Puerto Ricans
Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants.
Overview
The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred ...
have both immigrated and migrated to New York City. The first group of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City in the mid-19th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony and its people Spanish subjects. The following wave of Puerto Ricans to move to New York City did so after the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cl ...
in 1898.
Puerto Ricans were no longer Spanish subjects and citizens of Spain, they were now
Puerto Rican citizens of an American possession and needed passports to travel to the
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawai ...
.
That was until 1917, when the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
approved
Jones–Shafroth Act
The Jones–Shafroth Act () —also known as the Jones Act of Puerto Rico, Jones Law of Puerto Rico, or as the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917— was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March ...
which gave Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico
U.S. citizenship with certain limitations. Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States however, were given full American citizenship and were allowed to seek political office in the states in which they resided. Two months later, when Congress passed the
Selective Service Act, conscription was extended to the Puerto Ricans both on the island and on the mainland. It was expected that Puerto Rican men 18 years and older serve in the U.S. military during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
The Jones–Shafroth Act also allowed Puerto Ricans to travel between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland without the need of a passport, thereby becoming migrants. The advent of
air travel
Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, gliders, hang gliders, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight. was one of the principal factors that led to the largest wave of migration of Puerto Ricans to New York City in the 1950s, known as "The Great Migration". Similar to many other U.S. East Coast cities, Puerto Ricans were the first Hispanic group to move to New York City in large numbers.
From 1970 until about 1990, the city's Puerto Rican population was at its height. They represented up to 80% of the city's Hispanic community and 12% of the city's total population. At that time, nearly 70% of Puerto Ricans in the
mainland United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
lived in New York City. It wasn't until the 1990s that the percentage Puerto Ricans that made up the city's Hispanic community, and the total population as a whole started to decrease, largely due to a declining Puerto Rican population, increasingly diversifying Hispanic community, and New York City's economy rebounding after deindustrialization, which ultimately resulted in a faster growing city population and dwindling Puerto Rican influence. However, since the early 2010s, New York's Puerto Rican population started to grow again, being in the midst of another major migration wave out of Puerto Rico.
According to the 2010 census, Puerto Ricans represent 8.9 percent of New York City alone (32% of the city's Hispanic community), and 5.5% of New York State as a whole.
Of over a million Puerto Ricans in the state, about 70% are present in the city, with the remaining portion scattered in the city's suburbs and other major cities throughout New York State. Although Florida has received some dispersal of the population, there has been a resurgence in Puerto Rican migration to New York and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
, primarily for economic and cultural considerations,
topped by another surge of arrivals after
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affec ...
devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 – consequently, the
New York City Metropolitan Area
The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...
has witnessed a significant increase in its
Nuyorican population, individuals in the region of Puerto Rican descent, from 1,177,430 in 2010 to a Census-estimated 1,494,670 in 2016,
maintaining New York's status by a significant margin as the most important cultural and demographic center for Puerto Ricans outside
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to:
Places Argentina
* San Juan Province, Argentina
* San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province
* San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province
* San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
.
Early 19th century
During the 19th century, commerce existed between the ports of the
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the ...
and the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico. Ship records show that many Puerto Ricans traveled on ships that sailed from and to the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Many of them settled in places such as New York,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, and
. Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, many Puerto Ricans, such as Lieutenant
Augusto Rodriguez, joined the ranks of the armed forces, however since Puerto Ricans were Spanish subjects they were inscribed as Spaniards.
["The Puerto Rican Diaspora: historical perspectives"; By Carmen Teresa Whalen, Víctor Vázquez-Hernandez; page 176; Publisher: Temple University Press; ; ] The earliest Puerto Rican enclave in New York City was in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
. Most of the Puerto Ricans who moved there came from well-to-do families or were people whose economic situation could permit them the luxury of traveling from the island to New York City by way of
steamship, an expensive and long trip. Amongst the first Puerto Ricans to immigrate to New York City were men and women who were exiled by the Spanish Crown for their political beliefs and struggles for the cause of Puerto Rican independence. By 1850, Puerto Rico and
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
were the only two remaining Spanish colonies in the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
. The Spanish Crown would either imprison or banish any person who promoted the independence of these two nations.
Two of these exiles were
Ramón Emeterio Betances and
Segundo Ruiz Belvis who together founded
"The Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico" in New York. They were the planners of the short and failed 1868 revolt against Spain in Puerto Rico known as
El Grito de Lares
''El Grito de Lares'' (''The Cry of Lares''), also referred to as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, or the Lares revolution, was the first major revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. The revolt was planned by R ...
. Another prominent Puerto Rican who in 1871 immigrated to New York was
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, considered by many as the "Father of Black History". He became a member of the "Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico" and was an outspoken promoter of not only the independence of Puerto Rico, but of Cuba also.
