When I Was Puerto Rican

Rating:
Summary: A Gift From Santiago
Review: A joyful and proud eulogy to the island of her youth. Santiago is a wonderfully talented voice that exudes passion. The title alone, When I WAS Puerto Rican, is at first intriguing. But we soon learn the profound sense of this past tense usage. I read Santiago's memories in Spanish, which, in my view presents her story in a distinctive poetic prose, rhythm and rhapsody (often characteristic in Spanish) that is absolutely captivating. However, what is most appealing about this autobiogaphy, interwoven delightfully with memorable and richly detailed anecdotes, is the moving revelation that Santiago shares with her readers who don't know what it means to be caught in the agonizing web of dual-identities/dual-allegiances that is largely the Puerto Rican Experience ... as well as other North American immigrant experiences. This writer has presented us with a lyrical gift of enormous joy. High on the list of Must-Read novels, especially those by the new cadre of Latina writers. If you haven't as yet seen the excellent movie version of the sequel to this novel, Almost A Woman, do so. Wanda de Jesus is brilliant in the lead role.

Alan Cambeira
Author of AZUCAR! The Story of Sugar (a novel)

Rating:
Summary: Simply One of the BEST books I ever read from start to end
Review: I am not a reader by any means but I had to read this book for a class at school. What a "funny" name for a book I said to myself, I bet this book is going to be as boring as the other ones I was forced to read. Boy was I wrong ! As a fellow person from the Caribbean, Esmeralda is the best at storytelling. At times I felt I was there in Puerto Rico. She is vivid and tells a story with such innocence it reminded in so many different ways of my own life growing up in Trinidad. I could relate to her own life and I believe that this is a connection that only fellow Caribbeaner's could identify with. But she is so good at what she writes, all who read her book would understand her pain and happiness as an innocent 'jibara' growing up in P.R. I am convinced that this is not the last Esmeralda Santiago book that I will ever read. I give it 10 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Seeing into another culture
Review: When I was Puerto Rican is the story of a young girl's childhood in Puerto Rico. The story follows Esmeralda Santigo through her hardships and joys of growing up along with her mother and seven siblings. Esmeralda, nicknamed Negi, spent most of her childhood in Puerto Rico living in poverty. Her family did not have very much money and surviving was sometimes a struggle, especially when the family kept growing. The family's lack of money, (along with other reasons) cause them to move a lot, throughout Puerto Rico. All the moving caused problems with Negi; she often found herself lost in the world she's been living in her whole life. Not only does Negi's family not have much money, they also struggle to stick together. Negi's father, Papi, isn't home very much, upsetting Negi's mother immensely. She blames him for cheating and becomes very angry, resulting in Negi having a lot of unwanted responsibility around the house. This unwanted responsibility causes a strain on their mother-daughter relationship. Negi is constantly trying to find herself in a very confusing world, where her father is never around, her family is always moving and her relationship with her mother and siblings is inconsistent. Just when Negi turns 13 and the problems of her childhood seem to be settling down, her mother moves Negi and her siblings to New York City. This changes Negi's life completely; everything she once knew is left behind in Puerto Rico. She has to start all over again. Negi has to work very hard at school, to learn English and catch up with the other children her age. Through her hard work and determination she is able to accomplish a lot and make herself a bright future.
The book was nicely set up. The short, detailed chapters helped keep the book moving, and were able to often catch one's interest. The writing gave a great sense of the Puerto Rican culture. The book was very realistic to the culture; the food, the style of living, and the religious practices felt very real. Also, great detail was used when describing the type of land, and how it was used in the country. The story was very relatable; there were many problems that normal people face on a day basis. An example would be that because Negi is a preteen she and her mother don't agree on much. When Mami wants Negi to become more responsible and help out around the house Negi gets mad because she would much rather be outside playing. This is something most people can relate to one time or another in their life. Having these connecting experiences made the book easier to read.
There were a few weaknesses to the book. The way the author decided to demonstrate time was one of them. At the end on one chapter Mami had just given birth; the next chapter started with the family moving and shortly after Mami was once again having another child. In some chapters the time seemed very rushed compared to others, making the book hard to follow. Also there were times when the story slowed down dramatically and nothing much was happening for a while. This made it easy to lose interest. Because of these two weaknesses, the book felt choppy, which made it a little difficult to understand.
I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in the Puerto Rican culture, and likes reading a mellow book. Someone who didn't need a strong plot and can appreciate cultural differences would enjoy this book. If someone is not into either of those aspects of reading, I don't think this book would be a very good choice. It doesn't have enough to really pull a reader in for a long time. Overall, it was an educational book, that was nicely written, but it just didn't have enough to entice anyone for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful coming-of-age story
Review: Esmeralda Santiago's When I Was Puerto Rican is a beautiful novel! Santiago deftly captures that 'neither form here nor from there' feeling that so many immigrants face. Now, one might say that Puerto Ricans are technically not immigrants because P.R. is a U.S. territory, but they may as well be immigrants since the two cultures are so dramatically different. My favorite part of the book was the chapter titled 'Angels on the Ceiling'. In it, Esmeralda comes to New York and is placed in the seventh grade, even though she had passed the seventh grade in Puerto Rico. She protests in her limited English, "I no seven gray girl". She bargains with the principal and gets him to let her move up to the eighth grade in a few months if her English improves. He gives in, but puts her in the special ed. class. As a future teacher who will be teaching a lot of English learners, it always upsets me when I hear of native Spanish speakers being placed in special ed. So, obviously, that chapter had a particular impact on me. Anyone who has ever immigrated here from another country or who has ever had the experience of learning English as a second language can relate to "When I was Puerto Rican". What an evocative title, too!

