Paseo Boricua: Identity, Symbols and Ownership

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017

PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP

IVIS GARCÍA University of Utah

PASEO BORICUA: IDENTIDAD, SÍMBOLOS Y PROPIEDAD RESUMEN: Este artículo es sobre Paseo Boricua, un área co- piedad empleados por aquellos que se identifi- mercial demarcada por dos banderas de acero can en el área con la cultura puertorriqueña. El que representan la identidad puertorriqueña en artículo se basa en entrevistas personales, ob- Humboldt Park, Chicago. Las banderas y los es- servaciones y clips de periódicos, entre otros tablecimientos tienen la función de reclamar documentos, para abordar la siguiente pregun- este espacio como puertorriqueño. El propósito ta: ¿Cómo se pueden usar la identidad y los de este artículo es analizar la relación entre los símbolos para hacer reclamos colectivos de pro- sistemas de propiedad legalmente reconocidos piedad? y los métodos simbólicos para reclamar la pro-

KEYWORDS: PASEO BORICUA, PUERTORRIQUEÑOS, GENTRIFICACIÓN, DESARROLLO COMUNITARIO, PROPIEDAD.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons © Ivis García Paseo Boricua: Identity, Symbols and Ownership. 2017 ⎸América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017: 117-138. DOI: 10.13125/américacrítica/3014 118 IVIS GARCÍA

Introduction laws of market economies should, therefore, be seen as misinterpretations or fix- In this work, I argue that Puerto Ri- es of the temporary and instable process- cans in Humboldt Park Chicago have at- es of structuration that are largely based tempted to construct symbolic forms of on the decisions of the nation-state and ownership instead of individualized are contestable—and therefore malleable ideals that are common sense in capital- and re-definable—at the ground-level ist society. As will be demonstrated (Giddens 1986). throughout this paper, the so-called free- In this paper, I argue that declaring market, far from constituting a natural space through symbology is a form of force in human interaction, is thrust onto not only declaring ownership, but it is ef- communities through the invention and fectively a form of property—communal enforcement of private property rights property. Conceptions of property rights by nation-states. Put simply, where or- and ownership are offered here as a com- thodoxy depicts market exchange as nat- plementary framework to expand the ural and inevitable, this analysis main- work of other scholars who have exten- tains that market economics relies on sively studied and written about Paseo systems of private property legitimated Boricua, a commercial and cultural corri- by broader social systems (especially dis- dor in Humboldt Park marked by two courses surrounding conceptions of gateways in the shape of Puerto Rican “rights” of ownership) and the various flags. About 23 percent of Puerto Ricans enforcement arms of the national state. in the city of Chicago lived in the Hum- These systems, furthermore, are far from boldt Park neighborhood in 2010 (Cin- being in the assumed state of resolution trón et al. 2012). from which positive economists con- The function of Paseo Boricua has been struct their developmental theories. On described in length as a form of declar- the contrary, economic systems should ing a Puerto Rican space (Alicea 2001, be seen as vague and ambiguous com- Cruz 2007, Flores-Gonzalez 2001, Pérez, plexes, ever to remain in a constant state 2004, Ramos-Zayas, 2003, Rúa 2012). of flux and contestation. The supposedly Gina Pérez (2004) argues that Paseo natural and all-encompassing internal Boricua and the flags are one of the many