Origins of the Puerto Rican Flag
Four other Puerto Ricans who moved to New York because of political reasons were Manuel Besosa,
Antonio Vélez Alvarado,
Juan Ríus Rivera
General Juan Rius Rivera (August 26, 1848 – September 20, 1924), was the soldier and revolutionary leader from Puerto Rico to have reached the highest military rank in the Cuban Liberation Army and to hold Cuban ministerial offices after indepe ...
, and
Francisco Gonzalo Marín. These four Puerto Ricans joined the Cuban Liberation Army whose headquarters was in New York City.
Some sources document Francisco Gonzalo Marín with presenting a Puerto Rican flag prototype in 1895 for adoption by the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City. Marín has since been credited by some with the flag's design. There is a letter written by Juan de Mata Terreforte which gives credit to Marin. The original contents of the letter in Spanish are the following:
Which translated in English states the following:
It is also believed that on June 12, 1892, Antonio Vélez Alvarado was at his apartment at 219 Twenty-Third Street in Manhattan, when he stared at a Cuban flag for a few minutes, and then took a look at the blank wall in which it was being displayed. Vélez suddenly perceived an optical illusion, in which he perceived the image of the Cuban flag with the colors in the flag's triangle and stripes inverted. Almost immediately he visited a nearby merchant, Domingo Peraza, from whom he bought some crepe paper to build a crude prototype. He later displayed his prototype in a dinner meeting at his neighbor's house, where the owner, Micaela Dalmau vda. de Carreras, had invited
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the liber ...
as a guest.
In a letter written by Maria Manuela (Mima) Besosa, the daughter of the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee member Manuel Besosa, she stated that she sewed the flag. This message created a belief that her father could have been its designer.
Even though Marín presented the
Puerto Rican Flag
The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people.
The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, wh ...
in New York's "Chimney Corner Hotel", it may never be known who designed the current flag. What is known, however, is that on December 22, 1895, the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee officially adopted a design which is today the official flag of Puerto Rico.
In 1897,
Antonio Mattei Lluberas, a wealthy
coffee plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...
owner from Yauco, visited the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City. There he met with
Ramón Emeterio Betances, Juan de Mata Terreforte and Aurelio Méndez Martinez and together they proceeded to plan a major coup. The uprising, which became known as the
Intentona de Yauco was to be directed by Betances, organized by Aurelio Mendez Mercado and the armed forces were to be commanded by General Juan Ríus Rivera from Cuba.
["Historia militar de Puerto Rico"; by Hector Andres Negroni (Author); Pages: 305–06; Publisher: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); Language: Spanish; ; ] The political immigration to New York practically came to a halt in 1898 after the Spanish–American War when Puerto Rico became a possession of the United States. It is estimated that 1,800 Puerto Rican citizens (they were not American citizens until 1917) had immigrated to New York during this period.
World War I era
In 1902, the
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
issued new immigration guidelines that changed the status of all Puerto Ricans to "foreigners".
Isabel Gonzalez was a young single mother who was expecting her second child. Her fiancé, who was in New York, sent for her with the intention of getting married. When Gonzalez arrived in New York, she and all the Puerto Ricans who were with her, were detained in
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 m ...
and denied entry. She was accused of being an alien and as an unwed parent she was deemed as a burden to the welfare system of the country. Gonzalez challenged the Government of the United States in the groundbreaking case "GONZALES v. WILLIAMS' (her surname was misspelled by immigration officials). The Supreme Court ruled that under the immigration laws González was not an alien, and therefore could not be denied entry into New York. It also stated that Puerto Ricans were not U.S. citizens, they were "noncitizen nationals". Gonzalez, who became an activist on behalf of all Puerto Ricans, paved the way for the
Jones–Shafroth Act
The Jones–Shafroth Act () —also known as the Jones Act of Puerto Rico, Jones Law of Puerto Rico, or as the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917— was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on March ...
, which conferred United States citizenship on all citizens of Puerto Rico.
In 1917, the United States entered World War I and that same year the United States Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act which gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. Puerto Ricans no longer needed a passport to travel to the U.S. and were allowed to seek public office in the mainland U.S. The economic situation in the island was bad and continued to worsen as a result of the many hurricanes which destroyed most of its crops. Many Puerto Rican families
migrated to the United States, the bulk of whom went to New York, in search of a better way of life.
