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PERCEPTIONS of RACE and RACISM in PUERTO RICO By

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PERCEPTIONS of RACE and RACISM in PUERTO RICO By ENTRE CAFRES Y BLANQUITOS: PERCEPTIONS OF RACE AND RACISM IN PUERTO RICO By GUILLERMO REBOLLO-GIL A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2005 Copyright 2005 by Guillermo Rebollo-Gil For Jim Haskins ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like the thank the members of my supervisory committee, Dr. Hernán Vera (chair), Dr. Constance Shehan, Dr. Kendal Broad, Dr. Charles Gattone and Dr. Efraín Barradas. Their guidance and support throughout this process proved to be invaluable. Their disposition, accessibility and willingness to offer advice and insightful critique of the work were uncanny. It was Professor Gattone, in his ever so subtle and kind manner, who stopped me from getting too stressed and ahead of myself during my preparation for the qualifying exams. He instilled in me a casual sense of self-confidence and basically outlined step by step what I needed to do to get through. It was in Professor Broad’s graduate seminar that I was reminded of my passion for the discipline. Through countless chats and discussions with her in the hallway before and after class, I was once again made to feel excited about the prospects of doing sociology and that excitement has stayed with me since then. It was Professor Shehan, who ever since I had the privilege to meet her has greeted me in the same fashion that she greets everybody: with a chilling type of warmth and happiness. During the last couple of years, I have had the opportunity to listen, share and receive advice from an individual who has nearly done it all in this University and my experience here has been better for it. It was Professor Barradas, who I knew from his books and articles since high school and read and admired from a distance. However, after I was first introduced to iv him as an undergraduate handing out flyers in Turlington Plaza, he has honored me with the privilege of simply “passing by” and “popping my head” in his office just to talk. I have no doubt taken advantage of his kindness and have managed to learn so much more about myself, literature, arts and Puerto Rican culture just by “popping my head” in his office than in so many courses, workshops and lectures combined. His support, guidance and friendship have been a blessing in my life. Lastly, I would especially like to express my deep admiration and appreciation for Professor Vera, who throughout the last four years of my life has occupied the roles of teacher, mentor, role model and friend. His gentle and amiable character combined with his generosity has served to remind me of what type of scholar and individual I want to be. I often look at him and wish that I was viewing a snapshot of myself in the coming years. That, in essence, is what I strive for. And that, in effect, is the promise I make to him as his student. Also, I would be remiss if I failed to mention and thank Eva Mendez, who graciously aided me in contacting participants for this study in Puerto Rico. Without her help, I would have never finished the project. The moment I got too frustrated, or too tired or too lazy to do the work, I would without exception get a call from her, telling me about somebody I needed to talk to immediately. Lastly, I would like to thank Amanda Beth, who even without reading it, would pontificate about how good the dissertation was. In a sense, I wrote it with her on my mind, often looking at the data and trying to figure out how “Amanda would interpret it,” knowing full well that I had to produce something at least somewhat decent if I was to continue sharing every single moment of my life with her. v TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Problema de Razas/Problem with Language ................................................................3 Race Talk in Puerto Rico: A Historical Perspective.....................................................7 Puerto Rican Identity as White Oriented....................................................................12 2 METHODS.................................................................................................................15 Introduction.................................................................................................................15 You Gave Me Power: Interviewer/ Respondent Dynamics ........................................16 Personal Issues with Reflexivity.................................................................................19 Cementing a Self-Reflexive Critique..........................................................................20 Issues with Language..................................................................................................21 The Sample .................................................................................................................23 My Story .....................................................................................................................26 “All about Me”: The Autoethnographic Bind ............................................................27 3 RACISMO LIGHT: DEFINING RACISM IN PUERTO RICO ...............................35 Estudiantes y Yo.........................................................................................................35 What’s in a Word?......................................................................................................38 “Guess who?” ......................................................................................................41 Blackness and Representation .............................................................................47 Black islanders and government ..................................................................48 No Black faces, just blackface on TV ..........................................................52 No Blacks allowed .......................................................................................54 Effects of White-Only Spaces: White Island Consciousness .....................................59 Black Spaces: The Importance of Family...................................................................65 4 RACIAL IMAGERY: BLANQUIT@S.......................................................................69 “Blanquito de Caparra”...............................................................................................71 vi Privileged Whites in Puerto Rico ...............................................................................72 High School ................................................................................................................74 Components of Privilege ............................................................................................77 “I Like to Live in America”.................................................................................79 White Consciousness and Political Ideology ......................................................84 “We All Come from Good Families Here” .........................................................85 The Psychological and Social Costs of Being a [email protected] 5 RACIAL IMAGERY: EL NEGRO, EL CAFRE Y LOS DOMINICANOS .............92 A Different Kind of Black ..........................................................................................92 Black Who? What?.....................................................................................................94 Something about The Subject Makes It Hard to Name.......................................94 Blackness in the Puerto Rican Imagination.........................................................97 El Negro/La Negra ..............................................................................................98 Cafres........................................................................................................................101 Cafres: The Basics.............................................................................................101 Cafre Looks .......................................................................................................103 Cafre as in Criminal...........................................................................................105 Dominicans in the Island Imagination......................................................................110 6 U.S. RACISM WITH A TAN ..................................................................................114 Blanquito in Blackface .............................................................................................114 White Americans in the Island Imagination .............................................................115 Gringos are Weird People to Me ..............................................................................116 Jorge (Sketch) ...........................................................................................................120 Racismo Allá/ Prejuicio Acá ....................................................................................121 African-Americans in the Island Imagination ..........................................................123 The U.S. as a Total Racist Society ...........................................................................124
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