Government is, perhaps, one of the most important aspects in a functioning society. It gives us both rule and reason, as well as a set of guidelines to follow. However, for some, living life in freedom does not come easy. Many of us do not know what it is like to live under a government in which we have no say over what happens. Despite having to follow these rules and guidelines of the government, we are still granted the freedom to have a voice in society- to vote. In 1951, however, the United States passed the Public Law 600- allowing Puerto Rico (still a colony of America at the time) to draft its own Constitution (2000,History of Puerto Rico). Following this, in 1952, the island of Puerto Rico was put under commonwealth. However, despite being able to draft their own Constitution, this did not mean that its citizens had achieved freedom quiet yet. Puerto Rico only has one governor, whom is elected by the House of Representatives--meaning, the citizens of Puerto Rico still did not have the right to vote, despite the presence of a resident commissioner who represented the island’s people. While the commonwealth status of the island helped Puerto Rico grow economically, it also had negative effects. Many people across the island were greatly affected by the introduction of the commonwealth. In the 1970’s, however, the people who lived on farms and grew sugar cane, coffee, etc. were increasingly effected by the growing industries and the new products that these industries were introducing. My grandmother, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and lived on a farm, was one of these staggeringly effected people.
Fig 1. photo of authors grandmother taken in Puerto Rico, 1958.Source: Orlando Lopez
The Early Years
In a recent interview with my grandmother Monserate Rivera, I had asked her questions about her life in Puerto Rico as she was growing to help me understand bett er how it was like during that era. Born on April 25th 1938 at Seventy-two years old she tells her story. Born and raised on Barrio Pina located in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico she mentions “I loved living in Puerto Rico its beautiful there and living on the farm I did a lot of work in fields and helping my mother (my great grandmother) with household duties”. How many worked on the fields? “My two brothers and my sister and I worked on the fields with my father”.(personal interview) “On July 25, 1952 the "Estado Libre Asociado" or Com monwealth of Puerto Rico was officially implemented and inaugurated by Governor Luis Muñoz Marin. In 1950 though, Nationalist, believed that the "Estado Libre Asociado" was really a colony in disguise. In an attempt to stop the creation of the new government they attacked "La Fortaleza" (the Governors Mansion). In the town of Jayuya the police station was attacked and burnt down. In the town of Utuado, Nationalist used a house as a fort and resisted the Puerto Rico National Guard which had been called out by the Governor Muñoz Marin. Other suicide attacks took place in other parts of the island. During the years that Muñoz Marin was in power, he took on the task of developing Puerto Rico's economy into an industrial economy. The infrastructure was improved through government agencies. Tax breaks were offered to companies that would establish themselves on the island. The result was the industrial Puerto Rico of today.( Figueroa 5) As a result of Governor Munoz’s actions the farm my grandmother lived on started to loss income and value. Puerto Rico’s economy was mainly based on farming. The need for sugarcane, coffee and other agricultural products were no longer needed from Barrio Pina or from any other farm that produced goods. Many citizens were greatly affected and needed another way of gaining income since most of them didn't attend school. Many of the citizens that owned farms decided to rely on factory work, men would work in workshops and women would work in clothing and show factories.
Did you go to school? Yes, I did go to school but only until the 6th grade I ended up leaving and worked on the farm with my parents and worked in a factory for women’s clothing, at 16 I went back to school and got my GED then i entered a school for sewing because I was interested in designing clothes.(personal interview) During the Spanish rule in the 19th century School wasn’t thought of amongst Puerto Ricans since there wasn’t enough funding to pay for primary and secondary school teachers, only home school was provided for those who could afford it. In the second half of the 19th century Puerto Ricans started to get more interested in education and requested that a university be established (Gonzalez 3). Required attendance was ordered for children between the ages of six and nine. Nevertheless, these regulations were a matter more of appearances than reality, as the lack of schools, especially in the rural areas, made it almost impossible for children to attend classes. The situation of education was viewed by the council on higher education. In 1958 at the end of the Spanish rule there 380 elementary schools for boys, 138 for girls, 26 high schools, and one school for adults in Puerto Rico.
Living life married
Once Rivera turned 17 and got her GED and graduated from sewing school she realized that she wanted to better things with her life than be on a farm. She found her first real job as a tailor and designed clothes for big name artists in Puerto Rico. “When I turned 18 I met your grandfather Hipolito Lopez I had gone for a night out with a few friends at one of the top hotels in Puerto Rico and he was a good friend of a friend of mines, so we had gotten introduced he was also one of the top chefs at the restaurant in the hotel called El conquistador, Ever since then we hung out”.(personal interview) How old were you when you left the farm and what made you leave? I was 23 years old when I left my parents because I had met your grandfather and we got married the same year I turned 23. Being a married woman she left her job of designing clothes to be a house wife in my grandfather’s house and devoted all her time to him.(personal interview)
Four years later in December of 1962 she had gave birth to my father Orlando Lopez. Did you ever decide to go back to work once you started a life as a mother? No, Hipolito didn’t want me to work, in Puerto Rico woman are to stay home and cook and clean while the men go out and work and make the money.(personal interview) Two years later in March 1964 she gave birth to her second son Jose Lopez. Happy with her little family that was coming together there were also many hardships dealing with the news that Hipolito had been diagnosed with Leukemia later on that year. Dealing with many struggles she stayed strong for her children and husband. Three years later Rivera gave birth to her third child a girl named Zulma Lopez, a year later in 1968 Hipolito Lopez died to leukemia but left happy knowing he had a family. How did you deal being a widow? It was hard, very hard, because not only did I have a house to pay for I had children to look after and not a lot of money. I didn’t know where to go or what to do because the loss of my husband was a really big impact even though I knew it was going to happen I didn’t think that it was going to happen so soon.(personal interview)
What happens now?
