Are Puerto Ricans Americans?
By Dr. Michele C. Dávila
I can answer this question apparently very simply: yes and no. Sounds complicated? It is. Since the Jones Act of 1917, United States law dictates that all Puerto Ricans born on the island are American citizens. But after ninety three years, many people in the United States still don’t know this historical fact: that all Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are as American (U.S. citizens) as they are. Let me tell you a story. I lived in Colorado for five years while I was doing my doctorate studies. One day, in a cafeteria an older couple heard my husband and me speaking as we usually do, me in Spanish, him in Portuguese, and asked us where we were from. I answered we were from Puerto Rico and Brazil, respectively, and without batting an eye the man stated very proudly how glad he was that his country gave us asylum and that he hoped we were very happy in the United States. With a smile on my face I of course said yes, thank you (this happened before 9/11). And I know this is not an isolated case. Like this man, most Americans do not know that I am an American citizen by the laws of his own country, and mind you, I was born in New York City.
The political status of Puerto Rico is a big issue among Puerto Ricans, and nobody else seems to worry as much as we do about it. Puerto Rico is too far away, they speak Spanish and they are poor, is the consensus in this country. Meanwhile, in Latin America, Puerto Rico is perceived ambiguously. They think they speak a strange language that mixes Spanish with English, have a lot of money, and are too Americanized. Ironically, on the island of Puerto Rico Puerto Ricans believe that Puerto Ricans who were born or grew up on the mainland (the States) are too far away, poor, speak a strange language mixing Spanish with English, and are too Americanized.
The truth, as in most cases, is somewhere in the middle. Puerto Ricans on the island have a distinctive Hispanic culture; their “Americanization” seems to be very similar to the cultural Americanization that exists globally. There are rich and poor, just like everywhere else, have their own dialect as is the case in each Spanish-speaking country, with probably no more English expressions than in any other. Puerto Rican – Americans share similarities but also differences with their island counterparts, mainly in terms of language; but in terms of identification and love with Hispanic culture, they are still firm and strong.
The reality is that Puerto Ricans on the island, although they are American citizens, don’t get to vote for the president of the United States and have local elections for their own congress and follow their own constitution; they use the U.S. dollar as currency but don’t have the right to establish economic trade agreements with any other country; they learn English since kindergarten but speak Spanish in every other class at school, as well as everywhere else; they have their own judicial system but can appeal to the Federal court; and, finally, they can display their own flag in the Olympics, although they are not a sovereign nation.
So, in sum, in a country, Puerto Rico, that is not a nation-state, there is a people that are legally Americans (U.S. citizens) but who culturally are Hispanic, namely Puerto Rican.