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 119 strategies that the Puerto Rican people Ana Ramos-Zayas’ book (2003) presents use to resist the negative consequences of “national performances” as a form of the kind of economic development that “survival” for Puerto Ricans. Beyond results in displacement. Based on this narrow understandings of nationalism analysis, we might argue that Paseo (e.g. flag waving), Ramos-Zayas concep- Boricua and the flags are a tool to express tualizes national performances as prac- Puerto Rican belonging to an urban (and tices. Every day, Puerto Ricans express thus rapidly changing) place, maintain resistance to issues of class, race, and cultural identity, and exert agency in the space (specifically, they react against the context of a racially and ethnically segre- process of gentrification). It is in this con- gated city. Chicago is highly segregated text that Ramos-Zayas aptly observes, by race—blacks, Latinos, and whites “Puerto Ricans shared an intimate un- largely live in different neighborhoods. derstanding of the conflictual meaning of This segregation by race and ethnicity the flags” (209) (And, I will add, Paseo has profound implications for unequal Boricua, as a whole). access to quality healthcare, education, Professors Pérez, Rúa, and Ramos Za- employment, and housing. When condi- yas, among a number of other Puerto Ri- tions improve in a neighborhood, gentri- can scholars, have discussed how this fication might serve as a tool of (re)segre- claim is reinforced by the flags of steel gation. that act as gateways to Paseo Boricua— The basis for declaring space, accord- along with the businesses, nonprofits, ing to Rúa, is the development of a and a variety of cultural symbols on the “grounded identidad” (identity) defined street—that evoke this feeling and mate- as “demands and struggles over place riality of a Puerto Rican space. The mate- and memory” (162). In her book, Rúa ex- riality of the flags is not only due to the plains how the Puerto Rican identity in representation of Puerto Rican laborers Chicago has emerged from the struggles (many of whom worked in the steel mills of the Puerto Rican people and continu- when they first came) but piping and ous displacement from urban renewal welding used in the flags themselves. projects and gentrification. As a result, Through the use of symbols, the physical Puerto Ricans have framed their identity space becomes claimed. This declaration through resistance and Paseo Boricua and over space, in turn, reinforces Puerto Ri- its flags are a material representation of can national performances, grounded in the nexus between identity formation space, of those who live there. It sends a and placemaking. Instead of identity, clear signal that the Puerto Rican com-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 120 IVIS GARCÍA munity is distinct and unique, but also Part II investigates the creation of that it is part of the city of Chicago and Paseo Boricua and its role in directly that it intends to remain so even in the creating a community identity and face of gentrification. claims to ownership through sym- Besides claiming a physical space in bols. This section uses newspaper Chicago, Puerto Ricans are actively try- clips and conversations with residents ing to reclaim their voices and take up a and community leaders to investigate “metaphorical space” as a group of people who deserve to be heard and recog- how people feel and talk about the in- nized. Struggles are easier to endure, and stallation of the monumental flags in victories can be enjoyed together as a Paseo Boricua. In addition, this section group. The only way Puerto Ricans can discusses how the flags are symboli- remain in the face of gentrification is if cally used to claim ownership over they declare “ownership” over space. space. Finally, in Part III, lessons will This research seeks to construct a frame- be drawn about the importance of work to interpret Puerto Rican narratives Paseo Boricua as a tool for creating a surrounding ownership in Humboldt Puerto Rican “rootedness” to place in Park, Chicago. In this article, I argue that order to stem the process of gentrifi- Puerto Ricans in the Humboldt Park cation. I will discuss the importance neighborhood have employed the Puerto of acknowledging cultural and histor- Rican identity as a form of constructing symbolic ownership over space. This ical ideals and how these claims move ownership is not individualized; it is us away from the dominant ideology communal. This kind of ownership of the value of a thing or a place by stands in opposition to the commodified only acknowledging exchange-values ideals held as common sense within the (Harvey 1983). broader nation-state. In that light, this paper asks: How can identity and symbols be used to make collective claims of 1. Theoretical background ownership? This section will discuss how the un- To answer this question, in Part I, even development of capitalist society conceptualization of gentrification, might cause gaps in rent value and po- rent gap theory, placemaking, and the tential value of an exchangeable com- right to the city will be discussed as modity—land, housing, or commercial part of the theoretical background. property—and, thus, result in gentrifica-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 121 tion. This section will also discuss how, tuted by “the disparity between the po- through placemaking, everyday people tential ground rent level and the actual challenge the dominant and longstand- ground rent capitalized under the ing traditions of individual property present land use” (22). Thus, there is the rights. Urban development tends to actual rent—based on its present use— frame market economics as being under- and a potential rent based on a potential girded by natural systems of private “highest and best” use. The disparity be- property rights, the ubiquity of market tween the two is the rent gap. Many ur- exchange, and the invisible balancing act ban theorists, including neoclassical of individualized competitive motiva- economists as well as Marxists, have not- tions. This article seeks instead to under- ed that when rents that could have been stand cultural groups’ diverse perspec- extracted from a given location become tives surrounding conceptions of owner- lower, property owners do not have any ship while simultaneously interrogating interest in repairing and maintaining the the means by which these groups come buildings (Bourassa 1993, Smith 1979). to terms with and contest the imposi- Therefore, the area starts experiencing tions of dominant social groups on their further and further disinvestment. When communities through placemaking prac- the rents are sufficiently low, speculators tices—including gentrification. start holding properties for future rede- Ruth Glass coined the term “gentrifi- velopment. cation” in 1964 in her book London: As- As soon as the future land rent sets in, pects of Change. She defined the process capital might start flowing into the area, as when the middle class, block by block, properties in mild disrepair might be re- transforms the homes of the working developed, and those which fell into class to the point that the character of en- complete disrepair might be torn down tire neighborhoods has been changed. In and new buildings take their place. The this process, working class people are end result of this process might be the displaced because they are no longer same regardless if redevelopment or new able to afford the upgraded residences. development takes place—the people Neil Smith’s (1979) rent gap theory of who used to inhabit the area are less like- gentrification explains why some areas ly to be able to pay the new rents and gentrify. If a gap exists between the cur- therefore may be displaced. This theory rent and potential ground rents (on the shows how investment in capitalist cities piece of land only), then the area might could be in many cases cyclical. An in- gentrify. For Smith, a rent gap is consti- ner-city neighborhood could experience