In New York, they faced the same hardships and discrimination that earlier groups of immigrants, such as the Irish, the Italians, and the Jews, had faced before them. It was difficult for them to find well paying jobs because of the language barrier and their lack of technical working skills. The few men who found jobs worked for low salaries in factories. The women usually stayed home as housewives and tended to their children. Those who did not find jobs had the option of joining the United States Military. Prior to the Jones–Shafroth Act, Puerto Ricans in the mainland United States as all other non-citizens, who were permanent residents were required to register with the Selective Service System by law and could be drafted, however one of the effects of the Act was that all Puerto Ricans were now eligible for the military "draft" (
conscription). One of the military units at that time was New York's
U.S. 369th Infantry Regiment.
Rafael Hernández was a Puerto Rican who served in the almost all
Afro-American unit. The unit fought against the
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
in France and became known as the "Harlem Hellfighters". Hernández, his brother Jesus and 16 other Puerto Ricans were assigned to the United States Army's Harlem Hellfighters musical band, the Orchestra Europe.
Nero Chen was one of the many Puerto Ricans who settled in East Harlem. He became the first Puerto Rican boxer to gain acclaim when in 1917 he fought against "Panama Joe Gans" at Harlem's Palace Casino which was located at 28 East 135th St., between
Fifth and
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd St ...
s, in Manhattan.
[''Pioneros Puertorriqueños en Nueva York''; by Joaquin Colon Lopez; pages: 229, 230; Publisher: Arte Publico Press (November 2001); ; ] As evidenced by an early 1924 poster, migrants in New York organized baseball teams which played against each other. The poster announces a game which was held at Howard Field in Brooklyn between two teams, the San Juan B.B.C. and the Porto Rican Stars, made of Puerto Ricans from the East Side section of Manhattan.
As the economic situation in the United States worsened in a prelude to the
Great Depression, many Puerto Ricans in the mainland found themselves competing with other groups for the positions of unskilled labor such as dishwashers, maintenance and laundry workers. This led to the "Harlem Riots" of July 1926. between unemployed Jews and Puerto Ricans. Various Puerto Rican organizations in East Harlem, organized a media campaign to ease the tensions between the groups involved and called upon the mayor, governor of the state to restore order and provide protection to the area.
In 1937,
Oscar Garcia Rivera, Sr.
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
(1900–1969), a native of
Mayagüez and resident of East Harlem, became the first Puerto Rican to be elected to public office in the continental United States as a member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
. A witness of the discrimination which Puerto Ricans were subject to, he created the "Unemployment Insurance Bill" which paved the way for the passage of bills which established minimum hours and wages for working people, the creation of a Wage Board within the Labor Department, and the right of employees to organize and negotiate grievances. In 1956, he also became the first Puerto Rican to be nominated as the Republican candidate for Justice of the City Court.
Tabaqueros
Tabaqueros are tobacco workers. The tobacco industry was extremely popular but increased in popularity and manufacturing during the first decade of the United States domination of exportation. By 1901, exportation Puerto Rico's shifted from importing to exporting, and cigar making began to increase. By the 1920s, the Puerto Rican tobacco-processing industry exports grew thirty times from when it began in 1901.
[Quintero-Rivera, A. G. "Socialist and Cigarmaker: Artisans' Proletarianization in the Making of the Puerto Rican Working Class." ''Latin American Perspectives'', vol. 10, no. 2/3, 1983, pp. 19–38. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2633457.] This provided thousands of migrants with job opportunities to move to the United States in search for a better economically.
During this time of industrial prosperity the Puerto Rican community grew in cities like New York City.
Bernardo Vega
Julio Bernardo Vega de Boyrie (born February 23, 1938), most known as Bernardo Vega, is a Dominican academic and politician.
Early life
Bernardo Vega was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic on February 23, 1938. He is the son ...
explained in his memoir, ''Memoirs of Bernardo Vega'' the lifestyle of the working Puerto Rican community in New York City more importantly the tabaquero culture. Tabaqueros were very politically and socially involved in their communities, and were successfully organized collectively as a group.
[ Bernardo Vega, Memoirs of Bernardo Vega: A contribution to the history of the Puerto Rican community in New York, (Monthly Review Press, New York, 1984)] Politically tabaqueros were suspected of socialist orientation, and were influenced by the Jewish Workmen Circle, that were mutual aid societies of the working-class socialists.
These mutual aid groups, tobacco worker's associations were no mimic to those of already established by other ethnic working class, mainly they were recreated organizations that were known to the workers back on the island.
The life of a tabaquero was very simple during these times, but were a very progressive working community that understood how cultural form/discrimination could reflect political will towards the community. The Tabaqueros held a sense of pride in their work as well as their eloquent knowledge of politics and culture, which they would learn during working hours and events of associations like Circulo de Tabaqueros.
Hand rolling cigars gave pride to the workers as they found this job to be more on the artistic side rather than domestic. They thought of themselves more like an "artist rather than a worker."
