Puerto Ricans have helped build this great country for the past hundreds of years. They are as much a part of American history as any ethnic group, minority, or majority. In this latest in a 4-part series on the history of Puerto Ricans in the United States and New York City, we examine the rich, distinguished, and revered traditional culture of the Puerto Rican people as it has adapted over the centuries. years.
Family life, cooking and religion
The Puerto Rican people embrace their family traditions and customs, passing them down from generation to generation, although as young people increasingly delve into American culture, these traditions and many others seem to slowly fade away. In the celebration of holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Puerto Rico Day, lies the moment when Puerto Rican families come together with so much love and warmth. Puerto Ricans are famous for throwing large, elaborate parties filled with music and dancing to celebrate special events. They sing, dance and eat traditional foods.
Many Puerto Rican dishes are seasoned with a savory blend of spices known as sofrito. It is prepared by grinding fresh garlic, seasoned salt, green peppers, cilantro, oregano, and onions in a pylon, a wooden container similar to a mortar and pestle. and then sauté the mixture in hot olive oil. This serves as the spice base for many soups and other dishes. The asopao, which is a stew made with vegetables, rice and meat or fish, is extremely delicious. A typical meal would usually consist of a heaping pile of rice served with gandules (pigeons), chickpeas, red, white, or pink beans. Sometimes fried pork chops, fried chicken or a favorite, biftec encebollado (thinly sliced pieces of beef sautéed with onion) can also be added. Of course, no traditional meal is complete until tostones (dried fried plantains seasoned with salt) or amarillos (sweet fried plantains) are served with the finishing touch of a salad. Puerto Rican cuisine has a wide variety of styles and flavors, including “El Mofongo.” This popular item is a mashed plantain served with fish or meat inside. I usually add crumbled fried bacon with onion and garlic sautéed in the bacon grease with a little salt and pepper. Then there are the “empanadillas” (dough stuffed with seasoned meat, seafood, or ham and cheese). Sorullitos de maíz (fried sticks of ground corn) are also a favorite in Puerto Rican cuisine. No meal is complete without a delicious dessert, such as “flan” (egg flan) or arroz con dulce, finished off with a steaming cup of coffee served with boiled milk and sugar to taste.
Most of the Puerto Ricans living in Spanish Harlem were Roman Catholic, although there were some who practiced “Santeria.” This is “a mixture of Catholicism and the religion of the Yoruba people who were brought to the Caribbean as slaves”. (J. Tolles) Churches attended included St. Francis De Sales Roman Catholic Church at 135 East 96th St., St. Cecilia located in the heart of El Barrio at 220 East 106th Street, Methodist Episcopal Church at 1664 Madison Avenue, and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, 77 St. Nicholas Avenue.
The only custom that is very significant to the Puerto Rican community occurs when parents and grandparents bless their children with “La Bendición.” In addition, rosaries, busts of La Virgen (the Virgin Mary) and other religious icons have a prominent place in the home. In their determination to excel, Puerto Ricans and their descendants no longer wish to remain at the bottom of the economic ladder in the United States, but have instead worked to better themselves. This strength of character and pursuit of a higher education has led to a new role as leading and productive citizens in American society. Today many Puerto Ricans are successful businessmen, political figures, doctors, nurses, actors and actresses, writers, historians, inventors, women’s rights advocates, musicians, opera singers, composers, teachers, and much, much more. One of the most rewarding moments for the Puerto Rican community was witnessing the appointment of Sonia María Sotomayor as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Known as Spanish Harlem, or better yet “El Barrio,” East Harlem is now a mere shadow of its former self during those difficult years leading up to the 1960s. East Harlem continues to change today, expanding its ethnic reach. With new arrivals from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Africans from the Caribbean and West Africa and people of Turkish descent from Eastern Europe and China, East Harlem is once again forging a new and diverse personality. Puerto Ricans who have gone on to a better life and financial success, when asked: “Where did you live in Manhattan?” (Where did you live in Manhattan?), they proudly identify with their block and neighborhood, saying, “I’m from the Barrio. I lived on 110th Street.” (I’m from El Barrio and I lived on 110th street.)
After all, as a proud people with a storied heritage, Puerto Ricans should always remember where they came from, because they have helped the United States earn the great status it enjoys today.