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 122 IVIS GARCÍA investment, disinvestment, and reinvest- man creation of social meaning shapes ment in a matter of decades. Smith’s the- the physical landscape (Lefebvre 1992). ory should not be taken in a determinis- Lefebvre believed that people could tran- tic way—the existence of a rent gap does scend capitalism by claiming their “right not guarantee gentrification, and socioe- to the city.” The practice of placemaking conomic and cultural conditions might can become a way of challenging the interfere with the process. In the case of view that space is not only physical, but Puerto Rican Chicago, we will see how it is also abstract, being mental and so- Puerto Ricans have tried to halt gentrifi- cial. cation through the making of a Puerto Despite economists’ concerns of the Rican space. potential for homogenous development, In this article, I will show that the role this paper argues that it is critical that we of placemaking in the creation of a Puer- come to terms with the empirical fact to Rican enclave has been key to both the that communities’ economies are built development and survival of the Puerto around historically contingent and path- Rican community. The Puerto Rican dependent traditions and evolving cul- identity is both a tool to develop and a tures (Hodgson and Knudsen 2013). tool to avoid displacement. Placemaking Claims to place vary from the in Humboldt Park accentuates the Puerto economistic depictions of sameness to Rican identity through the use of flags, the rich array of shared traditions, histo- vibrant colors, murals, Spanish words ries, and modes of expression in general, and names, and a vast array of symbols including the imagined homogeneity im- (e.g., the coquí, a local frog celebrated on posed by popular forms of media like the island of Puerto Rico). The culture television programming and news re- and identity of people, when manifested ports or by social classifications (Bour- in the urban built environment by resi- dieu 1984). Wryly speaking, we might dents, business owners, non-profits, and say that this paper seeks to problematize others, especially when coming from the the imposed narratives of sameness by grassroots, is known as placemaking positivist commentators vis-à-vis the em- (Thomas 2016, Walljasper 2007). In this pirical truth of difference between com- particular case, placemaking becomes a munities, cultures, and, indeed, way of claiming ownership over space. economies, and how these are manifest- Henri Lefebvre explained how city ed in space. One clear example of place- dwellers produce and reproduce space making through the accentuation of cul- through their everyday practices. Hu- tural difference is the gateway flags of

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Paseo Boricua. The next section discusses can rights, citizenship, and communal their history and meaning. ownership. The existence of an expansive Puerto Rican symbology as a form of social and political power makes this a 2. Paseo Boricua compelling case for studying how the production of symbols affects the ab- Monumental flags stract forces of market accumulation and The Puerto Ricans’ status as a diaspo- vice versa. ra and group of colonial subjects who The two giant metal Puerto Rican have been constructing a community in flags function as a gateway for a sev- exile, in constant change and mobility, en-block corridor of Puerto Rican busi- has been discussed by a number of Puer- nesses, restaurants, and non-profit orga- to Rican scholars (Duany 2002, Flores- nizations—this strip is considered by Gonzalez 2001). Diaspora refers to those those living inside and outside of the Puerto Ricans who live in the United area to be the heart of Chicago’s Puerto States (Whalen and Vazquez-Hernandez Rican community (Flores-Gonzalez 2001, 2005). Puerto Rican migration accelerat- Rúa 2012, Pérez, 2004, Ramos-Zayas, ed after World War II when commercial 2003). These wavy flags, whose steel was planes started to fly from San Juan, Puer- fabricated by Chicago Ornamental Iron to Rico to New York City and later on to Co., each weigh about 45 tons, rise to 56 Chicago. Hundreds of thousands of feet in the air, and extend 59 feet across working-class men and women migrated the street (Flores-Gonzalez 2001). They in search of employment and a better stretch for a whole mile on Division life. These diasporic forces have specific Street, between Western and California social and spatial manifestations in Avenues (Guerrero 2003). According to Chicago tied to gentrification and the activists, they are the largest flags in the need to create a pedacito de patria (a piece world that are not made of cloth. These of motherland) (Flores-Gonzalez 2001, flags were made of physically powerful Pérez, 2004, Ramos-Zayas, 2003). Specifi- steel to commemorate Puerto Rican in- cally, Paseo Boricua (with its flags of steel) dustrial workers who first arrived to and Humboldt Park have become a kind Chicago and worked long hours in the of national territory and politically sover- hot steel mills (Cruz 2007). eign state that, in the face of neighbor- Paseo Boricua includes a Puerto Rican hood change, according to activists, must Walk of Fame resembling the Hollywood be protected so as to protect Puerto Ri- Walk of Fame and features the names of

