116th Street Festival in New York

On Si tv, there is a show called Latination. On Thursday, March 20, 2008 there was a Boricua special talking about the 116th Street Festival in New York City. It talked about the Puerto Rican culture both in New York and Chicago.

The 116th Street Festival started about 20 years ago because Nick Lugo, the co-creator of the festival, felt that there was a need for some sort for celebration to take place. It is the day before the Puerto Rican Day Parade because they felt that it would be more like a pep rally to get the younger population more involved. It is also a way to share the Puerto Rican culture with other cultures.

Tito Puente was a huge influence on this festival and started his career in Spanish Harlem. He is known as the "King of Latin music." He opened the door to everyone in Latin music. By age 13 he was playing professionally and some even called him a child protegy. As we discussed in class, music is extremely important to the Puerto Rican culture. La Casitas in the Bronx is a place where Puerto Ricans can go to play music, eat Puerto Rican food, and just socialize with other Puerto Ricans.

In Paseo Boricua, located in Chicago, is home to thousands of Puetro Ricans. There are two of the largest flags in the world are located on the roads leading into Paseo Boricua in order to make Puerto Ricans feel at home and like there is a place that they can go to feel safe. They also have a Puerto Rican Day Parade, just like New York. There is also a large library located within Paseo Boricua, where Puerto Ricans of any age can go to learn about their history and culture.

Rosie Perez made a documentary called “Yo Soy Boricua Pa’Que Tu Lo Sepas! (I’m Borican Just so You Know).” She decided to make this documentary to show people about the history, the island, the people and the unique relationship between Pueto Rico and the United States. Puerto Ricans fight in wars, fight for our President, and yet cannot vote for the President. It begins and ends with the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Will Puerto Rico Support Clinton or Obama?

Currently Senator Clinton is trailing in the race for delegates. So instead of focusing on things such as the war in Iraq, she decided to dedicate her time the Puerto Ricans. She has vowed to create more jobs within Puerto Rico by creating new tax benefits, as well as returning some of the land on the outlying island of Vieques. On other thing that she said she wants to do is advance plans that would allow the Puerto Rican people to decide whether they would like to remain a commonwealth, become a state, or gain its independence. This, however, could be a very bad thing because it is apparent that Puerto Rico is split on whether or not they want their independence or not. Will these political promises provide enough delegates for Senator Clinton to gain the nomination for the Democratic Party?

Senator Obama has also focused on Puerto Rican politics. In November of 2007, Senator Barack Obama met with Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila in Puerto Rico. Governor Vila has endorsed Senator Obama for quite a while now. Out of the seven superdelegates in Puerto Rico, three are committed to Senator Clinton, two are committed to Senator Obama, and the remaining two are undecided. So come June 1, 2007, who will win the delegates of Puerto Rico? Senator Clinton or Senator Obama?

Fidel Resigns. What Does this Mean for Cuba?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/02/19/castro/index.html

With Fidel Castro resigning and giving power to his brother, Raul Castro, should change be expected? This question seems to have split opinions. Some Cubans believe that there is hope for its people to have more freedoms, no matter who the next president is. Others believe, however, that there is little hope for any change because it is just one dictator replacing another. So why did people either love Fidel as a leader or hate him?

Some people see social progress that Fidel's reign has made. There is better health care, less racism, and universal education. Many of his supporters, in fact, blame the U.S. embargo for the economic problems that Cuba has. People who disliked Castro as a leader, however, felt that his continued defense of a totalitarian model only created misery and unhappiness for all of Cuba's people. President Bush feels that the international community should help create a democratic system in Cuba in order to better the peoples' lives. Should the U.S. intervene in another countries internal battle? It all depends on how you look at things. My opinion is that we should not go try to "help out" another country unless they ask for our help. It is possible that the people respect Raul Castro and want to keep the government the way it is. The people who feel differently may attempt to overthrow him, just as Fidel overthrew Fulgencio Batista. That is when the U.S. will attempt to help out Cuba.