In an article that I read “During the 1960s Puerto Rico’s Operation Bootstrap industrialization program created enough new factory jobs to absorb many of the unemployed, and migration to the mainland decreased to an average of 20,000 per year. Throughout the first half of the 1970s, the economic recession in the United States sharply reduced job opportunities.(Rodriguez 3) How hard was it for you to get back in to the workforce? Yes, it was hard because I wasn’t working for so many years and with the economy and everybody being unemployed there were no places that were really hiring. Using her sewing skills she decided to start her own hop in her house designing and making wedding dresses or whatever people wanted in order to receive some sort of money. Business was slow and things started to get hectic, no money was really coming in and food was low.(personal interview) What happened next? It came to a point where I had to steal food from the super market because I couldn’t afford to get groceries. My sister helped me a little bit but there was only so much she could do.(personal interview) Having to make a better living for herself she had to come up with another plan she couldn’t afford to see her kids suffering and have them be taken away by DSS. Although there were many struggles going on in her life she decided that nothing would stop her from making a better living, using her cooking skill that she learned as she grew up from her mother and also from her deceased husband, she decided to get a loan from the bank and open up her own food truck stand. How was your first day in the truck stand? I parked in front of the main hospital that everybody went to, it went well I made the sandwiches that I was known for that all of my friends loved when I made and my children loved as well(personal interview). As the months past business was getting better and better but then there came a misfortune. Rivera received a letter saying that her house was up for foreclosure if she didn’t pay $10,000 by the end of the month. How did you come up with the money? I don’t know it was a miracle of god, the money that I had didn’t even come close to the amount that was owed. One random day when I got back home a man was waiting outside for me he said he was from a private bank and as we walked inside and sat down he told me that my husband had set up an account and had money accumulating as the years went by and it all came up to $11,000. I was so speechless but happy I didn’t expect such a great blessing like this. I had enough money to pay the bank and left over to add on to what I already had. (personal interview)
A few years past by and things got better, Rivera got back on her feet. In 1975 she got remarried to a guy named William Graf that she met while she was at the truck stand, he went to her stand had some food and fell in love with it. William continuously went back to get food they ended up going out on a few dates and they hit it off, a year later she gave birth to her third son William Graf Jr. William moved in with Rivera into her house and they lived a happy life together.
fig 3 photo of authors grandmother and children taken in San Juan, Puerto Rico,1970.Source: Orlando Lopez
Present day
Today Rivera 72 and William 67 both retired live in Worcester, ma. They moved from Puerto Rico to the United States in 2006 seeking better medical help. In Puerto Rico the medical treatment isn’t as advanced as it is in the United States. In their case William was a heavy drinker as he grew up and still while living with Rivera because of the heavy stress of his job. William got diagnosed with liver disease and needed to get another liver transplant, in Puerto Rico he was going to have to wait a long to time to get a transplant and it would get to the point where he would end up dying. Rivera didn’t want to have to deal with another death and they were told that his case would be looked at and they would be able to help him out in receiving a transplant in time before it was too late. She convinced William to move to Worcester. Struggling and frustrated because she didn’t know English that didn’t stop her from moving, she moved in with us for a year until she found an apartment where she could move into. William now lives a happy and healthy life. As she looks over I ask her do you wish you can go back and stay living in Puerto Rico? Yes, I do wish I could go back and stay it’s where I grew up and I enjoyed the hot weather and the food I Hate the winter and the cold but I moved because I didn’t want to have to deal with the grief and unhappiness of losing someone that I love. After living here for 5 years already I got used to it and at the same time I am close to my children and grandchildren. (personal interview)
Figure 4 photo of author, grandmother,and nephew present day taken in Worcester,ma, April 2011.Source: Orlando Lopez
Works Cited
Figueroa, William. "History of Puerto Rico III." Sol Boricua, Puerto Rico. 2000-2010. Web. 10 May 2011.
González-Lamela, Juan M. "Bienvenidos a La Enciclopedia De Puerto Rico." Bienvenidos a La Enciclopedia De Puerto Rico / Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Puerto Rico. 2005-2011. Web. 8 May 2011.
Lopez, Orlando.personal interview. 30 April 2011
Rivera,Monserate.personal interview. 30 April 2011
Rodriguez, Clara E. "PUERTO RICANS: IMMIGRANTS AND MIGRANTS." Www.americansall.com. Web. 2 May 2011