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 124 IVIS GARCÍA distinguished Puerto Ricans like Lucecita 2003). Benitez, Tito Puente, El Gran Combo, (see Figure 1 – p. 133) Andy Montañez, Chucho Valdés, Calle Construction of the monumental flags 13, and many others. The area has many was completed in 1995, and dedication street murals that date back to the 1980s, occurred on January 6th (Three Kings painted by Puerto Rican and non-Puerto Day) of that year. They were created un- Rican artists. Street banners showcase der the leadership of Billy Ocasio, Alder- the three heritage pillars of Puerto Ri- man of the 26th Ward at the time. The cans: the sun (indigenous), el vegigante or cost of the flags is estimated to be about carnival mask (African), and la garita or $450,000 and an additional $750,000 was watch tower (Spanish). spent on street enhancement projects As part of a sidewalk beautification (Newman 1995). It was determined that project, 78 large pots were placed, each the project would generate between decorated with paintings of one of the 78 $70,000 and $80,000 per year, which town flags of the Puerto Rican island. means that the total investment of $1.2 The strip has about 16 small plazas with million would be recovered in about 16 stone tables and benches for public use. years (it has been more than 23 years al- At the tables, visitors can wait for the ready). According to DeStefano and Part- bus, play dominoes, or simply chat with ners, the architecture company that de- a neighbor. In addition, some of the signed the monument, the flags were cre- building façades of affordable housing ated to last more than 500 years. Their projects like La Estancia Apartments and fantastic ingenuity won an award from Teresa Roldán Senior Apartments have the American Institute of Architects as been built to look like the architecture of well as six other prestigious awards. Old San Juan—with pastel colors, wrought-iron balconies, and tile-roofed Flags bringing hope to a marginalized buildings. Supermercado La Municipal (Su- community permarket “The Township”) is made to resemble a Spanish fortress in San Juan. Even before the monumental flags Many businesses are named after rural were installed there were a number of towns in Puerto Rico such as Yauco, Puerto Rican restaurants and shops on Rincón, Jayuya, and others. The flags of Division Street. Thus, there were already Paseo Boricua make the area the “only of- notions that Division Street was a “Puer- ficially recognized Puerto Rican commu- to Rican space,” according to politicians nity area” in the United States (Guerrero and activists who were involved in its