Cigar makers would sit in front of tables for hours and hand roll each cigar. Since this was a very tedious process, workers would pay 15–20 cents each week for someone to read them the newspaper or books while they worked. This was more of a custom in the Puerto Rican cigar making factories.
Many newspapers and magazines that would advocate social and political doctrines were published in Spanish in New York City: Cultura Proletria an anarchist read; more general-topics El Heraldo; La Prensa, was a daily that began to be published in 1913.
Mainly at this time the readers were women, that would read but women during this time were not just reading at factories but also rolling the cigars themselves. By the 1920s the economic depression hit industry hard. Many cigar workers/ tabaqueros were going on strike due to pay. Tabaqueros traditionally were known in the community for being the highest paid workers in the Puerto Rican Community. However now with the crisis, factories began to move and seek workers like women to take over the tabaquero skill for cheap labor. By 1920 there were 8,766 women working in these factories.
Women that worked in tobacco factories mainly did leaf stripping and were considered to be equal in the structural exploitation of labor. For the unions of the tabaqueros the difference in sex/gender of the worker did not matter in the fight against exploitation.
World War II and The Great Migration
Several factors contributed and led to what came to be known as "The Great Migration" of Puerto Ricans to New York. These were the following: the
Great Depression, World War II and the advent of air travel.
The Great Depression which spread throughout the world was also felt in Puerto Rico. Since the island's economy was and still is dependent to that of the United States, it was to be expected that when the American banks and industries began to fail the effect would be felt in the island. Unemployment was on the rise as a consequence and therefore, many families fled to the mainland US in search of jobs.
The outbreak of World War II opened the doors to many of the migrants who were searching for jobs. Since a large portion of the male population of the U.S. was sent to war, there was a sudden need of manpower to fulfill the jobs left behind. Puerto Ricans, both male and female, found themselves employed in factories and ship docks, producing both domestic and warfare goods. The new migrants gained the knowledge and working skills which in the future would serve them well. The military also provided a steady source of income,
in 1944, the Puerto Rican WAC unit, Company 6, 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, a segregated Hispanic unit, was assigned to the
New York Port of Embarkation
The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...
, after their basic training at
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
Fort Oglethorpe is a city predominantly in Catoosa County with some portions in Walker County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,423. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Sta ...
. They were assigned to work in military offices which planned the shipment of troops around the world.
The advent of air travel provided Puerto Ricans with an affordable and faster way of travel to New York. The one thing that most migrants had in common was that they wanted a better way of life than was available in Puerto Rico, and although each held personal reasons for migrating, their decision generally was rooted in the island's impoverished conditions as well as the public policies that sanctioned migration.
In 1948, the Migration Division of the Department of Labor of Puerto Rico opened its office in New York City. Its mission was to mediate between the island and the New York/Puerto Rican community, assuage the adjustment experience of new arrivals, and generally inform them about jobs, housing and other critical concerns. It wasn't long before the Puerto Rican "Barrios" in the
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
,
Bushwick
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Pa ...
,
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris.
In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...
, Spanish Harlem, and Manhattan's Lower East Side began to resemble "Little Puerto Ricos" with their "Bodegas" (small grocery stores) and "
Piragueros" (Puerto Rican shaved ice venders) in every corner.
It is estimated that from 1946 to 1950 there were 31,000 Puerto Rican migrants each year to New York.
Puerto Rican culture in New York
Puerto Ricans began to form their own small "
barrio
''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...
s", in
The Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, and in East Harlem (which would become known as
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
). It was in East Harlem where the Puerto Rican migrants established a cultural life of great vitality and sociality. They also participated in some of the sports, such as boxing and baseball which were first introduced in the island by the American Armed Forces after the Spanish–American War.
Puerto Ricans who moved to New York not only took with them their customs and traditions, they also took with them their
piraguas, a Puerto Rican frozen treat, shaped like a pyramid, made of
shaved ice
Shaved ice is a large family of ice-based desserts made of fine shavings of ice or finely crushed ice and sweet condiments or syrups. Usually, the syrup is added after the ice has been frozen and shaved—typically at the point of sale; however, ...
and covered with fruit flavored syrup.
According to ''Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia:'' by Winston James, piraguas were introduced in New York by Puerto Ricans as early as 1926.
Puerto Rican music
Puerto Rican music flourished with the likes of Rafael Hernández and
Pedro Flores who formed the "Trio Borincano" and gained recognition in the city.
Myrta Silva who later joined Hernandez's "Cuarteto Victoria" also gained fame as a singer after the group traveled and played throughout the United States.
