DNA Lady
Sunday - The Fabulous New York Puerto Rican Day Parade
Food, fun, family - ah nostalgia! Music, dancing, singing but where did it all come from?
If you are from Puerto Rico here are some fun facts about your heritage. Genetic testing of someone from Puerto Rico might find descendants in Africa, Europe, South, Central and North America - possibly even the Middle East!
The primary ethnicity today of the island of Puerto Rico is considered Hispanic and Latin, that is, of or relating to Latin American descent especially Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican, South and Central America and other Spanish culture or origins regardless of race. Latin refers to the people of countries using Romance languages. Prior to the 15th century, the island was populated by the Taino and Arowak Indians, peaceful and clannish cultures, with enough agricultural knowledge to survive on local crops and fishing. Christopher Columbus re-discovered the beautifil island of Puerto Rico on his second trip financed by Isabela and Ferdinand of Spain and as the story goes enslaved the indigenous people. The Taino Indians believed the Spaniards were immortal and feared a revolt or uprising against them. It wasn't until the first decade of the 16th century that the Taino Indians unsuccessfully attempted a revolt against the Spaniards. Governor Ponce de Leon (so named by the Spaniards) ordered 6,000 shots - the surviving Taino or Arowak Indians either fled the island or took refuge in the mountains. Are you a descendent of an "jibaro" or more affectionately known as a "hillbilly"?
In November of 1511, the Spanish Crown granted Puerto Rico a beautiful Coat of Arms. If you are not able to view the crown here, go the http://welcome.topuertorico.org. The symbolism is clearly, Peace, Purity, Royalty and references to Christianity and St. John the Baptist.
Puerto Rican culture is somewhat complex. If culture is defined as a series of visual manifestations and interactions with the environment, then Puerto Rico has without a doubt several unique characteristics that distinquish its culture from any other. The Spaniards arrived on ships without an equal number of women. In order to populate the island, the Spaniard men took Indian women as "brides". The entire indigenous population was virtually decimated except for the very few who escaped to the mountains. Later, in order to maintain crops and to build roads, the Spaniards imported African slaves and Chinese immigrant workers followed by Italian, French from Louisiana and Haiti, German and even Lebanese. Farmers from Scotland and Ireland also migrated to Puerto Rico in search of a better life. Long after the Spaniards lost contol of the island, Spaniards continued to arrive along with American ex-patriates. In the mid 1900s Cubans fled Fidel Castro's communist state and then later on economically depressed Dominican Republicans arrived. This historic intermingling results in a contemporary Puerto Rico without racial problems (or close to none). So if your family says they are from Puerto Rico, you could have descendants anywhere in South, Central or Latin America as well as Europe, Asia and Africa. Genetic testing can help you determine your true identity and ancestry.
In the mid 1500s, the Spaniards started begin a written account of Taino oral folklore. Much referred to ghosts and demons and weather related calamity. Cayetano Coll y Toste published his literary classics in 1924 "Leyendas y Tradiciones Puertoriquenas". More research and discovery is needed on the original population of the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Did you know there are more "Puerto Ricans" living in New York City than in San Juan? The term "Nuyorican" is used to describe a Puerto Rican living in New York. A person of Puerto Rican descent considers himself/herself American but rarely calls himself/herself "Americano" and more often will use the term "PuertoRiquenos" or "Boricuas", which came from the Taino Indians name for their land "Boriken" or "Boriquen" which loosely translated means "land of the great lords".
If you are in New York on Sunday, June 13th, when you meet a Nuyorican - remember they are a warm, friendly and expressive mix of cultures from around the world. Greetings will be cordial and genuine. Have a Piraguas and embrace a Nuyorican - tell them the DNA Lady sent you!
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