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 125 creation. But the socioeconomic and in the neighborhood started before the physical appearance of Division Street 1960s, with the oldest Puerto Rican propagated the notions of an undesirable restaurant in Paseo Boricua being the space, not only among the mainstream Latin American Restaurant and Lounge, but also among the Puerto Rican com- which opened for business in 1958. With munity. the demographic and socioeconomic Urban scholars have long discussed change, the commercial district also the relationship between suburbaniza- started to experience decline (Betancur tion, white flight, and exclusion, process- 2002). es that have contributed to poverty con- Thus, before the city investment in the centration, hyper-segregation and, in 1990s, the inner-city blocks where Paseo many cases, downward socioeconomic is located were considered a sign of fail- mobility since the 1960s and 1970s (De ure. Arson was a familiar experience for Souza Briggs and Wilson 2005, Downs Puerto Ricans, and it carried a sense of 1973, Smith 1979). Division Street has ex- normalcy (Alicea 2001; Pérez 2004; Rúa perienced several economic shifts in sta- 2012). Figure 2 shows how six census bility and decline. Many Ukrainian and tracts around Paseo in 1990 experienced a Polish immigrants settled in the area be- population decline of about 6 percent tween Western and California Avenues— from the previous decade, high vacancy thus Division Street had many business- rates (14 percent), high poverty levels (44 es ethnically targeting the residents of percent), and high unemployment (17 the area (Padilla 1987). But as white percent) (U.S. Census Bureau). Eduardo flight occurred during the following Arocho, executive director of the Divi- decades, Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, and sion Street Development Association, ex- other Eastern European bakeries and plains in a personal conversation that grocery stores started to close. These many of the businesses in Paseo at the were later transformed into Puerto Rican time were just “surviving.” All these bakeries and bodegas, and the same was things were reflected in what is the pre- experienced by hardware and retail dominant image of the disinvested inner- shops, restaurants, and so forth. While city: the abandoned, filthy, and crime- the original features remained in the ridden city block. buildings (say, ovens, like in the case of Gangs such as the Latin Kings, Maniac Café Colao), the identity of the business, Latin Disciples, Insane Spanish Cobras, as well as the clientele, completely and Imperial Gangsters, among others, turned around in a few decades. Change dominated this inner-city territory. Occa-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 126 IVIS GARCÍA sionally tensions between gangs and leaders themselves as “fragmented.” community members emerged. In March All these conditions constituted forms 1996, for example, about 75 residents of “divisions” according to key infor- who were critical of the gang violence mants. Even though Studs Terkel stated and their ways of taking over the streets, at the beginning of his 1967 book, Divi- held signs that read: “Hey, Hey, Go sion Street: America, that, “although there Away, Gangs and Drugs, No Way” is a Division Street in Chicago, the title of (Chicago Tribune 1996). The rally was or- this book is metaphorical” (xxv)—he ganized after the police arrested 44 sus- probably would have enjoyed learning pected gang members in mid-March of that, for the Puerto Rican community, La that year. “We own these streets. We pay Division (the Division) was more than a the house notes (sic) and the property metaphor. Eduardo Arocho, Executive taxes,” a 20-year resident commented to Director of the Division Street Business the Chicago Tribune on how the commu- Development Association, spoke in a nity needed to take the streets back personal conversation about what the (Chicago Tribune 1996). metaphor means, as well as the transfor- The proliferation of organized crime, mation of La Division to Paseo Boricua, along with the 1966 and the 1977 riots We also have the challenge of the history of (which both erupted as protests against Division Street, La Division because I see police brutality), further compounded them as two separate places. La Division families’ fear about living in the area and Paseo Boricua are two different places, (Pérez 2004). This fear of crime, for a but they occupy the same space…The history of “La Division” is gang, violence, very long time, was reinforced by real es- drugs and all of the bad cositas que la gente tate developers who avoided the neigh- le gusta hablar (little things that people like borhood and categorized it as to say). Paseo Boricua is this new place that “blighted.” The banking industry, we are trying to create out of that history. through redlining, discouraged buyers Flores (2001) explains how La Division from moving to the area, depressing changed its identity to become Paseo housing prices even further (Betancur et Boricua: al. 2001). And as more white families, and later on middle class Puerto Ricans, While “La Division” has been the location left el barrio (the hood) for safer commu- of Puerto Rican economic, political and cultural expression for the past thirty nities and better schools, these problems years, it has been an unorganized space were exacerbated. The Puerto Rican com- with unmarked and ambiguous bound- munity was described by community aries that made it difficult for outsiders