The South Bronx became a hub for Puerto Rican music. Theaters which had served to previous groups of immigrants, such as the Irish and the Italians, for their dramatic works or vaudeville style shows, now served the growing Puerto Rican and Latino population with musical performances from musicians from Puerto Rico and Latin America. Plus, the local Bronx's burgeoning Latino musicians. Among these theaters were the historical
Teatro Puerto Rico at E. 138th St. and Hunts Point Palace in Southern Blvd. During the Teatro Puerto Rico's "golden era", which lasted from 1947 to 1956, musician
José Feliciano
José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " F ...
made his stateside debut
New York City also became the mecca for
freestyle music
Freestyle music, also called Latin freestyle or Latin hip-hop ''( sic)'' is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area and Philadelphia, primarily among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the 1980s. ...
in the 1980s, of which Puerto Rican singer-songwriters represented an integral component. Puerto Rican influence in popular music continues in the 21st century, encompassing major artists such as
Jennifer Lopez.
1950s
The third great wave of domestic migration from Puerto Rico came after World War II. Nearly 40,000 Puerto Ricans settled in New York City in 1946, and 58,500 in 1952–53. Many soldiers who returned after World War II made use of the
GI Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
and went to college. Puerto Rican women confronted economic exploitation, discrimination, racism, and the insecurities inherent in the migration process on a daily basis, however they fared better than did men in the job market. The women left their homes for the factories in record numbers.
By 1953, Puerto Rican migration to New York reached its peak when 75,000 people left the island.
Operation Bootstrap
Operation Bootstrap ( es, Operación Manos a la Obra) is the name given to a series of projects which transformed the economy of Puerto Rico into an industrial and developed one. The federal government of the United States together with what is ...
("Operación Manos a la Obra") is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico in the mid-20th century engineered by
Teodoro Moscoso
José Teodoro Moscoso Mora
Rico Puerto Rico. Noticel. June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012. ...
. The attracted industry did not provide sufficient job opportunities. With increased population growth and displacement from traditional labor pursuits, the growing population could not be accommodated. Much of the surplus labor migrated to the United States. In 1948, Puerto Ricans elected their first governor
Luis Muñoz Marín
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
In 1948 he ...
, who together with his government initiated a series of social and economic reforms with the introduction of new programs in the island. Some of these programs met some resistance from the American government and therefore, the local government had some trouble implementing the same. New York Mayor
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. began a campaign to recruit Puerto Rican laborers in the island to work in the city's factories. Mayor Wagner figured that the city would benefit greatly by the luring of what was considered to be "cheap labor".
Discrimination was rampant in the United States and it was no different in New York. As stated by
Lolita Lebrón
Lolita Lebrón (November 19, 1919 – August 1, 2010) was a Puerto Rican nationalist who was convicted of attempted murder and other crimes after carrying out an armed attack on the United States Capitol in 1954, which resulted in the wou ...
, there were signs in restaurants which read "No dogs or Puerto Ricans allowed". The
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...
established an office in New York in the 1950s and attracted many migrants. Leaders of the party conceived a plan that would involve an attack on the
Blair House with the intention of assassinating United States President
Harry S. Truman and an attack on the House of Representatives. These events had a negative impact on the Puerto Rican migrants. Americans viewed Puerto Ricans as anti-Americans and the discrimination against them became even more widespread.
Many Puerto Ricans were able to overcome these obstacles and became respected members of their communities. Many such as
Antonia Pantoja, established organizations such as "ASPIRA", that helped their fellow countrymen to reach their goals.
In 1954, a group of politicians close to
Carmine Gerard DeSapio, then the leader of
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
, chose
Tony Méndez to lead the eastern section of the district, known as the 14th Assembly District. He was chosen by the group, which was also known as the Democratic County Committee, because in those days there was no direct election of district leaders. Plus, the influx of Puerto Ricans moving to the 14th Assembly District, in which East Harlem is located, replaced the members of the Italian Community who preceded them and eventually moved out. Méndez became the first native-born Puerto Rican to become a district leader of a major political party in New York City.
[Tony Mendez obituary](_blank)
''The New York Times''
The first New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, founded by
Tony Méndez was held on Sunday, April 13, 1958, in the "Barrio" in Manhattan.
Its first President was Victor López and it was coordinated by José Caballero. The grand marshals were Oscar González Suarez and Tony Méndez Esq. Prominent personalities from Puerto Rico headed by then Governor Luis Muñoz Marín, attended the initial parade. The parade was organized as a show of Puerto Rican pride and is a tradition which not only continues today in the city of New York but, that has also extended to other cities such as Chicago, Illinois and
Orlando, Florida. By 1960, the United States census showed that there were well over 600,000 New Yorkers of Puerto Rican birth or parentage. Estimates were that more than one million Puerto Ricans had migrated during that period.
