"When I Was Puerto Rican" is an autobiography that shares the early life of Puerto Rican author, Esmeralda Santiago. Santiago's mother decided to take her and her younger siblings to Brooklyn, New York in search for a better life. From needing proper medical care to moving on from marital issues, Santiago's mother was looking to see what America had in store for her family. This memoir addresses various cultural issues and shows the struggles that come along with adapting to a new culture.
Santiago shares her experiences with racism, sexuality, adapting to a new culture, language barriers and ultimately her journey to find herself amongst the cultural factors. When it comes to identity, her migration to New York, her parents marital status, lack of a father figure, being the eldest sibling and the balance between cultures; Santiago struggles to not only maintain her Puerto Rican identity but with the alteration of her identity to the adaption to American culture. Another issue addressed in the book is with gender roles. From the sexualization of a female's body and the power struggle between men and women to her mother having a factory job in New York, Santiago was introduced to the ideal of gender issues.
Lastly, the other issue addressed was discrimination. A common issue for immigrants, discrimination impacts one's sense of self and makes it more difficult for one to adapt and fit in. From being called derogatory names (i.e "spick") to being labeled as Hispanic or Latino/a, Santiago questioned her Puerto Rican identity. In Santiago's newspaper article "HERS; A Puerto Rican Stew," Santiago's mother said "She's no longer Puerto Rican " (Santiago, "HERS..."). Causing Santiago to second herself, thinking to herself "If she had stabbed me with the chicken-gutting knife in her hand it would have hurt less. I swallowed the pain" (Santiago, "HERS"...). Then Santiago said "Si, Mami." "I have become Americana" (Santiago, "HERS..."). This expresses how biculturalism affects both the islander and the immigrant.
"Almost A Woman" is a continuation autobiography of "When I Was Puerto Rican." This literary work focuses on the sense of biculturalism with the balance between Puerto Rican culture and the adopted American culture. Santiago uses her experiences to inspire others who face cultural issues when identifying as bicultural. In addition to that, Santiago is important to Women's Literature because she provides a specific perspective, that those in similar situations can relate to. This shows how Women's Literature helps to stray away from "the single story" ideal.
In this literary work, Santiago "presents her experience of being ethnically classified as Hispanic or Latina based on the color of her skin and on her background, as opposed to referring to herself as Puerto Rican as she had done in her native country" ("Santiago, Esmeralda"). This is a common theme for those who immigrate from Spanish-speaking countries. Many Americans do not realize the discriminatory connotation that is expressed when referring to an immigrant from a Spanish-speaking country as "Hispanic" or "Latino/a." This takes away from one's true culture, ultimately in a way disrespecting their sense of identity.
Furthermore, Santiago addresses the struggles of coming of age with wanting both the protection that childhood provides but also wanting the freedom that comes along with adulthood. Like expressed in the work, Santiago "wanted to dress like an adolescent American girl, wanted more freedom to work at a job, to go out with friends and on dates, all the while dealing with a mother who was more conservative and set in Puerto Rican ways" ("Santiago, Esmeralda"). Like many young girls, Santiago wanted freedom but also knew there would be newfound struggles that came with that new way of life.
Overall, the sense of bicultural identity is apparent within this work and impacts Santiago's life. Like pointed out in the Encyclopedia of Women's Autobiography "the author even provides a glossary to explain to readers what certain words or concepts mean linguistically and culturally" ("Santiago, Esmeralda"). This is one way that Santiago implements the bicultural identity in order to give the readers a taste of how it is. In addition to that, Santiago also expresses her care to maintain her Puerto Rican culture even while remaining in America and being influenced by "Americanisms."
This literary work is an article that was published in The New York Times in 1994. It starts off sharing a moment when Esmeralda was "in her kitchen, browsing through Puerto Rican cookbooks..." when she realized that "the books were in English, written for people who don't know a sofrito from a sombrero" (Santiago, "HERS..."). Although comical, especially for Puerto Ricans who can relate, this realization proves how culture can be negatively impacted by other societal factors. This part of the article also shows how not only do immigrants adopt Americanisms, but how immigrants influence Americans with the culture they maintain and express. Ultimately this is what causes America to be considered "a melting pot."
Like Bahadur shared with her breakdown on another Santiago work, Santiago introduced to her readers a character that identifies similarly to Santiago herself. Ana achieved personal freedom like Santiago did by making the decision to stay in America and continue with her bicultural life. Although this decision did come with consequences once she returned to Puerto Rico and saw her family for the first time in awhile. In a sense Santiago was a "feminist before her time" (Bahadur, "Raising cane"). Proving to be strong and independent, thriving in a new world with a new culture not only influencing her identity but in a sense helping to diminish her Puerto Rican identity.
Ultimately, this work expressed the effects that America has on immigrants, how their family views them and the struggle with self acceptance. In this article Santiago shares how she second guessed herself on whether or not she lost her Puerto Rican identity she had as a child growing up on the island. This proves that biculturalism is not only a thing, but something that impacts immigrants daily. Lastly, this article shares Santiago's struggle to maintain one culture while becoming a part of a newer, foreign culture.