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to distinguish it as a Puerto Rican com- the Puerto Rican population went from munity. This left the neighborhood prey 9,771 to 6,228, which represents a drop of to urban development and gentrifica- 32 percent. tion. By contrast, Paseo Boricua is a planned and conscientious effort that transforms “La Division” into a recogniz- Halt gentrification able economic, political and cultural space for Puerto Ricans and clearly de- Paseo Boricua has many characteristics marcates the boundaries of the commu- that made it susceptible to gentrification: nity. “La Division” contains the spirit of its proximity to downtown, highway ac- the Puerto Rican community, but Paseo Boricua is the concrete reaffirmation of cess, buildings of good quality, and, most Puerto Rican collective identity in Chica- importantly, blocks zoned for commer- go and their will to stay put (9). cial use. Additionally, east of Western there are highly successful businesses As Flores explains, prior to Paseo that mostly belong to gentrifiers, LLCs Boricua, La Division was a non-organized and other types of corporations. This and unmarked area. Paseo Boricua be- area in the 1990s was predominantly came the central space through which Puerto Rican prior to gentrification. As community leaders began to realize the Hipolito Roldán, Chief Executive Officer goal of advocating hope and self-deter- and President of Hispanic Housing De- mination. Even further, I argue, planning velopment Corporation put it: the space in a deliberate manner had the effect of claiming ownership, and there- The city is growing to become a Greater by fighting gentrification. Today, 2010 Loop, and while many poor neighborhoods have been losing population, there statistics (see Figure 2 – p. 133) reveal is a concentration of capital and land spil- that the area, in some respects, has im- ling out to our neighborhoods. There has proved; for example, poverty levels have been a great competition from yuppies. gone down 31 percent, and unemploy- At the Puerto Rican Agenda retreat ment is down 9 percent (U.S. Census Bu- that Billy Ocasio convened in 1993, Puer- reau). On the other hand, vacancy rates to Rican leaders came to the realization of 17 percent speak to how the 2008 fore- that Puerto Ricans needed to establish a closure crisis affected the area. Popula- place once and for all, after being dis- tion decline is still a challenge in post-in- placed by urban renewal projects from dustrial cities like Chicago: from 2000 to Lincoln Park and the Near North Side 2010 the six census blocks around Paseo during the 1960s and 1970s (Padilla 1993; showed a population decline of 18 per- Fernandez 2012; Alicea 2001) and, more cent. Specifically, within the last decade,

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 128 IVIS GARCÍA recently, the West Town community area leader and visionary added to Medina’s during the 1990s (Betancur 2002). But point, more than Lincoln Park, Old Town, and How do we actually lay claim to that area? Near North Side, historically, West Town —this was the discussion at Roberto (where officially Paseo Boricua is located Clemente High School in 1993. The flags, as per the 77 Chicago community areas) the Institute for Puerto Ricans Arts and has been the community area with the Culture…all came out of that. By 2003 Di- vision Street had the most Puerto Rican most Puerto Ricans (see Figure 3 – p. owned buildings, at that time there were 134). 120 establishments, 10 of them Puerto Ri- Puerto Rican leaders and politicians can restaurants. We have more Puerto Ri- wanted to create a permanent symbol for can restaurants than anywhere in the U.S. I Puerto Rican culture in the community, think we ought to talk about critical space. Others may talk about social justice. This is capable of sending a strong signal of the last area that has a Puerto Rican space. “who owned the area,” as described by a For me critical space and place are impor- member of the Puerto Rican Agenda, a tant. collective of Puerto Rican leaders in the Puerto Rican leaders seem to be in Humboldt Park area. The chair of the agreement that the official creation of Puerto Rican Agenda at the time, Pablo Paseo Boricua, with the city of Chicago’s Medina, at a retreat held on May 2014 re- installment of two steel Puerto Rican minded everyone about the purpose of flags acting as gateways, acts as a physi- that first retreat in 1993: cal and mental barrier against gentrifiers. Puerto Ricans have been nomads in the These gateways inadvertently serve to city. The idea would be that we would be defend the space and claim ownership. A following the Poles and the other groups community leader further explained, “ that moved in and moved out. We all know that if you do not control the land, My view is that you need the mecha- you will be displaced. Some thought that nism to go out there and to tell them and we would end up in Wisconsin! We started say, “We have a map, we are here,” and thinking about coordinating our strategies. then another mechanism is of just keep- We wanted to coordinate our capacities. ing people (the gentrifiers) out.” We have been meeting the first Saturday of every month. I have not seen a group more Paseo Boricua, then, became a strategic faithful to this vision. We are still here, but focus for the strengthening of the Puerto now the forces are reappearing that want Rican community, the anchoring of space to move us. that gave it recognition and thus a place José López, a long-term community to marshal the forces against gentrifica-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 129 tion. Although the blocks around Paseo could consume (e.g. food) but also the Boricua have been losing Puerto Rican people (familiar faces, language, and population, a concentration of Puerto Ri- way of interacting). A piece of Puerto cans in Chicago still remains and form a Rico was produced and reproduced not “critical space,” as José López puts it. only by the physical space but also the The six census tracts around Paseo expe- mental and social space. rienced a peak on their Puerto Rican Many Puerto Rican ethnic enclaves in population in 1980 (47 percent), and then the United States from El Barrio (NYC) a steady decline—in 2010, 26 percent of to Williamsburg (Brooklyn) to Wynwood the population was Puerto Rican. The (Miami) have been historically formed as gentrified area had a total Puerto Rican a socio-spatial unit dedicated to produce population of 25 percent in 1970 and to- and maintain Puerto Ricanness in the day is about 5 percent (see Figure 4 – p. face of displacement, whether from the 135). island of Puerto Rico or from the gentri- fying communities of the mainland U.S. But while U.S. and mainstream ideolo- 3. Discussion gies of individual property and market-oriented urban redevelopment have Paseo Boricua is considered “a city pushed to facilitate the accumulation of within a city” by activists like Enrique capital, community leaders in Humboldt Salgado because it serves multiple roles Park have decided to come to the defense as a residential neighborhood, a business of el barrio. Paseo Boricua and the con- district, and a space “owned’ by the struction of the flags could be seen as a Puerto Rican community. The creation of form of “Latino Urbanism”—a contribu- Paseo Boricua has been ambitious from tion to the everyday landscape and cul- the beginning—the goal, as stated by tural imagery of the city from and for community leader José López, to “make Latinos with the purpose of resisting a our community the heartbeat of the long history of racialization, marginaliza- Puerto Rican diaspora.” Personally, as a tion, and inequality in the United States Puerto Rican of the diaspora myself, (Diaz and Torres 2012). And, I further ar- Paseo was the only place in the city gue, it constitutes the very essence of where I could experience my own cul- property through the mixing of labor, a ture. Paseo gave me a deep sense of be- conception that has not been acknowl- longing, not only in terms of the aesthet- edged by gentrifiers (who, in the case of ics (colors, murals, etc.) and the things I Humboldt Park, are mostly white) and

