University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2017-01-01 Aquí se habla español: Cultural Identity and Language in Post-World War II Puerto Rico Joanna Marie Camacho Escobar University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Latin American History Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Other French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Camacho Escobar, Joanna Marie, "Aquí se habla español: Cultural Identity and Language in Post-World War II Puerto Rico" (2017). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 417. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/417 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AQUÍ SE HABLA ESPAÑOL: CULTURAL IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE IN POST-WORLD WAR II PUERTO RICO JOANNA MARIE CAMACHO ESCOBAR Doctoral Program in Borderlands History APPROVED: Sandra McGee-Deutsch, Ph.D., Chair Jeffrey P. Shepherd, Ph.D. Brad Cartwright, Ph.D. Cynthia Bejarano, Ph.D. Charles Ambler, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Copyright © by Joanna Marie Camacho Escobar 2017 Dedication I dedicate this work to my grandparents and great grandparents, José, Providencia, Fernando, Priscilla, and Leon, Felicita, Ignacio, Luisa, and those who passed too young for me to meet them. Our past was obscured by poverty, I only hope to shed some light into your lives. Your grateful and proud granddaughter. AQUÍ SE HABLA ESPAÑOL: CULTURAL IDENTITY AND LANGUAGE IN POST-WORLD WAR II PUERTO RICO by JOANNA MARIE CAMACHO ESCOBAR, B.A., M.A. DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO May 2017 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my dissertation committee, Dr. Jeffrey Shepherd, Dr. Brad Cartwright, Dr. Cynthia Bejarano, and especially committee chair and my intellectual champion Dr. Sandra McGee-Deutsch, for their guidance and support. The UTEP Department of History, I couldn’t have asked for a more encouraging, and supporting faculty and staff. I am a historian and teacher because these professionals created the academic environment that fostered my curiosity and my growth as a scholar. I especially acknowledge Dr. Cheryl Martin, Dr. Charles Martin, Dr. Samuel Brunk, Dr. Yolanda Leyva, Dr. Ernesto Chavez, Dr. Adam Arenson, and Dr. Charles Ambler. I admire your scholarship and dedication to your students, I will always be proud to count all of you as my teachers and mentors. The staff that made all the academic bureaucratic steps a bit easier, thank you Edith Yañez, Alma Acosta, and Clara Giroux. The financial support of the Department and the UTEP Graduate School was vital for this working-class Puerto Rican woman to achieve this most prestigious goal. Secondly, my friends and colleagues were an essential support system to get me through this rigorous journey in academia. Very especially, I thank my fellow sisters and 2011 cohort members Carolina Monsiváis, Jessica Bergen, and Cynthia Renteria. Mujeres bravas, we have shared more than scholarship, we shared our lives. Also, my fellow grad school friends and colleagues, J. Aaron Waggoner, Jaime Ruíz, Aaron Margolis, Eloy García, Cecilia Venable, Juan Carlos Varela, Timothy Nelson, Aurelio Saldaña, Michael Herrera, Rebecca Prado, Stephanie Parham, and Sandra Enríquez wherever our careers and lives take us, we have bonded and I will always cheer you on. Thirdly, my dearest and longtime friends, who encouraged me en la distancia, Sylma, Gretchen, Mariangelís, Dianellys, and Sergie. Finally, my family is my compass and the fuel that feeds my passion for history. My parents Juan and Joanne, your love is my guiding post. My sister Diana and brother Jonathan, we are each other’s rocks, best friends, harshest critics, and strongest allies. Josué and Anaid, you make me a proud Titi, and my great nephew Ariel, is the breath of fresh air in my life, looking forward to see v you grow. All of this work comes out of one brain, but it takes a village to support that brain, I acknowledge every one of those that passed through this period of my life and in any way supported and cared for me. I am grateful. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................v Table of Contents .................................................................................................. vii List of Illustrations ................................................................................................. ix Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Theoretical Framework and Literature Review ..............................................3 Research Questions .......................................................................................16 Methodology .................................................................................................17 Summary of chapters ....................................................................................18 Chapter 1: Política Cultural ...................................................................................23 Americanizando Language ...........................................................................24 1930s Culture and Identity Debate ...............................................................29 The PPD in Power .........................................................................................39 Proposing Operación Serenidad ....................................................................47 Conclusion ....................................................................................................58 Chapter 2: Operación Serenidad ............................................................................61 La Universidad ..............................................................................................62 Departamento de Instrucción Pública, DivEdCo, and WIPR .......................66 El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña ..........................................................79 Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española ........................................85 Conclusion ....................................................................................................88 Chapter 3: Somos Puertorriqueños ........................................................................92 The Political Context of the 1960s................................................................93 Teaching English in the 1960s ......................................................................96 Identity in the 1960s....................................................................................100 The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña in the 1960s .................................105 The Status Question and Identity ................................................................111 Conclusion ..................................................................................................113 Chapter 4: Politically Divided, Culturally United ...............................................118 Ferré’s Path to La Fortaleza ........................................................................119 vii Ferré and his Nueva Vida ...........................................................................123 Cultural Policies under Nueva Vida ...........................................................128 The new PPD and Hernández Colón ..........................................................136 Culture under RHC’s “Un Nuevo Puerto Rico” .........................................138 1976: “La estadidad es para los pobres” pero… .........................................143 The ICP vs. AFAC ......................................................................................147 Conclusion ..................................................................................................149 Chapter 5: De Puerto Rico para el mundo... ........................................................151 Romero Barceló’s Second Term .................................................................152 Cultural Policies under Romero ..................................................................155 RHC Returns to La Fortaleza ......................................................................157 Cultura as Priority .......................................................................................158 The Festivities .............................................................................................160 El Pabellón ..................................................................................................165 Regatta Columbus 92 ..................................................................................170 Language Debate ........................................................................................174 Language and La Madre Patria Revisited ...................................................179 Opinions ......................................................................................................184