Nuyorican Movement
Puerto Rican writer
Jesús Colón founded an intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Rican or of Puerto Rican descent and who live in or near New York City which became known as the
Nuyorican Movement. The phenomenon of the "Nuyoricans" came about when many Puerto Ricans who migrated to New York City faced difficult situations and hardships, such as racial discrimination. Leading voices include
Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) ''and United States of Banana'' (2011).
Braschi writes cross-g ...
,
Sandra Maria Esteves
Sandra or SANDRA may refer to:
People
* Sandra (given name)
* Sandra (singer) (born 1962), German pop singer
* Margaretha Sandra (1629–1674), Dutch soldier
* Sandra (orangutan), who won the legal right to be defined as a "non-human person"
Pla ...
, and
Tato Laviera. A "Nuyorican" subculture developed. In 1980, Puerto Rican poets
Miguel Algarín,
Miguel Piñero
Miguel Piñero (December 19, 1946 – June 16, 1988) was a playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement.
Early years
Piñero was born on December 19, 1946, in Gur ...
and
Pedro Pietri
Pedro Pietri (March 21, 1944 – March 3, 2004) was a Nuyorican poet and playwright and one of the co-founders of the Nuyorican Movement. He was considered by some as the poet laureate of the Nuyorican Movement.
Early years
Pietri was born i ...
established the "Nuyorican Poets Café" on Manhattan's Lower East Side (236 E 3rd Street, between Avenues B and C) which is now considered a New York landmark.
Late 20th century and early 21st century
By 1964, the Puerto Rican community made up 9.3 percent of the total New York City's population. The Puerto Rican migrants who gained economic success began to move away from the "Barrios" and settled in
Westchester County
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
,
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, and
Long Island or moved to other cities in other states like New Jersey (especially
North Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrat ...
which is still a part of the NYC metropolitan area), Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Florida, among others. New immigrants from the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, Mexico and South America moved into the Barrios which were once mainly occupied by the Puerto Ricans. The 1970s saw what became known as reverse-migration. Many Puerto Ricans returned to the island to buy homes and to invest in local businesses. Puerto Ricans have made many important contributions to the cultural and political
spheres of New York and the society of the United States in general. They have contributed in the fields of entertainment, the arts, music, industry, science, politics, and military. Other Puerto Ricans have moved from New York to settle in smaller cities throughout the northeastern United States. For example, in 2009 Puerto Ricans alone made up 29.1% of
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Phila ...
's population, which was over 53% Hispanic, and 25.0% of
' population, which was over 70% Hispanic.
However, since 2006, there has been a resurgence in migration from Puerto Rico to New York City and New Jersey, with an apparently multifactorial allure to Puerto Ricans, primarily for economic and cultural considerations. The Census estimate for the New York City, the city proper with the largest Puerto Rican population by a significant margin, has increased from 723,621 in 2010, to 730,848 in 2012;
while New York State's Puerto Rican population was estimated to have increased from 1,070,558 in 2010, to 1,103,067 in 2013.
New York State overall has also resumed its net in-migration of Puerto Rican Americans since 2006, a dramatic reversal from being the only state to register a decrease in its Puerto Rican population between 1990 and 2000. The Puerto Rican population of New York State, still the largest in the United States, is estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau to have increased from 1,070,558 in 2010 to 1,103,067 in 2013. New York State gained more Puerto Rican migrants from Puerto Rico as well as from elsewhere on the mainland between 2006 and 2012 than any other state ''in absolute numbers''.
Also, unlike the initial pattern of migration several decades ago, this second Puerto Rican migration into New York and surrounding states is being driven by movement not only into New York City proper, but also into the city's surrounding suburban areas, such that the New York City Metropolitan Area gained the highest number of additional Puerto Rican Americans of any metropolitan area between 2010 and 2016, to 1,494,670 in 2016.
[
]Northern New Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrat ...
has also received a robust influx of Puerto Rican migration in the 21st century, given its proximity to both New York City's and Philadelphia's Puerto Rican establishments. Within the metropolitan area surrounding New York City, Paterson Paterson may refer to:
People
* Paterson (surname)
* Paterson (given name)
Places
Australia
*Paterson, New South Wales
*Paterson River, New South Wales
* Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales
*Paterson, Queensland, a lo ...
and Newark in New Jersey are important homes for Puerto Rican Americans. Jose "Joey" Torres was elected mayor of Paterson in 2014, where he had served two prior terms as mayor as well; while Luis A. Quintana, born in Añasco, Puerto Rico
Añasco (, ), named after one of its settlers, Don Luis de Añasco, is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the west coast of the island bordering the Mona Passage to the west, north of Mayagüez, and Las Marias; south of Rincón, ...
, was sworn in as Newark's first Latino mayor in November 2013, assuming the unexpired term of Cory Booker
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sen ...
