'Lighten up": A brief analysis of 'color' in Boriken

Reggaeton artist, Tego Calderon, from Loiza, Puerto Rico

Below is an article I wrote awhile ago (6 years now) concerning the color complex in Puerto Rico. I lost my copy on disk however I found the article posted on www.stewartsynopsis.com, an excellant website about the African elements throughout the world and the processes that concealed them. I encourage everyone to check it out, the sister is well researched. After all, she obtained my article and posted it on there. Big ups! I wanted to post the article in reference to the Born degree (9th) in the lesson we call LIFE or the 1-40 (Lost found muslim Lesson No. 2) as ABG#7 would say. As the answer to the question in that degree states, "To conceal that..." I originally wrote the article with the God degree (7th) in the 1-14 (Lost Found Muslim Lesson No. 1) in mind, "Why does the Devil call our people African", concerning 'nationalism' and the last line of the degree, "He wants us to think we are all different." I am actually working on a revised version. Enjoy!

The Color Complex in Puerto Rico

When examining the psyche of Original people, we find that they (the majority) have been taken from their original nature and taught to think other than their own selves. This way of thinking is the effect of Yakub’s rules and regulations (societal policies in place to further the 'lightening' of darker societies), which has caused us to think we are all different, thus separating the shades through marital and breeding preferences: both of which are results of conscious and more importantly, subconscious grafting (eugenics).

It is visible all over the world, especially in the Caribbean islands and the lands of Latin America. In Puerto Rico, it is popular to be' light'. As it can be seen on television, lighter skinned Boricuas are shown as the dominant majority. Ideas of Desi Arnez (and a more contemporary Ricky Martin or Reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee) are the view of what a “true” Latino looks like. I can say that when I went to visit my physical father in Adjuntas, PR a couple years ago, most of the Boricuas I seen were mainly brown seeds/soil or darker. Many/most of the darker skinned Puerto Ricans are disregarded and simply silenced under the false idea of “nationalism”.Many Latin American countries use nationalism to blanket the ever-present African culture present amongst the people. The intellectuals in society, working on behalf of conservative elite in government, overtime constructed the image of the "mestizo" (mixture of Indian, African and Spanish) as the national heritage. The term is used as a blanket identity for the entire population, in attempts to unify the people under the idea of patriotism, i.e. "we are all Puerto Ricans/Cubans/Panamanians/etc."

The contribution to music such as 'Salsa' is well known, yet it is “not deemed a proper representation of authentic Puerto Rican culture by government officials”(1). Many boricuas abandon their African identity and even their Indian identity for the sake of being “Puerto Rican”. A major symbol of Puerto Rico is the “jibaro”. The jibaro is the country worker/ mountain man. He is usually portrayed as lighter skinned and takes great pride in their “Spanish” bloodline, even when many of them haven’t any. Jibaros, in reality of the descends of the escaped Taino and Maroon communities (Cimarrones). The elitists/politicians in Puerto Rico have mostly been the lighter Power Rule's (p-power, r- rule; as per the Supreme Alphabet of the Five Percenters), and even Europeans who have migrated there and married into Puerto Rican families, to carry on a “white” bloodline. However, even the lightest of boricuas were still considered “niggers” when they began to immigrate in large numbers to the United States to find work as cigar rollers (3); especially to New York (actually to Harlem where the Puerto Rican flag and Cuban flag were designed, at the same time to promote the Antillean revolution. The original flag that was to be used for Puerto Rico was the flag of Lares, a town which attempted to up rise against the Spanish colonizers and abolish slvaery in the late 1868 but were massacred). Anthropologists have argued that children in the local schools in Puerto Rico should be taught of their African roots (2). Their urging was to an extent successful and in many ways wasn’t.

The Spanish managed to kill off a lot of the native Tainos on the island by the mid 1500’s. Then African slaves were brought (in 1519) to substitute as workers. During the times of Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico, Africans outnumbered, not only the Tainos, but also the Spaniards of the island. The African population reached its zenith between 1530 and 1540 with a ratio of 5 to every 1 Spaniard, while managing to hold fast and even increase until the late 1700’s. Then in the mid 1800’s the Spanish officials brought in more Europeans (French, Italian and Dutch) to try and neutralize the influence that African culture had on the people. Let it also be known that slavery was abolished in 1873 on 'la isla de Puerto Rico'.The African legacy continues to live on in Puerto Rican culture, although many Boricuas take the bulk of their pride in their “Indio” bloodline. The fact is, that we as Boricuas do have a strong presence of Taino influence and blood in our culture as well as many other tribes within the West Indian region. For when the Tainos were murdered, the Spanish began to import other Indian peoples for labor as well. Amongst those being the Arawaks of South America, the Igneri/ Carib and the Lokono (2).