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 130 IVIS GARCÍA others who have more purchasing capac- (exchange values)—and the views of the ity than those of the working-class (most- community, more generally, who would ly Puerto Ricans). It is not recognized like to have a place for community facili- that puertorriqueñidad (Puerto Ricanness), ties like schools, health services, and this shared sense of territoriality, made nonprofit organizations (use values). An devalued land valued again. With the important fact to note here is that about flags of Paseo Boricua activists and other one-third of the commercial space on puertorriqueños (Puerto Ricans) have cre- Paseo is occupied by non-profit organiza- ated value without creating a surplus tions (non-commodified space). that deprives others of social and eco- The rich history of Paseo Boricua makes nomic benefits. it a useful case study that provides in- In this essay, I have proposed that sights for understanding the complex Paseo is the historical product of a num- politics around identity within a gentri- ber of intersecting factors, and arguably fying space and how people claim own- it was created as a symbol of ownership ership. The flags of steel were conceived over space. As Billy Ocasio points out, as a mechanism of ethnic empowerment, “The flags, we needed them.” The instal- ownership, and identity formation for lation of the Puerto Rican flags in 1995 the community at large. Counter-dis- represented a new chapter for the com- courses that contest displacement and munity—a Puerto Rican marker that embrace claims of equality, social justice, slowed down gentrification and brought and fairness for the Puerto Rican people, hope and much needed economic devel- are created and re-created through what opment into these inner-city blocks. The Paseo Boricua means symbolically. construction of the flags created an ideal- As discussed, Paseo Boricua represents ized version of Puerto Ricans in the city many things to Puerto Ricans living in of Chicago and beyond—unified, hope- Chicago, but especially for those who ful, proud, and capable of self-empower- have fought for its establishment and for ment and ownership. those to whom the monument is part of Twenty years later, Paseo is a true mix their everyday lives. This is why, more of Puerto Rican businesses, community than ever, Puerto Rican leaders along services, and affordable housing projects. Paseo feel that it is their responsibility to There seems to be, to the naked eye, a ensure a favorable outcome for the com- disparity between the discourses of busi- munity at large: development without ness owners of what Paseo should be—a displacement. Along these lines, they place that is capable of attracting tourists have promoted various affordable hous-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 131 ing projects in Paseo. As Pablo Medina, ing ownership over space. former chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda From the sections above, we can see reflected about the potential loss of Puer- the tensions that exist between claims to to Rican control over the space: legitimacy and claims to property. On the one hand you have newcomers trying to We are almost 20 years later, still here, alive and kicking. We want to bring devel- buy private and individual property opment without displacement. But who with the capital they have at their dispos- has done that? We have done that! We are al, raising property values for everyone. the developers, without displacing people. On the other hand, you have old-timers The Puerto Rican Agenda is an example trying to claim social ownership, mostly that, “que si se puede!” (yes, we can!). And as long as we are part of the have-nots we through the installation of public gate- will be having the same issues. La lucha ways, displaying flags, and painting mu- continua! (the struggle continues). Having rals. The case of Paseo Boricua guided my the same issues doesn’t mean that we have analysis because it questions the legiti- not done anything. We have created af- macy of private property for exchange- fordable housing, businesses…we have grown! We have done all that without any values by claiming a Puerto Rican space money. So, if you want to preserve a com- for use-values. Paseo has been used by munity: do not stay home! The best thing community leaders to communicate that that we have done is moving the resources “Paseo belongs to us.” In other words, of our community. We are communi- Puerto Ricans are claiming their legiti- ty-based. macy in that space. They are saying, Today, more than 20 years after the in- “this is our property,” even though legal- stallment of the flags of steel, members ly it might belong to the public (this is a of the Puerto Rican Agenda keep orga- monument paid for with public dollars) nizing against gentrification. A number or to private investors (as in the case of them have recently bought properties with the residences in the area). Activists along the commercial corridor and are have been involved in projects of identity planning to transform them into spaces politics as a way of resisting gentrifica- for community—new businesses, art cen- tion pressures. We see how, throughout ters, and housing projects will thrive on the public discourse presented above, the remaining vacant and foreclosed symbols are used to communicate to oth- properties. The case of Paseo Boricua ers a single concept—that of legitimate shows that displacement is not a given ownership. and that gentrification is not natural— Puerto Rican leaders from the Agenda, people can organize against it by claim- including myself, and elsewhere feel that

