By Margarita Marichal Lugo
A long, long time ago, Mother Tongue, you were with me in my thoughts, discourse, behavior, and spirituality. Where are you now? The colonial man took over everything you were. He came slowly, but intense. He said funny words that started engraving in our brains. He took Plena y Bomba, arroz y habichuelas. He changed the history of our nation and distorted our Taíno spirit from brave and fierce to vulnerable and weak. Mother tongue, I cried, where are you now? I see generations blinded and muted by the colonial man. I reached for you, and my hands came out empty. You have become un reguerete of Spanglish nature that is useless for depicting my true self. Mother Tongue is twisted. Mother Tongue is lost! Mother Tongue, although my brain barely recognizes you, I have found your voice in my heart. I hear you singing “Preciosa”, whispering loving words that could only be meaningful in your tongue. Mother Tongue, I beg you to come out and stand for all your children dispossessed of identity. Mother tongue, Madre, where are you? Explanation- Puerto Rico has been colonized by many cultural groups. Nevertheless, Puerto Rican identity developed within the Spanish language (Cunnigham, cited in Arce, 2001). Therefore, Spanish has been the language by which Puerto Ricans have communicated words and feelings for centuries. In 1898, because of the Spanish-American War and the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the United States government, and the island became a U.S. military territory (Negrón de Montilla, 1977). This historical event initiated the “Americanization” process that has led to the deterioration of Puerto Rico’s heritage language, traditions, values, and loss of cultural identity (Vientós cited in Dike, 2014). References: Arce de Vázquez, M. (2001). Obras completas, Vol. 3, Puerto Rico: Lengua, educación, reforma universitaria, política, cultura y religión. M. Albert (Ed.). San Juan, Puerto Rico. Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Dike, S. (2014). La vida en la colonia: Oscar Lewis, the culture of poverty and the struggle and meaning of the Puerto Rican nation. Centro Journal, 26(1), 172-191. Negrón de Montilla, A. (1977). La americanización de Puerto Rico y el sistema de instrucción pública 1900-1930. Barcelona, España. Editorial Universitaria.
1 Comment
11/12/2022 02:43:04 pm
Place fine all person. Fill already remain newspaper probably. Thank him apply fill.
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The Freedom Bloggers Collective Space produces quarterly editions that include variety of prose, essays, stories, visual art and narratives from Black and Brown Creators, who hope to keep their stories alive by Sharing them, If you would like your art published in this format, please email: [email protected].
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