The sugar cane industry dominated the Puerto Rican
economy for the longest time between the 1930s and the
1960s. Puerto Rico had sugar processing plants in
practically every other town. Yes, they were sweet
The Puerto Rico
to suppress the independence movement in Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico
in 1948, it became illegal to sing the national anthem "La
Borinqueña" or display of the Puerto Rican flag in public (Gag Law)
with a penalty of 10 yrs. in prison. The Law was repealed in 1957.
The new flag, which consisted of five equal horizontal
bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; a blue
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large,
white, five-pointed star in the center, was first flown in
Puerto Rico on March 24, 1897, during the "Yauco"
How to Read and
Understand The Bible
These guidelines are designed for a better understanding of
the Bible. You should know the Bible verses by heart and must
have sound “hermeneutics” or a correct interpretation for
each one of them. This is imperative to avoid a chain
reaction of biblical heresy that will be passed on and on.
Incidentally, that's how para-religious groups and cults are
born: a misinterpreted Bible truth is taught and passed on.
Each time, like a snowball, it gets bigger and bigger,
collecting a variation as it gets passed on. In this fashion
a term like "gospel" may end up meaning Country and Western
music. So, to get a correct interpretation, three valuable
key concepts must be taken into consideration:
The Importance of Garlic
By Don Jíbaro Orlando
When I was a ten year old child in Puerto Rico sometimes I’d
eat dinner at my friend’s house next door, if I happened to
be there at dinner time. My friend’s mother cooked the most
delicious “arroz y habichuelas colorás” that I had ever
tasted. Yummee! That lady could cook! Her rice and beans
needed no meat! When I asked her how did
she cooked such
tasty beans and if I could learn to cook like that, she said
her secret was “culantro y ajo” (coriander and garlic) but
the main ingredient was garlic.
I was turned on to the marvelous world of Garlic by a
passage in the Bible where the Hebrews don’t want to
follow Moses anymore after he has given them the Ten
Commandments. Instead, they want to go back to Egypt
where, as slaves, they were kept strong for making
bricks for the Pharaoh's pyramids with a diet of GARLIC!
Recently, man harassed a woman wearing a Puerto Rico
shirt because she "should not be wearing that in the
United States of America". These are ignorant bullies
that harass the innocent, especially women. Had it been
a 6' 4" Boricua Mulatto full of muscle wearing that
Puerto Rican t-shirt, it would have been a different
Incredible Uncle Genaro
When the weather was hot and humid in Bayamón, my blind
Uncle Genaro used to say... "¡Que caló, mi amo, que caló...
pero no ej el caló, ej el vapó!".
YES! My uncle was an exceptional man...
Everyone has an uncle or member of the extended family
that stands out from the rest. Whether it’s the
“barrigón” bachelor uncle who drinks a lot of beer or
the church going purist aunt who doesn’t shave her legs,
we all have one. Well, I have one, too! And if you allow
me say it, my uncle Genaro was very special.
HIS STORY HERE
The Puerto Rican Black Eye
Don Jíbaro Orlando
The Black Eye Syndrome is
simple. Let's say you have an uncle who's in jail for
burglary, that's a "black eye" to the family. You have a
sister who wears red and works the street corners...
that's a "black eye" to the family. If any of the above
is caught on TV Radio or Newspapers... that's a BIG
"black eye" to the family and they're on Facebook or
Twitter, that's a HUGE "black eye".
So,,, whenever someone in a community does something
wrong or illegal, it reflects on the rest of the
community. Furthermore, whenever a Puerto Rican does
something wrong, the stereotype will impute the blame on
the rest of the Puerto Ricans.
READ MORE EYE
Heart of Unbelief
I was a kid our neighbor gave a party and invited the whole
barrio (hood). Once at his house, I noticed my friend Chebo
was outside by the window, peeking in.
"Come on in, Chebo" I said.
But he said: "No, I wasn't invited."
I replied: "But, the whole neighborhood was invited, come
But Chebo insisted: "No, I wasn't invited." So he stayed
Chebo's heart was hardened by the deceitfulness of his own
heart and unbelief. He lived a life of jealousy, envy and bitter remorse
because he didn't always get what he wanted, but hated those
"See to it that none of you has a wicked
heart of unbelief
that turns away from
a living God." —Hebrews 3:12
Because of the failure in the enforcement of laws people
are doing whatever they want, rather that what they
should. They fail to follow the instruction of police
officers when stopped for a simple traffic violation.