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 132 IVIS GARCÍA it is their responsibility to ensure a favor- nancialization, appropriation through able outcome for the community at large dispossession, and so on— but these ac- (development without displacement or tions are just a first step that should be use values over exchange values). But accompanied by larger claims (such as their thinking is quite opposite to the getting more units of affordable housing, logic of individual property rights as the establishment of community land proposed by Locke (Locke, 2003). They trust and co-ops, etc.). Although this are really thinking collectively. The case might be just a piece of the puzzle, of Paseo Boricua shows an activist move- through the creation of Paseo and its ment that uses urban space (the flags, the symbols, Puerto Ricans imagine this cul- buildings that display Puerto Ricanness, tural heritage to be preserved for the the public sidewalks that surround the benefit of future generations. As Eduar- private businesses, and so on) as a tool to do Arocho, the Executive Director of the not only make their voices being heard, Division Street Development Association but claiming what they wanted right proclaimed, “Those flags are permanent away with the creation of symbols. In monuments that belong to the City of this sense, the idea of Paseo as an instru- Chicago. The unique history is specific to mental right of resistance to gentrifica- Puerto Ricans in Chicago area, not New tion has played a key role in the con- York. The flags are made to last 500 struction of a new sense of legitimacy in years, perhaps longer than Chicago itself, the recent housing struggles against and most definitely longer than any of us poverty and unemployment that could will be around”. be traced back to neoliberalization and fi-

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 133

Figure 1

Figure 2 - Title: Puerto Rican population from 1970-2010 by community area. Source: U.S. Census, 1970-2010 Long Form data and the 2010 Summary File 1. Note: This table includes only community areas which at some point had more than 5,000 Puerto Ricans.

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Figure 3

2017 América Crítica. Vol. 1, n° 2, dicembre 2017 PASEO BORICUA: IDENTITY, SYMBOLS AND OWNERSHIP 135

Figure 4

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IVIS GARCÍA Originally from Puerto Rico, Dr. Garcia is an urban planner with a long history of working with and for low-income communities throughout the nation including Albuquerque, New Mexico, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Ivis is currently a professor at the University of Utah in City and Metro- politan Planning as well as a planning commissioner in Salt Lake City. Her work addresses the problems of uneven development, as well as grassroots organizing and community development. She is especially interested in facilitating the inte- gration of racialized and ethnic groups into democratic planning processes.

Ivis García

University of Utah

[email protected]

Received: 31/08/2017 Accepted: 29/11/2017