BoricuaFirst

Our Puerto Rican heritage is something really beautiful and special and something to be very proud of! We are different and yet, we share so many characteristics with other cultures, whether they are hispanic or not! We should be proud of our culture. The orgullo boricua should flow in our veins. And we should show that pride by example…

More about this subject at www.boricuafirst.com

Obesity is now considered a disease.  Why?  Because it causes other complications like Diabetes Type 2, hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, strokes and many more.  All of these conditions can cause death. 

In this section I will discuss Diabetes.  Diabetes Type 1 is the autoimmune disease that results in permanent destruction of insulin, producing beta cells of the pancreas.  More than 20 million Americans have diabetes.  Latinos have a higher incidence.  Diabetes Type 2 is characterized by insulin resistance (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). This type of diabetes is increasing because 65% of Americans are obese. 

What are the symptoms?

Often, diabetes goes under diagnosed because many of the symptoms seem so harmless. Some symptoms include:

·         Frequent urination

·         Extreme hunger

·         Unusual weight loss

·         Excessive thirst

·         Increased fatigue

·         Irritability

·         Blurry vision 

Prevention

Make changes in your diet and increase your level of physical activity.  See your doctor at least annually for an evaluation and take action. 

By Mildred Colon, MSN, RN, CNN

Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico on his second voyage to the new world. This happened on November 19, 1493, somewhere on the western shore, most likely in what is today the town of Aguada. They named the island San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist).

Spain granted autonomy to Puerto Rico, by decree, in November of 1897. Puerto Ricans held elections and on July of 1898 the autonomous government of the island began to exist, although not for very long.

A war between Spain and the United States, “The Spanish-American War”, broke out in April of 1898. On July 25, 1898, the United States invaded Puerto Rico. More than 16,000 American troops entered the island through the southwestern town of Guanica with virtually no opposition. The Spanish forces were defeated and the island’s autonomous government was officially changed to an American military government on October 18, 1898. The war ended officially on December 10, 1898.

By virtue of the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam, Philippines and Puerto Rico to the United States. These three countries therefore became possessions of the USA and a military form of government was established. Cuba was to become a protectorate of the USA.

On May 1, 1900 the government of the United States approved the Foraker Act which changed the government from military to civilian and established the relationship of the USA with Puerto Rico. A lot of this Act’s provisions are still in force today.

Under this new type of government, the governor and his cabinet and the Higher House of Delegates (something like a Senate) were appointed by the President of the USA and approved by the north american’s legislature. The Local House of Delegates (something like the House of Representatives), was elected by popular vote. In addition, Puerto Ricans started voting for a Resident Commissioner who represented Puerto Rico in the US House of Representatives but had no vote.

Puerto Ricans grew immensely unhappy with this new form of government as they had taken a step backward into colonialism after being granted autonomy by Spain. Their citizenship was now in “limbo” as the island was not part of the USA nor was it a free country.

This citizenship ambiguity was solved in 1917. On March 2 of that year, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Law. This law granted Puerto Ricans the American citizenship. It also made Puerto Rico a territory of the United States. Furthermore, this law granted freedoms such as liberty of speech, freedom of press and presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It also created a Senate and a House of Representatives elected by popular vote. The governor was still appointed by the President of the USA. The Governor, the President or the US Congress could veto any law approved by the Puerto Rican Congress. Also Puerto Ricans became eligible to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. From this time on, Puerto Ricans have played a major role in every USA military conflict with a great many hundred boricuas dying in the name of this great country. Puerto Rican, U.S. Citizenship, you see, is not free!

Article published in www.boricuafirst.com. You can contact the author at letters@boricuafirst.com

There are some 4 million Puerto Ricans living in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and there are some 4 million more living abroad. The vast majority, of course, live in the United States. Some of the states with the most Puerto Ricans are New York, Florida, New Jersey and Texas.

Puerto Ricans are also called “Boricuas”. This name is a derivation from the native name of our country, Borinquen or Boriquen. That is the way that our “Tainos” (native Puerto Ricans) used to call our island. Now a days we use the term Boricua with quite a lot of pride and “orgullo boricua”.

On this blog I will attempt to shed some light into our culture, our successes and, why not, some failures.

It is my desire, also, to have subscribers help me in keeping this blog up to date and relevant.

I also have a website that is becoming quite popular among Puerto Ricans, especially those living in the city of San Antonio, Texas. The site www.boricuafirst.com has letters, refranes, pictures, essays, etc. that you may find interesting.

This is it for now but I will keep this blog as updated as possible.

Thanks!

Cesar