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The Puerto Rican Flag in New York

Dylan Erazo                                                                                                    10/25/2018 Professor C. Hall                                                                                            ENG                                                      The Puerto Rican Flag in New York                    Yo soy un Nuyorican, Growing up in New York with Puerto Rican roots, I can identify as being a Nuyorican. Many people come from families with Puerto Rican background or roots but in some cases don’t consider themselves Puerto Rican. They grow up actin like a New Yorker if they from New York. Pero if you have the familia to embrace la musica y la comida y habla asi to talk like this in and out then you can associate yourself being latino. School’s in New York are mad diverse you got kids with all types of culture and background. Not everyone is going to be Puerto Rican you got Dominicans, Cubans, Ecuadorians you name it, ya tu sabes. It’s good to learn some Spanish entonces you can chat and make more friends.         Growing up in a hispanic family means eating food that is deadass fire. Tu tienes comida asi, the food is like this so you got rice con beans y chicken, you know what its like to eat un pernil y tostones, there’s mad food that’s delicioso. New York is a large city with a lot of places to eat out. The New Yorker side of a Nuyorican is accustomed to a fast pace dealing with public transportation and rushing to work or school. You can eat on the way with all these corner deli’s and fastfood spots. You know what it feels like to appreciate some chinese food when yah parents is too tired to cook or if you are tired from work. O cuando you going to school in the morning and you got like five dollars that shit right there is enough to get you a whole bacon egg and cheese with an arizona or jugo. Nothing like eating un pastelito and a arizona for like 2 dollas. You learn to appreciate the small things that New York has to offer and the cultural diversity it offers with all types of food. When you’re a third generation Puerto Rican, meanin that if yo grandparents came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico, some people grow up not knowing their culture or ever embracing it. So then they grow up just identifying as a New Yorker. Como un gringo, they are only use to their American side. Now if you was growing up in a spanish speaking household then you prolly gonna be able to habla asi con otra gente. Nuyorican spanish isn’t so good porque lo gente aqui en Nueva York don’t speak it as much. If you was in Puerto Rico then you’d pick up the language hella quick because thats all they speak out there. But over here in New York the Spanish can switch in and out between English and Spanish, we call this Spanglish. That don’t mean you can’t speak full spanish that just means you prefer to switch up with your family or friends. Pero a lot of hispanics don’t learn this, even tho the roots is there, they rather just stick to being un Americano or gringo because that is what they’re used to.        For me I grew up a New Yorker, this is deadass facts. When I was younger I was Dylan from the Bronx I still am but I’ve grown to embrace my Puerto Rican roots. I still have much to learn because I need to know more spanish and bailar con la musica. When I was younger I didn’t know spanish as much because my father never spoke it he didn’t really learn it because he was just raised up in the streets and outside more than with his parents. Like him the New Yorker in me is used to rushing to places, walking at a fast pace when I am on the go to school or in the city. I am also used to a deli or somewhere to eat being like a block away. I enjoyed mi abuelas homemade cooking, aroz con pollo is the shit. The smell of the beans, the rice, the chicken, it be having you anxious to eat. I would try savor every bite of the plate, then the next day kill the leftovers. I also enjoy connecting with mi familia, when I got older and learned how to speak spanish more. When you’re talking to your aunts and uncle you ask in spanish may I have the blessing or anyone who is older, out of respect. I also enjoy telling people in spanish to enjoy their meal, you say buen provecho. Having allat said I started off como un gringo, I was only familiar with my inner New Yorker. But as I realized how much I enjoyed spanish food, and chattin with the family in spanish or spanglish I began to take more interest in my Puerto Rican side. It was mad nice too when I visited Puerto Rico tambien. I enjoyed the island and la otra familia over there.              In New York there is an annual Puerto Rican day parade. It takes place on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Puerto Ricans all over embrace their culture. Known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Puerto Rican celebrities come out and join the float on the streets. The streets are closed off for the parade in the area. It’s a way of showing appreciation to the Puerto Ricans living in New York. The parade takes place in the summer when New York is most alive. People all over come to celebrate and everyone has their tv’s on ready to watch the action. So many Puerto Rican’s that come out and share pride for their culture          Many people can be a Nuyorican. The thing is not many people embrace their Puerto Rican side because they weren’t brought up with it as much. They may just identify as being a New Yorker and nothing else. Your roots and culture should be appreciated because that’s your background of who you are. Even if you have to trace back or get familiar with something it’s worth connecting to your roots.   (Goicochea, Julia. “A Brief History of Puerto Ricans in New York.” Culture Trip, 30 May 2017, theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/articles/a-brief-history-of-puerto-ricans-in-new-york/.) (“Home.” Puerto Rican Day Parade, NPRDP.Parade@Gmail.com, 2018, www.nprdpinc.org/about/) (Plitt, Amy. “The Puerto Rican Day Parade Is This Weekend-Here's What You Need to Know.” Curbed NY, Curbed NY, 10 June 2018, ny.curbed.com/2018/6/6/17434450/puerto-rican-day-parade-2018-route-street-closures.) (Lopez, Mark Hugo, et al. “Latino Identity Declines Across Generations as Immigrant Ties Weaken.” Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project, Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project, 4 June 2018, www.pewhispanic.org/2017/12/20/hispanic-identity-fades-across-generations-as-immigrant-connections-fall-away/.)