They run when nobody is chasing them... Such lawlessness
will backfire and prompt the government to say: "THAT'S
IT! --- No more freedom." This will lead to them tightening the grip they already have on the
citizens leading us to a totalitarian degraded world
where you will have a microchip embedded in your wrist
in order to be able to buy, sell or go about your
business. So obey the local laws of the land... It's for
your own good!
You can tell that the hut was hand made, with materials
found all around. Those were simple days. They didn't
have much for what they had was enough... and an oil
drum full of water.
Puerto Rican Identity: To Be or Not To Be
by Don Jíbaro
The Cultural Quest for Identity is an incredible phenomenon.
It has been the theme of countless works of science, art and
literature. One's personal identity can be manifested in any part of the world. All you need is behavior. You are who you are no matter where you stand. We are Boricuas when we behave like Boricuas;
otherwise we're John Does. Some live at home and some live abroad. Some
behave, some don't... but, what makes one a Boricua?
The answer to that question is so deep that I'd need to write a book to convey the many aspects of the human character that makes us who we are. Suffice it to say that the right to be Boricua
can't be imputed by others nor monopolized by those how feel they
have studied more or display more of the traits that would
characterize a Puerto Rican.
How Pedro Albizu Campos
Got a Bad Deal
(September 12, 1891 – April 21, 1965)
a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading figure in the Puerto
Rican independence movement. Gifted in languages, he spoke six; graduating from
Harvard Law School with the highest grade point average in his law class, an
achievement that earned him the right to give the valedictorian speech at his
However, hostility towards his mixed racial heritage would lead to his professors
delaying two of his final exams in order to keep him from graduating
on time. During his time at Harvard University he became involved in the Irish
struggle for independence.
Ponce Massacre of 1937
...was a police slaughtering over a peaceful civilian march, taking place in 21
March 1937 at 3:15 pm, in Palm Sunday, Ponce, Puerto Rico, that killed 19 people
and wounded over 200 others. It is the largest massacre in Puerto Rican history.
The march had been organized by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party to
commemorate the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish
National Assembly in 1873. The march was also protesting the U.S. government's
imprisonment of the party's leader, Pedro Albizu Campos, on alleged sedition
The Religions of the World
man falls into a hole and realizing he can't get out
desperately calls out for help. He hears someone walking
BUDDAH --- "Use the precious human life and the
intelligence and mind that you now possess for the
understanding that because you create your own
suffering, you can also create your own true liberation
and a way to get out of the hole." He then walks away...
SHIVA-VISHNU --- "There is one God who manifests
in the form you choose and he is also within you now! So
choose the form wherewith God shall deliver you from
that hole." He then walks away...
ISLAM --- "Total submission to Allah as ordained
in Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad Sallam's
ISLAM... Once you have attained such favor and killed
some infidels Allah might help you out of the hole." He
then walks away...
JESUS --- "Give me your hand so I can pull you
Racial profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a
person of a certain race on the basis of observed
characteristics or behavior, rather than on individual
suspicion. More commonly in the United States, racial
profiling is referred to regarding its use by law
enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, and
its use leading to discrimination against people in the
African American, Native American, Asian, Latino, Arab,
and Muslim communities of the U.S. In European
countries, the term "ethnic profiling" is also used
instead of racial profiling.
One of the main reasons we have racial profiling in the
inner city is not just the color of the skin as it is
the continuity of offenses done by those ethnic groups
in the past. If you’re hispanic and you spit on the
church floor, then all hispanics are now church floor
spitters. So, you must live in a way that we don’t get
blamed for what you do.
Has a Problem
It's true, even before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had a big
problem. Whatever USA thought about overseeing the problem
it stayed at just observing the mess and hold their chins.
We can agree that the problem lies in lack of Puerto
Rican leadership and that maybe the reason why it PR
can't get any help from the USA.
They think the island has failed and the
governor has a giant stack of money somewhere in some secret
bank while asking The Feds for $100 billion to fix the
READ MORE HERE
My father (RIP) used to say "The birds are now shooting
at the hunters", when he heard of some jail man suing
the victim of his crime. The legal system has become so
scary that the best thing to do is to stay AWAY from
everybody's way, lest you be sued for spitting on the
sidewalk... YIKES !!!
Protests are now so common that people will go and
picket for anything: cloth napkins, more sleep, etc. But
many don't have a purpose, no leadership or solutions.
