively impacts the well-being of the population. The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES) reported Puerto Ricans are more likely than any other Hispanic group to suffer from diabetes, heart problems and chronic bronchitis. The AIDS epidemic has disproportionately affected the Puerto Rican population as well.

Death is marked by the gathering of family and friends by a wake, a religious ceremony, depending upon the religious affiliation of the deceased, and a burial. Deceased relatives will often be transported to Puerto Rico for burial, if it is in keeping with the wishes of the deceased relative. Family members that have the economic means to do so will more often than not make arrangements to bury their dead with their deceased ancestors on the island.

Documents referred to in this section are included in the eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.

The Puerto Ricans (Mainland) file consists of 49 English language documents, focused primarily on the Puerto Rican population of New York City from approximately the mid nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Although there is no single comprehensive work to cover all of the mainland Puerto Ricans, a brief overview dealing primarily with demographics, household income, economic gains, and poverty levels will be found in Rivera-Batiz (1996, no. 49). For a broad general coverage of the Puerto Rican population in New York City, see Rodríguez (c. 1991, no. 1), Fitzpatrick (1987, no. 2), Sánchez Korrol (1983, no. 3), Chenault (1938, no. 4), and Padilla (1958, no. 6). These documents cover the time period from 1900 - mid 1950s. Ethnographic themes dealing with migration, education, politics and political behavior, bilingualism, social problems, prejudice, labor and labor relation, socio-cultural change, assimilation, and religion appear in varying degrees in nearly all the works in this file. In addition there are certain topics given particular attention in this file, these being: spiritism in Harwood (1987, no. 8), Figueroa (1982, no. 23), Garrison (1977, no. 44); the drug culture in East Harlem, New York City, in Bourgois (1996, 1995, nos. 39 and 40); indigenous urban renewal projects in Sciorra (1996, nos. 52 and 53); social movements dealing primarily with environmental problems, and new uses of solar and wind energy, in Chodorkoff (1980, no. 25); and women's roles in the garment industry in Benmayor (1988, no. 37), Ortiz (1996, no. 47), and Vazquez Erazo (1988, nos. 58 and 60).

Where general information is presented on social and economic conditions on the island of Puerto Rico as a background for an understanding of mainland Puerto Rican ethnography, this information will appear in the NK05 Puerto Ricans (Mainland) file in the Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) category 170.

For more detailed information on the content of the individual works in this file, see the abstracts in the citations preceding earch document.

The culture summary was written by Arlene Torres in September 2001. The synopsis and indexing notes were written by John Beierle in September 2001.

• alternative technology -- category 371

• alternative technology movements -- category 318 and other relevant categories

• ASPIRA -- an organization to promote education among Puerto Ricans -- categories 814, 871

• ATAQUES (or ATAQUE DE NERVIOS) -- "the Puerto Rican Syndrome"; an expression of intense grief or anger in which a woman screams, falls to the floor, shakes, etc.; a form of induced hysteria sometimes attributed to spirits -- categories 786, 158, 787

• BODEGAS (COLMADOS) -- grocery stores -- categories 444, 443; as structures , 347

• BOLITEROS -- numbers game operators -- categories 525, 554

• CAUSA -- a disembodied spirit that molests the living -- category 776

• CENTROS -- spiritist "churches" -- category 794

• CHARAS -- a group involved in vacant lot reclamation -- category 318

• code-switching--category 191

• COLONIA -- an urban nucleus marked by dense settlements -- category 361

• consensual unions -- categories 583, 588

• CUANDO -- Cultural Understanding and Neighborhood Development Organization; a youth run organization which sponsors a variety of cultural and education programs involved in passive solar heat in New York City, as well as windowbox greenhouses, and solar cold frames for gardening -- category 318

• DESFILE -- parades -- category 541

• EL BLOQUE--a city block--category 621

• EL PROGRAMA ROBERTO CLEMENTE -- a service organization offering employment and housing opportunities to Puerto Ricans -- category 747

• eleventh street movement -- a block association made up of tenant co-operatives involved in renovation of abandoned tenements -- categories 318, 362

• environmental movements -- categories 318, 362, 369 (plus other relevant categories)

• ESPIRITISTA -- see spiritist

• FAMILIA UNIDA -- an extended family that acknowledges belonging to a "great" family -- category 596

• LA BOLITA -- the numbers game -- category 525

• LIGA PUERTORRIQUENA E HISPANA -- category 575

• LIMPIEZA -- spiritual clean-up -- category 783

• MEND -- Massive Economic Neighborhood Development Program -- category 179 (sometimes 657 as well)

• model city program (as related to Puerto Ricans) -- categories 657, 369

• mutual aid societies -- category 456

• Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico -- categories 657, 647

• Puerto Rican Brotherhood of America -- category 575

• Puerto Rican Community Development Project -- category 179

• Puerto Rican Family Institute -- category 747

• Puerto Rican Forum -- category 814

• relations between mainland and island communities -- category 619

• REUNION -- a ceremony or ritual done at a CENTRO -- category 755

• SANTIGUADORES -- specialists in setting bones and in curing a form of indigestion called EMPACHO -- categories 756, 759

• spanglish (Nayorican) -- a form of pidgin English-Spanish -- category 198

• spiritism -- as a system of religious beliefs -- category 771

• spiritist (or spiritualist) -- a practitioner who believes in mediumistic communication and the removal of harmful spiritual influences through the intervention of mediums -- categories 756, 791

• tenant's cooperatives -- categories 476, 362

• the New Deal -- categories 179, 185

• TRABAJITO -- a spell or ritual -- categories 754, 789

Acosta-Belén-Edna, Margarita Benítez, José E. Cruz, et. al. "Adiós, Borinquen querida": La diáspora puertorriqueña su historia y sus aportaciones. Albany: Center of Latino, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (CELAC) at the StateUniversity of New York at Albany, 2000.

Glasser, R. "Towards a Historiography of Puerto Ricans Outside of New York." Centro Journal of the Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños VII(1):50-59. 1995.

Peréz, Sonia M. Moving Up the Economic Ladder: Latino Workers and the Nation's Future Prosperity. Washington, D.C.:National Council of La Raza, 1999.

Rivera-Batiz, F., and Santiago, C. Puerto Ricans in the United States: A Changing Reality. Washington, D.C.: The National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc., 1995.

Rodríguez, C. E. Puerto Ricans: Born in the U.S.A. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman, Inc., 1989.

Rodríguez, C. E. and V. Sánchez-Korrol eds. Historical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Survival in the United States. Princeton, N.J.: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996.

Sánchez-Korrol, V. From Colonia to Community: The History of Puerto Ricans in New York City 1917-1948. Wesport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983.

Scarano, F. A. Puerto Rico: Cinco Siglos de Historia. Mexico: McGraw-Hill, Interamericana, S.A., 1993 .

Wagenheim, K. A Survey of Puerto Ricans on the U.S. Mainland in the 1970s. New York, N.Y.: Praeger Publishers, 1975.

Zentella, A. (1997). Growing Up Bilingual Puerto Rican Children in New York MA:Blackwell, 1997.