, who vacated the position to become a U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from New Jersey. However, as Puerto Ricans continue to climb the socioeconomic ladder and to enter professional occupations in greater numbers, they are also purchasing homes in New Jersey's more affluent suburban towns. After Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affec ...
struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, devastating the infrastructure of the island, New York State was expected to be the likeliest destination for Puerto Rican migrants to the U.S. mainland when premised upon family ties, with New Jersey being the third likeliest destination. The 5.6 million Puerto Ricans living stateside in 2017, were largely concentrated in Florida, NY and NJ; 20% in Florida, 20% in New York, and 8% in New Jersey.
2019 was the first time in 15 years when New York was not in the top ten destinations for people leaving Puerto Rico. In 2019, New York was ranked 11th.
Enclaves
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
has several neighborhoods with a Puerto Rican presence, and many of the ethnic Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Brooklyn formed before the Puerto Rican neighborhoods in the South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris.
In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...
because of the work demand in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 50s. Bushwick
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, to the northeast; Williamsburg to the northwest; East New York and the cemeteries of Highland Pa ...
has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Brooklyn. Other neighborhoods with significant populations include Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
, East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough l ...
, Brownsville, Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...
, Red Hook, and Sunset Park. In Williamsburg; Graham Avenue is nicknamed "Avenue of Puerto Rico" because of the high density and strong ethnic enclave of Puerto Ricans who have been living in the neighborhood since the 1950s. The Puerto Rican Day Parade is also hosted on the avenue.
Ridgewood Ridgewood may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Ridgewood, Western Australia
Canada
* Ridgewood, Ontario
*Ridgewood, Edmonton, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Ridgewood, East Sussex
United States
*Ridgewood Heights, California
* Ridgewood, Illinois
*Ridge ...
, Queens, also has a significant Puerto Rican population, as does the neighboring community of Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Puerto Rican neighborhoods in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
include Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
and Loisaida. Spanish Harlem was " Italian Harlem" from the 1880s until the 1940s. By 1940, however, the name "Spanish Harlem" was becoming widespread, and by 1950, the area was predominately Puerto Rican and African American. Loisaida is an enclave east of Avenue A that originally comprised German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, Irish, and Italian working class residents who lived in tenements without running water; the German presence, already in decline, virtually ended after the General Slocum disaster in 1904. Since then, the community has become Puerto Rican and Latino in character, despite the "gentrification" that has affected the East Village and the Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally ...
since the late 20th century.
Staten Island has a fairly large Puerto Rican population along the North Shore, especially in the Mariners' Harbor, Arlington, Elm Park
Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for re ...
, Graniteville, Port Richmond, and Stapleton neighborhoods, where the population is in the 20% range.
In New York and many other cities, Puerto Ricans usually live in close proximity with Dominicans and African Americans. High concentrations of Puerto Ricans are also present in numerous public housing developments throughout the city.
Puerto Ricans are present in large numbers throughout the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, which has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any borough. In some places in the South Bronx, Spanish is the primary language. Throughout the 1970s, the South Bronx became known as the epitome of urban decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...
, but has since made a recovery.
Puerto Rican population in New York
As of 1990, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent (Nuyoricans), numbered 143,974. Nearly 41,800 state residents (Nuyoricans) in 1990 had lived in Puerto Rico in 1985. According to the Census taken in the year 2000, Puerto Rican migrants made up 1.2% of the total population of the United States, with a population of well over 3 million Puerto Ricans (including those of Puerto Rican descent). If taken into account together with the almost 4 million Puerto Ricans who are U.S. citizens (nevertheless, excluded by the U.S. Census statistics of U.S. population), Puerto Ricans make up about 2.5% of the total population of U.S. citizens around the world (within and outside the U.S. mainland).
2010 Puerto Rican population by borough
New York City's total Puerto Rican population was 723,621 and they represented 8.9% of the population. The Puerto Rican population and the percentage Puerto Ricans make up of each borough, as of the 2010 census, is:
*Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
– 298,921 (21.6%)
*Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
– 176,528 (7.0%)
*Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
– 107,774 (6.8%)
*Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
– 102,881 (4.6%)
*Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
– 37,517 (8.0%)
Puerto Rican influence
In July 1930, Puerto Rico's Department of Labor established an employment service in New York City. The Migration Division (known as the "Commonwealth Office"), also part of Puerto Rico's Department of Labor, was created in 1948, and by the end of the 1950s, was operating in 115 cities and towns stateside. The Department of Puerto Rican Affairs in the United States was established in 1989 as a cabinet-level department in Puerto Rico. Currently, the Commonwealth operates the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has 12 regional offices throughout the United States.