Platanos (plantains), gandules (Congo peas), bacalao and numerous elements of Power Rule 'la cultura' is “African”, specifically from the Yoruba peoples (thus the contribution of Santeria, a mix of Roman Catholicism and African Yoruba practiced by many peoples in the Caribbean). Not to mention that a significant amount of Chinese were imported shortly after the Africans to work as slaves as well. Yet and still it has been a topic largley ignored. Even though the particular dialect of Spanish is even strikingly different from other so-called 'Latin' Americans, because of the African linguistic influence from enslaved brothers and sisters who spoke 'bozal' Spanish. Bozal Spanish is a blend of Spanish, Portuguese and Ki-Congo; it is why many Puerto Ricans swallow their “s” (Como ta? instead of “Como estas”) and often say “r” like “l” or "h", because in that particular African tongue there is no “s” or “r”. It has come to the point where most people don’t regard Puerto Ricans as “West Indian”, however they are located IN the West Indies. Other countries are looked to such as Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, etc. This is not by choice, for the most part, but because this is the position that many Puerto Ricans move into, trying to be like their white oppressors. The behavior is found in many children and is called “identifying with the aggressor”. The child learns to take on attributes of the person of force that in some way is intimidating to them, in attempts to overcome it. This is done (mostly involuntarily) by our people as a way to combat the oppression placed upon us, as we attempt, not to conquer the opposing force, but to adopt many of it’s attributes and assimilate. Overlooked by us, there wasn’t any space made for us in their society of men, although we shed our identity and the very essence of our being in hopes of standing next to them on the golf course.

This mix of culture in 'Boriken' is why many other Latin American countries despise Puerto Ricans for being what they consider as “mutts”. They (other Latinos) predicate their culture and identity on their Spanish and Indian bloodlines, making it look more cleanly cut and pure (closer to the Spaniards). However, just as many, even more, Africans (and Chinese too) were taken to these lands, only to mix in with the Indigenous people, creating the culture and people we know of today. This, however, is not so for a few of the South American countries where, although they come under the title “Latino”, don’t be fooled Gods and Earths, check their family photos and family trees. In some countries, like Argentina, the Indigenous population was virtually all wiped out and high numbers of Europeans came. Therefore you can be from Argentina and have a pure Italian or German bloodline as many due. In Mexico for instance, one would think that all Mexicans (for the most part) look alike. The idea is that the majority are 'Indian' and Spanish mixes. However, they, like most other Latin American countries (i.e. Puerto Rico), are so-called “mutts” as well. During the Spanish occupation of Mexico, numerous amounts of African slaves were brought over to work. According to the University of Vera Cruz professor, Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, in his 1946 book entitled “The Black Population of Mexico”- the Africans eventually outnumbered the Spanish, even more than in Puerto Rico. The population in 1570 was said to be at 20,569. They too have become victims of “nationalism”. Many will say that since you don’t see many blacks in Mexico, that there probably wasn’t many there to begin with. They didn’t disappear, only mixed in, as shown by the many predominate elements in Mexican culture, such as instruments, music ("La Bamba") and food. There are many black and brown seed/shade people throughout Mexico. Many live in communities along the coast of the province of Guerrero to the south and Vera Cruz bordered by the Caribbean Sea. These communities generally keep to themselves, while the rest of Mexico, as in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, people favor “lighter” spouses and children.

There are many notable figures in Latin American history. One of those being Juan Garrido, the first “black” man credited (he was a Moor) with touching the shores of Puerto Rico in 1509. He was also the first to bring wheat to Mexico. Others include Rafael Cordero and Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. More to be revealed...

Peace and Blessings from your righteous brother,

Sha-King Cehum Allah

References:

Davila, Arlene “Contending Nationalisms: Culture, Politics, and Corporate Sponsorship in Puerto Rico,” from Francis Negron-Muntaner and Ramon Grosfoguel (eds), “Puerto Rico Jam: Essays on Culture and Politics. Minneapolis: U of Minneapolis, 1997. 2) Rouse, Irving The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus. New Haven: Yale, 1992 3) Vega, Bernardo The Memoirs of Bernardo Vega: A Contribution to the History of the Puerto Rican Community in New York. New York: Monthly, 1984.For more info also check out: http://www.stewartsynopsis.com/racial_amnesia.htm