Differences Between Island and Mainland Puerto Ricans

Differences Between Island and Mainland Puerto Ricans

As many immigrants arrive in the United States of America and begin to call it “home”, comparisons between such immigrants are certainly inevitable. In particular, the U.S. Hispanic population gives more room for such comparisons since their cultures and traditions are very similar. Most of their similarities stem from a common Spanish heritage. However, there is a lot more to being Hispanic than just speaking Spanish or eating rice and beans. What most people do not understand is that there are also many differences amongst Hispanics and that, most of all, there are many differences between people born and raised in Hispanic countries and people born and raised in the United States who share a common Hispanic heritage.

For example, such differences are particularly seen between Puerto Ricans born in the island (island Puerto Ricans) and Puerto Ricans born and raised in the United States (mainland Puerto Ricans). Thinking of such differences might lead one to think of the ways in which island and mainland Puerto Ricans differ in the way that they identify their race and how their self-identification leads to vast differences in the way that they experience their lives. Nancy Morris indicates in Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity that differences between island and mainland Puerto Ricans should be considered under the umbrella of existing differences between the definitions of a nation and an ethnic group:

The importance of a perceived common descent to the self-definition of some groups as nations requires a differentiation between nation and ethnic group. [. . .] A common distinction made between the two is that the term ‘nation’ carries the connotation o...

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...ts and by joining forces with other ethnic minorities in the U.S. On the other hand, island Puerto Ricans are shaping their heritage by embracing their Hispanic, African, and Indian roots. They continue to do so despite U.S. influence on the island and many other factors that represent a threat to Puerto Rican culture. Thus, island and mainland Puerto Ricans are shaping their identity by creating new venues in which they can preserve their heritage while carving their own place within American society.

Works Cited

Duany, Jorge. The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island and in the

United States. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Flores, Juan. Divided Borders: Essays on Puerto Rican Identity. Houston: Arte Público,

1993.

Morris, Nancy. Puerto Rico: Culture, Politics, and Identity. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995.