Rating:
Summary: Why You Should Read When I Was Puerto Rican
Review: I recently read When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago for my Literature of Latino/as in the United States at the University of Iowa. This autobiography improved my understanding of the situation Puerto Ricans in their native land, and Puerto Ricans in the United States. In her autobiography Santiago told the story of her childhood in Puerto Rico and her move to Nueva York (New York) when she was thirteen.

A strength of When I Was Puerto Rican was Santiago's description of life in Puerto Rico. I learned facts about Puerto Rican culture that I did not know previously. One Puerto Rican tradition I learned was how they celebrate Christmas differently from Americans. In Puerto Rico they have a big neighborhood celebration where the community comes together at one house. There is traditional food such as roasted pig, pasteles, arroz con dulce, and tembleque. They also make a traditional drink called coquito which contains rum.

In my opinion the title was a weakness. To me the word "Was" symbolizes something in the past. Choosing When I Was Puerto Rican as the title made me believe that Santiago no longer thought of herself as Puerto Rican. I have not seen my father since I was a child, but he was born in Puerto Rico and I am half Puerto Rican. I never say I "was" Puerto Rican, I am still and will always be Puerto Rican-American. Even though the autobiography told of Santiago's culture and experiences as a Puerto Rican, I think the choice of "Was" took away from Santiago's heritage.

I found that When I Was Puerto Rican is similar to How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. Both are autobiographical accounts of female protagonists migrating to the United States from the Caribbean. They also are coming-of-age stories that describe the authors childhood in her native land and how the United States changes them in their teenage years. I would definitely recommend this autobiography to a friend, especially an adolescent.

Rating:
Summary: Santiago dazzles in devastating, illuminating ethnic memoir
Review: One of the most difficult challenges facing a memoirist is the task of making her particular story resonate with universal truths. Esmeralda Santiago's "When I Was Puerto Rican" is a stunning success; it not only captures the dynamics of identity creation, does so in the context of ethnic, class and geographic tensions. Santiago's coming-of-age saga encompasses an incipient awareness of her unique status as an oldest daughter, conflicted thinker and anguished observer of family disintegration. That she writes without a drop of self-pity is remarkable given the abundance of sadness and betrayal which swirl in her story.

For much of her childhood in Puerto Rico and her early adolescence in New York City, Santiago lives a dual life. Possessed of a "stubborn pride," her "frightened self hid" behind a false veneer of acceptance that "everything was all right." At once proud and ashamed of her rural "jibaro" identity, Santiago grapples with exactly who and what she is. In this respect, "When I Was Puerto Rican" reverberates with the near-universal dynamic of identity creation, hidden shame at life's circumstances and constant questioning of how and why families created such tortured environments in which children evolve.

