Welcome to Retro Rewind, the TGJ original feature carved out to take our readers on a fun and informative journey to the past.
Today, ten years after its release, we celebrate the groundbreaking project that is Rosie Perez‘ ‘Yo soy Boricua, pa’que tu lo sepas!’
In it, the former ‘FlyGirl’ travels far and wide to learn the truth about her Puerto Rican history and ancestry.
What she discovers takes viewers on a riveting journey into Puerto Rico’s rich and glorious culture, its peoples ties to Africa and the government-backed sterilisation of its women in a cruel and racist bid to reduce its population size.
Take that journey to the past with us below….
I wanted to do a motion picture narrative piece and the places where I went kept telling me that, this isn’t true. I was like, “What do you mean it isn’t true?” “Well, it didn’t happen.” I said, “What do you mean it didn’t happen?” “They went voluntarily.” I was like, oh my God and I just couldn’t believe it! I said, “Why were there sterilization clinics placed in factories?” “Well?” That was the response. I said, “Well, if they’re major corporations and they’re placing sterilization clinics in factories, and the factories are only hiring predominately women, you don’t think that there’s something funny about that? “Well…” I said, “There’s legislative act 136 that passed and says sterilization should be practiced on the poor and the malfunctioned people who are not able to raise children and educate them in a proper manner. That’s a government legislative act passed! There’s nothing funny about that?” “Well, uh…” Those things did happen. Nobody wanted to make that movie, and I just couldn’t believe it. So, I kept pressing on and doing other projects, but it was always on the back of my mind.
Wow! I’m five minutes into this and already shocked. Why isn’t this taught in schools?
Because the white people running this country think their “history” is more important.
I can’t believe what I’m watching! They really stole these women’s wombs from out of their bodies.
I didn’t know that blacks And Latinos were used as human Guinea pigs for medical research until this year. All of this is really making me rethink a lot of things.
Its peoples ties to Africa.
Puerto Rico is probably the whitest island in the Caribbean, certainly there are blacks, whites and mixed people but the majority of the population is predominantly of European descent and they are aware of that. Culturally speaking neither since the island has been the subject of Americanization since the beginning of times + the Spanish culture is way too strong, the African influence on the island’s culture and people is less visible, even Black Puerto Ricans are culturally Spanish/Latin which is understandable since they grew up in a Latin cultural society.
Her documentary was good but doesn’t truly go in depth with ties to Africa….Puerto Ricans/Domiicans are closes Latino to being Black…If you ever in NYC we are truly one Community
As a Proud Afro Latino, Puerto Rican culture is predominately African with European/Spanish roots…There were millions of African Slaves in Island in 1800s….
Puerto Ricans come in all shapes, sizes, skin tones, hair textures …Many Puerto Ricans like Dominicans/Cubans wanted to identify as white in 60’s to escape treatment of black which threw the statistics off…
I love my Puerto Ricans but Rosie Perez/Jennifer Lopez are mainstream Latinos who only say enough about the community to claim their culture ….many do not talk about the African roots its in our Music (Reggaeton/Bachata), Food , body frame Etc….
Go to the Bronx and you will see Afro-Latinos but so many Latinos want to be accepted but majority of Carribbean Latinos are of African Descent no matter what their skin tone appears to be…Too many Carribbean Islander throw up I’m “Spanish” but if you were to ever go to Spain they would NEVER claim you because they only care for Purity and no PR, DOM or CUB is Pure…All Mixed
The media is so busy displaying Puerto Ricans who look like like J Lo and not the different shades so many outsiders think we are just another type of Mexican when we are unique mix of African, Taino, and European
I wish they taught in school what my Abuela taught me …can’t deny your genes or your culture no matter how text books or assimilated white washed statistics show
Wow