They just want to COMPLAIN. Why? Because it's their
right and they must exercise it. "We Demand!" ...and the
Gov't sez: "Not now, children."
A glimmer of hope... The strength that comes to you when
you know you have to move on forward, beyond your
inabilities and obstacles, towards that prize of
satisfaction of a job well done.
Our lives are determined by our choices. We must
then, choose wisely. Wisdom comes from knowing how to use
the information and experiences for our own good, Most
people are not wise. The Scriptures offer wisdom by giving
us advice and telling us about how fools make the same
mistakes over and over (ex: Book of Proverbs, Psalms,etc).
Folks don't want to be told what to do or how to do it. They
repeat their mistakes. I choose to give encouragement and
motivate my friends towards a better life. We all can use
that kind of friendship. Most people appreciate and respect
me. That's encouraging. Someone who's there that makes you
feel comfortable telling them your problems, listening to
The world is not going to change to my liking, so I HAVE TO
LEARN TO LIVE IN IT... with all the idiots and crazies...
and wise men (if you can find them). My wife and my children
are happy and successful because we have always make time
There's no greater love that a man laying down his life for
a friend. I want friends like that, and when you find them
TREASURE them, because they are rare!!!
Birth of Fake News
Don Jíbaro Orlando
In the 1960s Jimi Hendrix wrote a song about
extraterrestrials visiting Earth... He quipped: "Thank you.
As you well know, you just can't believe everything you see
and hear, can you?" So today, we hear and see about wars, rumors of wars,
people dying, discoveries and a myriad of news. The term
"fake news" or "alternative news" comes to mind. It's
everywhere and we have to do a bit of research before we bet
our lives on them.
News is a big business and news people must have
something to say in order to sell information. Some news
sources have opted to fabricate news in order to sell
sensationalism. Sometimes you read about some celebrity that
"bought a new rug" !!! Time Magazine recently twitted an
article about what some famous people eat or breakfast
Let's live, therefore, to lift up the reputation of our
culture through GOOD works... The culture that others sadly
continue to defile. It's up to US to thrive and bring back
the Honor and Respect. Think about it. HONOR and RESPECT.
Dear Don Jibaro,
Why is it that there are some Boricuas that think they are
white even though 94% of us are mulatto, trigueño, negro, or taino. I know we are a mixture of 3 races (African, Taino,
and Spaniard). Many Boricuas are ignorant of their roots.
What do you think?
—Thanks, Jesse Ramos
WELL... White is erroneously equated with "better", and I
noticed that you've anglicized your name which is probably
Anyway, my mother (RIP), who was from Corozal, PR was blond,
had green eyes and had no idea what a white person is, as
opposed to a brown or black, et al. It's all in the
upbringing. If your father told you that you can go
"through" walls, you're gonna end up with a lot of bumps on
your forehead and a broken nose many times over (unless you
get the hint) You are what you are, and what you are is
based on how much you know about your roots, more than your
upbringing... I wrote an article on Puerto Rican Identity
that will shed some light on this dark matter. (pun
READ ARTICLE HERE
by Tony Alicea
PLEASE allow me to tell you an old anecdote that I
wrote years ago about dreams... I have always been able to
fly like Superman in my dreams, possibly because as a kid I
was a devoted Superman comics fan.
Last night, after the usual discussion as to how these dudes
and dudettes did not exist except as chemical reactions in
my brain, suddenly I said "but wait! I can prove it!". It
had not occurred to me in previous dreams...
Worst Hurricane to Hit Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Never before was the Island hit as
hard as this... Two days after Hurricane Maria
flattened this island of 3.5 million people, knocking out
all its power and much of its water, the rebuilding of the
services and structures needed for people to resume some
semblance of ordinary life was lookingmore complicated by
See more pictures
Chulerías ASCII (ext. chars.)
HOLD ALT and enter codes in the number pad right of
keyboard, then release ALT (sorry, it only works with the number pad)
Á = 0193
É = 144
Í = 0205
Ó = 0211
Ú = 0218
|á = 160
é = 130
í = 161
ó = 162
ú = 163
|ü = 0252
ñ = 164
Ñ = 165
¢ = 155
¿ = 168
|¡ = 173
½ = 171
¼ = 172
¾ = 0190
– = 0150
° = 248
• = 249
÷ = 0247
¢ = 0162
|© = 0169
‘ = 0145
’ = 0146
“ = 0148
” = 0147
“Live in such a way that no one blames the
rest of us
nor finds fault with our work.” —(2 Corinthians 6:3)
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