Plaguing Santiago is the ambiguous, tormented relationship between her mother and father. Exposed equally to the sounds of lovemaking and arguments, Santiago can neither be surprised that her parents never wed or the constant absence of her hard-working, poetic but irresponsible father. Eventually, the pressures of this quasi-marital status between Mami and Papi erupt, and Santiago saves her best writing for its description. As her mother and father savage each other in verbal warfare, "they growled words that made no sense." Their fighting echoes "all the hurts and insults, the dinners gone to waste, the women, the abandonments." As Santiago "crouched against the wall," she witnesses her parents "disfigure" themselves with anger. "In their passion Mami and Papi had forgotten" their children. They were real "only to one another." Santiago and her siblings cower in a corner, "afraid that if we left them, they might eat each other."

This authentic voice carries throughout the memoir as the author explores the various influences of her own existence. Nicknamed "Negi" by her parents due to her dark complexion, Santiago is acutely aware of her ethnicity and is perplexed upon her move to New York that people who look like her (African-Americans) have deep, unfounded suspicions about her and her people. As a Puerto Rican, she develops ambivalence about the United States and the American presence not only on her native island, but in her heart as well. How American will she become? At what cost? These are the same questions millions of immigrants have asked themselves as they immerse themselves in their new land. But how can she be "new" when Puerto Rico is and has been America for all of her life.

Though "When I Was Puerto Rican" treats Esmeralda Santiago's life during the 1950s and 1960s, it has a timeless feel to it. Moving, illuminating and compelling, this memoir does much more than describe one girl's emerging self; it invites us to explore our own past and examine the forces which have created our own identity.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!Esmeralda holds NOTHING back!You wont put it down!
Review: This book is like a sneak peak into the hearts and lives of Puerto Rican migrants. Esmeralda Santiago writes in a way that makes you feel what she feels. She puts you in her shoes and takes you through her journey from Puerto Rico to the United States, as well as from her childhood to adolesence. Many people migrate to the United States searching for a better life without poverty. Unfortunately, in many cases these people are greeted with low paying jobs and discrimination. The effects of migration are different for everybody. The increasing number of immigrants coming to this country makes it necessary to educate yourself about different cultures. This seems to be the only way to break down the walls of misconception between people of different backrounds. Read this book and LEARN about the migration experience of a poor, Puerto Rican family in search of a better future. Beautifully written! Colofully detailed! Shockingly honest!

Rating:
Summary: Touching and Heart Felt
Review: I just finished "When I was Puerto Rican." I thoroughly enjoyed the book and connected with the author. Being the oldest female child in my family, I have felt the way that she did. The book takes you back through your adolescence and makes you exam life.

Another plus to the book is how much culture it has. I enjoyed learning about the culture, the food, the dichos (sayings). I am pretty familiar with the Mexican Culture but the Puerto Rican has a completely different vibe and I enjoy it. Esmeralda's experience in New York is what so many people dream of. She makes me proud of her and I feel that I know her so intimately. That is what I love about her writing. Thank you for being so honest with your readers.

Rating:
Summary: When I was Puerto Rican
Review: The book of "When I was Puerto Rican by; Esmeralda Santiagon was really great. It's shows the way she lived in Puerto Rico her life was easy she lived with her mother and her uncle that would always help them out, she also lived with six cousins. She got older she wanted to get married with this guy that she liked but her uncle wanted to get married with this older guy. She didn't want to but if she didn't her uncle would have to go to this counselor camp. That's when she decided to run away she wanted to go to America.
She wanted to come America and have a better life but sometimes cominh to america is so easy. She also wanted to come and find her dad that was a soldier. Esmeralda books are really amazing because she puts you in her shoes and she takes you with her in her journeys. She shows how hard it was for her to live in the situation she did. Not knowing anything about her culture. This book is a really good book if you want to know whether she goes to America and finds her dad and gets a better life.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is, without question, the best autobiography I've ever read. Santiago's writing is vibrant, fluid, and concise. Her evocation of life in PR as Americanization slowly seeps in is deadeye brilliant, and her transition to life in the margins in Brooklyn is heart-rending. She never uses a hammer to make her points, choosing the subtle, the offhand, the seemingly innocuous instead.

Edwidge Danticat should take notes. Ernesto Quinones should be embarrased.