Puerto Rican Pride
Project 4
For my culture, my people, and my mom who also kept asking me when I was going to do a project on our culture.❤️
English
&
Self in the modern world
For my research I felt very equipped since I have done a lot of projects that surround identity, race, and ethnicity that I was able to really focus on the rich culture of the Puerto Rican people. I wrote up a lists of questions to ask why people are proud and how they feel about the culture. Many of them expressed that they wouldn't change their culture for anything and all of them admitted they were proud. I created a short video (by short I mean 10 minutes long) highlighting different aspects of the culture by showing synthesis with a group of Puerto Rican people. One question that stuck out to me was one I had been researching and also have personally seen or experienced. A lot of them answered with many troubling things that i really appreciated because they are problems that are sometimes ignored in our culture. They did so in a way that didn't take away from their love of the culture but expressed the need for change for our people. In this project I used the words of those in the video to create a poem that speaks to my personal experiences and how I view things. I looked at different writers and lessons that helped with my writing. This project really was a chance for me to acknowledge the beauty of my background. I researched traditions, holidays, music, and many other things. Puerto Rico is known for its delicious food, drinks, music, and bodies of water but there is much more. There is a sense of community that wraps the island in this comfortable blanket where everyone knows everyone and if they don't that won't be a problem. I feel like there are parts that aren't acknowledged like the bomba dancing and music that is derived from african ancestors. Along with that there is instruments that come from all three races like the cuatro (Spaniards), guïro (Tainos), and the pandereta (Africans). Our culture is a mix of three and it is beautiful because of all the types of people you meet. I'm proud because it has grounded me in ways I can't explain. It is a huge part of who I am and I'm proud to come from unapologetic people.
Art
For art I stretched a canvas and used acrylic paints to incorporate different elements of the island. Personally I wanted to include a waterfall because the islands waterfalls are very beautiful to me. I looked at a specific waterfall in the forest "el yunque" it includes the juan diego waterfalls. Along wit the waterfall element I wanted to show the beautiful plant life. I painted a red skirt on a woman with her pulling it out to show the movements of the bomba dance that is an important part of Puerto Rican culture. I uncluded the three races at the top which are still a work in progress with instruments from each lineage. Most importantly to me I wanted to showcase the beautiful architecture that includes so many colors. I painted my great grandmas house who is the center of our family. May she rest in peace. I wanted to include her and her house to show not only the architecture but also how important family is viewed in our culture especially when it comes to our elders. This piece was very personal and held an immense amount of weight because I wanted to synthesize parts of my culture while still doing it justice with my limited abilities.
(Sidenote)The picture on the homepage of this project may look a whole leading to forests and plants but it was a beautiful sight called "Ventana" which translates to window. It was a cave that fell during the recent earthquakes.
(Sidenote)The picture on the homepage of this project may look a whole leading to forests and plants but it was a beautiful sight called "Ventana" which translates to window. It was a cave that fell during the recent earthquakes.