Puerto Ricans in New York have preserved their cultural heritage by being involved actively in the different political and social rights movements in the United States. They founded "Aspira", a leader in the field of education, in 1961. The ASPIRA Association is now one of the largest national Latino nonprofit organizations in the United States.[Pantoja 2002: 93–108] Other educational and social organizations founded by Puerto Ricans in New York and else where are the National Puerto Rican Coalition in Washington, DC, the National Puerto Rican Forum, the Puerto Rican Family Institute, Boricua College, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies of the City University of New York at Hunter College, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, and the New York League of Puerto Rican Women, Inc., among others.
Hostos Community College in the Bronx, was named after a Puerto Rican Eugenio Maria de Hostos, and was founded as an all-Puerto Rican college. The college now accepts students of all races, however it largely caters to Hispanics with up to 80% of its students being of Hispanic descent. Boricua College is another originally all-Puerto Rican college with campuses in East Williamsburg and Manhattan.
Cultural ties between New York and Puerto Rico are strong. In September 2017, following the immense destruction wrought upon Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affec ...
, New York Governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a ...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
led an aid delegation to San Juan, including engineers form the New York Power Authority
The New York Power Authority (NYPA), officially the Power Authority of the State of New York, is a New York State public-benefit corporation. It is the largest state public power utility in the United States. NYPA provides some of the lowest-co ...
to help restore Puerto Rico's electrical grid
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
. Subsequently, on the one-year anniversary of the storm, in September 2018, Governor Cuomo announced plans for the official New York State memorial to honor the victims of Hurricane Maria, to be built in Battery Park City
Battery Park City is a mainly residential planned community and neighborhood on the west side of the southern tip of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by the Hudson River on the west, the Hudson River shoreline on the nort ...
, Manhattan, citing the deep cultural connections shared between New Yorkers and Puerto Rican Americans. The Hurricane Maria Memorial
The is a memorial in Battery Park City, Manhattan, New York City, to honor the victims of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017.
Background
Hurricane Maria was a Category 4 hurricane that went over the island of Pue ...
was unveiled by Governor Cuomo on March 26, 2021 in lower Manhattan.
Notable people who migrated to New York from Puerto Rico
The following is a short list of Puerto Ricans who migrated to New York and became notable in their own right:
* Alvarez, Aida – former Small Business Administrator
* Juanita Arocho – political activist, journalist
* Belen, Ivonne – movie director
* Badillo, Herman – first Puerto Rican to serve in Congress
* Braschi, Giannina – novelist and essayist
* Judge Cabranes, Jose A. – U.S. circuit judge
* Camacho Sr., Hector – boxer
* Casals Istomin, Marta – musician
* Collazo, Oscar – Puerto Rican nationalist
* Colon, Jesus – writer
* Colon, Miriam – actress
* Rev. Cruz, Nicky – minister
* de Burgos, Julia – poet
* Estavillo, Nicholas – the first Hispanic to become a three-star Chief in NYPD
* Falcon. Angelo – political scientist
* Ferrer, Jose – actor
* Garcia Rivera Sr., Oscar – first Puerto Rican to hold public office in the mainland USA
* Gonzalez, Isabel – paved the way for the Jones–Shafroth Act which conferred United States citizenship on all citizens of Puerto Rico
* Holly, Maria Elena – widow of "rock n roll" pioneer Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
* Labarthe, Pedro J. – poet, journalist, essayist, and novelist
* Lebron, Lolita – Puerto Rican nationalist
* Mark-Viverito, Melissa – elected speaker of the New York City Council in January 2014
* Méndez, Olga A. – New York state senator
* Méndez, Tony – The first native-born Puerto Rican to become a district leader of a major political party in New York City
* Moreno, Rita – actress
* Ortiz, Carlos – boxer
* Powell IV, Adam Clayton – N.Y. State Assembly member
* Santiago, Herman – composer of "Why do Fools Fall in Love"
* Serrano, Yolanda – HIV/AIDS activist
* Schomburg, Arturo Alfonso – considered by many as the "Father of Black History"
* Torres, Jose – boxer
* Velazquez, Nydia – congresswoman
* Lavoe, Héctor – Singer of the singers
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
* List of Stateside Puerto Ricans
This is a list of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States and Hawaii, including people born in the United States proper of Puerto Rican descent and Puerto Ricans who live in the United States proper. Since those born in Puerto Rico are US ...
* Puerto Ricans in the United States (Stateside Puerto Ricans)
* Nuyorican
* Nuyorican movement
* Nuyorican Poets Café
* Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have included European, Indigenous, and African influences, although many aspects of P ...
* Hispanics and Latinos in New Jersey
* Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia
References
External links
Puerto Rican Women
Puerto Rican migration within U.S.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puerto Rican Migration To New York
Hispanic and Latino American culture in New York City
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
Society of Puerto Rico
Ethnic groups in New York City